This photo was published in Oregon State University’s Prism Art and Literature Magazine.  This woman was walking in the streets of Pushcar, Rajasthan in India.  As soon as I made eye contact with her I was drawn to her and needed to take a photo of her.  Still, her eyes captivate me and her story intrigues me.

Please click on her for a closer view…

The King’s Darbur Room and all of his old possessions

The villages of Rajasthan hold the root of all culture of the modern cities scattered throughout the large desert state.  Come join us as we take a visit within the Rajasthani village of Malyor, just behind the Sagar School.

This beautiful Jain Temple is 85 kilometers away from India’s most romantic city, Udaipur.  Experience the journey of getting to the temple and see why people will travel from all over India to feel the spirit from within her walls.

Here is 124 photos to make up the scene of the Tijara Fort.  I was overlooking the side and was amazed by the scene so here it is.  Enjoy and make your way here before a right white man converts it into a hotel.  Please see the photo blog as well.

Please watch in HQ!

Aaron and I took a journey to an abandoned fort only a few miles away from the Sagar School.  We passed through several of the local villages and met some friends before arriving at the fort.  The Tijara fort has a long story of love and deceit, here is a quick summary.

The king of Alwar (this local district in Rajasthan) fell in love with a Muslim girl from a nearby village.  Her mother allowed him to marry her under one condition that their son would become the next king.  The King accepted the offer and married the woman even though he already had a son that was in line to be crowned.

They resided together in Alwar, 50 kilometres away from this fort in Tijara.  When the son became old enough to become king, they started building this fort in Tijara.  The king was dishonest and still had plans for his eldest son to become the king.  He told his half Muslim son that he must experience war before he could become King.  He suited up to fight and was murdered by a couple of the King’s servants.  Shortly after, his mother had died too and the construction of the fort was never completed.

Recently, the fort has been acquired by a rich white man, he has plans to convert it into a hotel.  A real shame in my opinion.

Weekend in Ajmer and Pushkar

Please click the link above if it does not play.

This past weekend was a delight as my soccer team and I went 9 hours south to Ajmer and I got to see Pushkar, a very sacred town for the Hindus.  Please take a look at the video and feel free to leave your comments.  If you all enjoy this style of Blog I will continue making them!
Cheers,
Brad

The Agra Fort was built for the King who created the Taj Mahal, by his son.  It was used to imprison his father so he could have the power of Agra.  His father was put in the most beautiful room of this fort, with a perfect view of the Taj Mahal.

The fort was never used in any combat.  10,000 people lived inside its walls.  The fort was more of a palace, for royalty and riches.

This image was taken in a grand hallway full of arches.  There are 84 photos to make this image and the Ruby ring is very symbolic of the wealth associated with this palace.

Enjoy!

Every body recognizes the one picture of the Taj Mahal…you know the one…straight on, reflective lake, perfect symmetry, big and beautiful white building.

Not everybody knows much about the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

This building was a gift of Love!  The gift was from a Muhgal king, 400 years ago, to his wife who had recently died giving birth to his 14th child.  It took 22 years to complete and over 10,000 workers.  The building mainly consists of fine white marble and thousands of precious and semi precious gems.  The process of inserting the gems into the marble is quite laborous and requires hours of work just for one small piece of marble.  The building is perfectly symmetrical with 4 beams all tilted at a 93 degree angle away from the Taj (so they would fall away from the building in the case of an earthquake).  On one side of the Taj, there is a red Mosque for praying.  On the other side of the Taj, there is a red replica, to fit the perfect symmetry.  This building is not used.

This gift of Love is inspirational and was a true gift to the eyes.

This photo was taken from inside the replica, from just behind an archway.  There are 45 photos in this image.  The border is a white marble plate (same marble from the Taj) with the same gems from the Taj.  It is also sitting on my coffee table for me to enjoy.

Hope you enjoy!

Tijara’s Jain Temple is a diamond within the rough patches of a small village in Rajasthan, India.  The Jains, a religious sect of Hindu, believe strictly in eating only vegetarian food and believe only in peaceful resolutions.  The pray in the nude and only act in pure ways.  Many will starve themselves to death when it is time to leave this earth.

The location of this is deliberate.  The Jains believe that a statue of a god was burried 25 feet below this temple, instead of excavating, they pray above the statue.

This image, which consists of 74 pictures, is outlined by the dirt that stands in between their prays and their god.  The heart of the Jain temple, lies beneath this ground.  I hope you enjoy this image.