Pa-O Style
The Pa-O women of Burma’s Shan state are known for their strength and beauty, and not surprisingly they have a great style of dress to match! It consists of a lunghi (skirt), a sleeveless shift blouse with a v-neck in front and back, and a long sleeved, crop-length jacket with a short, stand-up collar. The [...]
Walking Meditation
A number of monks and yogis do walking meditation at Shwedagon Pagoda. It’s extremely slow, deliberate walking in a state of meditation, and sometimes along a specific path and using prayer beads, like the yogi in this photo was doing. Yogis can be male or female, and they are not monastics but are on a [...]
Me & the Shan Women
Here’s a rare picture of me out in the world. These women are from the Pa-O tribe of Burma’s Shan state and had just returned from Bodh Gaya, the place of Buddha’s enlightenment in India. The white sashes symbolize their pilgrimage. The group included several monks and nuns and they were making a tour of [...]
IKTT Reviving Cambodian Ikat
On the outskirts of Siem Reap nestled away in a tropical forest, the enlightened Institute of Khmer Traditional Textiles (IKTT) is working to restore and preserve Cambodia’s silk textile traditions. The Khmer Rouge all but obliterated the country’s artisans during the 1970s, including its weavers who produced silk ikat, one of the world’s most complex [...]
Apsara Dance
One day at Angkor Wat I stumbled onto a rare performance of traditional Apsara dance at the temple and happily photographed away. Apsaras are female spirits or celestial nymphs in Hindu and Buddhist mythologies. They’re young, beautiful, magical and, not surprisingly, excellent dancers. Apsara dances tell classical myths inspired by the Cambodian version of the [...]
Anokhi Factory
The clothing retailer Anokhi is one of my favorite things about India. A trip to one of their shops brightens even the worst day in Delhi. Not only are their block printed clothes and other textiles beautifully designed and tailored, they actually run a socially and environmentally ethical business. Before leaving India I visited their [...]
Sanganeri Block Printing
Just outside of Jaipur, the small town of Sanganer one of the largest block printing centers in Rajasthan and India. Each block printing center has its own traditional designs, and today Sanganer does both its traditional and new styles of work. The bus dropped me off along the main road in front of a small shop [...]
Rehwa Society
Roshanara Bi was unlikely to become one of the top weavers of Maheshwar. Born into a poor family from the Muslim area of town, at age 16 she was married off to a young man from a neighboring village. She bore a son but did not want to stay in the marriage, and after three [...]
30 Meters of Turban
This man is a fully baptized Sikh whom I met at The Golden Temple. His turban is made of 30 meters of cloth and is decorated with the two primary symbols of Sikhism: the Khanda and the Ek-Onkar. Baptized (Khalsa) Sikhs like this man follow the famous five K’s: Kachera, Kara, Kirpan, Kanga and Kesh. [...]
Shivratri Festival
Shivratri symbolizes the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati and is an auspicious days for Hindus. In Kutch there was a Shivratri festival at a small village north of Bhuj. I took the bus, always an adventure in itself, and spent the day there. (The only other foreigners there were a guy from Japan [...]
Tea with the Rabaris
The Rabaris are a Hindu tribe found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, and other northwest Indian states, as well as in Pakistan. Their traditional occupation is raising and herding animals like goats, camels and cattle. They were once nomadic but have almost completely settled into villages. The women are famous for their textile embroidery, and in [...]
Varkala Puja
Hindu puja (prayer) ceremonies led by priests are held every morning at Varkala beach on the Kerala coast. Families come to do this together. I don’t understand the significance of the rituals, but it was fascinating to watch. And the beach is gorgeous.
Tropical Color
Kerala presents a whole new color palette for me. Purples and oranges. Blues and yellows. Greens and reds. It’s fabulous.
Sadhus and Pilgrims
The Sikhs welcome all faiths to The Golden Temple. Anyone can eat and sleep there, as long as they show appropriate respect to their religion, which is easy to do (no drugs or alcohol, no shoes, and no uncovered heads inside the temple). Droves of Hindu sadhus and pilgrims were at the temple when I [...]
Ladakh Festival
The Ladakh Festival is organized by the J&K government and brings together the various peoples and cultures of the region. Today was the first (and best) day. It started in the morning with a parade of people from different villages in traditional dress playing music, singing and dancing, and ended up at Leh Polo Grounds [...]
A Wedding in Zanskar — The Dance Party
When the young guys in the den started dancing to the latest Ladakhi songs (played on every bus so I know them all by now) it felt like a window opened to the culture that I could relate to. I was so happy to see and feel this particular kind of freedom. I hadn’t seen [...]
A Great Little Day!
Today was a great little day for me. I stumbled onto a small festival where I was the only non-Ladakhi and the locals just brought me into the fold. The exact reason for the festival is still unclear to me, but monks and nuns from different monasteries were there to recite some Buddhist texts. The [...]
