Het tempel festival in Chidambaram is een cultuurimpressie die 11 dagen duurt en de cosmische dans van Lord Shiva zichtbaar maakt op aarde. Tijdens dit festival worden de dansende Shiva Nataraja en zijn familie uit de tempel gedragen door de deekshithars en daarna in traditionele wagens rond de tempel gereden. In het midden op de foto is de wagen van Shiva te zien, links die van Parvati en rechts die van Ganesha. Voor devotees is het een inspirerende en spirituele belevenis om een blik op te vangen van de Goden. Op mij als danseres hebben de ceremonies een diepe indruk gemaakt en een stap verder in de cultuur van India gebracht.

Annette, Indian dancer

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This is a very small Town in the Northen India. Very Famous for the fantastic Views of Nature. From one point you can see all views of Nature. Like mountains, very Famous Ganga River, forests etc....

In picture you can see very Famous Bridge called "" Raam Joolha""

In the place you can see lots of Foreigners coming every day to learn Yoga. Lots of Big and Famous Aashrams are there.

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In de 17e en 18e eeuw bracht de VOC veel waardevolle specerijen, stoffen en geuren vanuit India naar Holland en heeft hiermee onze cultuur verrijkt. Nu, in de 21ste eeuw heb ik als Hollandse Bharata Natyam danseres de Indiase tempeldans mogen presenteren in de Shiva Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram in India voor Lord Nataraja. Het was een bijzondere en spirituele ervaring om te dansen voor de dansende Shiva  in Zijn Tempel. De dance is nu verdwenen uit het tempelritueel. Als ik een wens zou mogen doen, komt de Dans ooit weer voorgoed terug is de Tempel. Annette, Indian dancer.

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About 20 years ago there were about 100000 tigers in the world, out of which approximately 70000 tigers in India. Due to a huge demand in tiger bones, teeth, skin, claws etc. in China, tiger poaching took place on a very large scal all over the world.

Currently it is estimated that about 5000-7000 tigers are still exisitng in this world.Out of these there are about 4000 tigers in India. ndia being the last home for the tiger seems to be unevitable.

How can we save this magnificent animal from extinction?

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De apengod Hanoeman (Hanuman) is in het pantheon van het hindoeisme degodheid die ooit de god Rama hielp bij de redding van zijn vrouw Sita uit de handen van de demonenkoning Ravana, de koning van de Lanka. Hanoeman komt voor in het millennia-oude heldenepos de Ramayana, hij symboliseert de bhakti (devotie) en is vooral populair in het noorden van India.

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In 1631, Shah Jahan, emperor during the Mugal Empire's period of greatest prosperity, was griefstricken when his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died during the birth of their fourteenth child, Gauhara Begum. Construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal.Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator's glory.

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To begin with I would like to appreciate all of the good work that people are doing for the Indian people, perhaps even more than Indian nationals do for their own countrymen.

I feel that theres an image thats stuck with India, mostly to do with poverty and the not-so- good side of things. Apart from this image, India is a surprising country, you never know whats around the next corner. Its more like a fiction - a second and your luck could decide whether you live or die .

This summer, I happened to travel to a place called as the Valley of Flowers, which is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas . For someone who is interested, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Flowers_National_Park gives a nice description of the facts .

Although I wasn't lucky enough to be there in the right season, possibly because I was following Dutch time, and forgot that in India, everything works at its own  time ... nature in the least.

The route starts from a village called Govindghat. From there, you climb into the hills towards Ghangria, which is the base camp for the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib, which is a holy place of worship for the Sikh community.

En route, you get a glimpse of countless people, old, young, fair, dark , all alike climbing with piousness that even an atheist would respect. There is so much of good will in the air, that any negativity goes for a toss, and you are just sucked into the spectacle called nature.

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In last  December I have visited Kodaikanal It is one of the most popular hill station in South India.It has several scenic natural attractions  such  as  Bryant Park-botanical garden, Berijam Lake which are enjoyed by tourist and make it a popular destination for honeymoon.

Another attraction in Kodaikanal is the 'Kurinji-flower', which blossoms once in 12 years,that last bloomed in 2004



Berijam Lake



Bryant Park-botanical garden

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Seva in Dharamsala

After visiting a ceremony in a small temple in Dharamsala a lot of volunteers formed a real Seva Circle to bring sand and small stones down from the river up to the temple grounds. The volunteers passed a big iron plate filled with sand and stones to each other and dropped it in the middle of their circle. The sand and stones were used for building a new part of the temple. This for two hours in the hot sun while the women were singing shabds (devotional songs). This was so beautiful and emotional. It seemed the women were singing right from their hearts with deep devotion. Taking part in this Seva Circle it was impossible to keep our eyes dry. And it made us feel humble.

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This picture is taken at Chavakkad Beach in Kerala. It shows a row of fishermen boats in a summer dusk. Kerala has a long stretch of beaches, and each one is unique.



This picture was taken on my way from Calicut, Kerala to Bangalore Airport in Karnataka. This is a depiction of two things: population; and poverty. People in India often travel occupying every possible corner of the vehicle.

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