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I can’t quite determine who this god or goddess is, I think it could be Shiva based on the trident in it’s right hand. Whoever it is, you have to respect a culture that worships a God who cut off their own head and drink the blood squirting from their neck. I took this picture in a museum in Nepal in 2003 and have never seen anything quite like it. The simplicity of the line work and the single color are what made this stand out and make it unlike all the other thangka’s I’ve seen.

My old friend Chris Jennison sent me this new picture of Asif, my friendly Kashmiri salesman and devout muslim. Something tells me the photo was taken specifically for me. When I was there in June, I found Asif no longer selling carpets and now specialising in the jewelry business. I guess it allows him more time sweet talking the ladies and ultimately makes him more money. He was particulalry amused one afternoon when I explained the alternate meaning of a ‘pearl necklace.’

From time to time I get on a train and head back up to White Plains and shoot events for the Art Exchange. It’s always a lot of fun, and gets me to these cool events. Last night was “Arts of India: Jivan – Cycles of Life” and it was quite the performance.

As disturbing as the messages are in this campaign, I love the design and the old world look of the posters. They look like a cross between a Bollywood movie ad and some of those medical posters. To support the Action Group for World Solidarity go here.

Created by Ogilvy Frankfurt and illustrated by Martin Popp (more after break…)

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This is an interesting ad campaign for the CPAA in India that I’m sure’s going to be affective for the middle and Brahmin class, but wonder how many of the working and untouchable class will even pay attention. How many beedie smoking street sweepers can relate to what a hotel room looks like or a restaurant with leather couches? ‘’The Bleublancrouge concept for the Cancer Patients Aid Association is hard-hitting and it will definitely make a difference in society,’’ said Anita Peter, Director of the CPAA. ‘’We need to create more awareness about this emerging epidemic.’

I personally prefer this campaign as a moustache says a thousand words. (Or check out this animation of the Marlboro man killing his horse)

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week. Not only does it mention photographers like Raghu Rai and Dayanita Singh but also points to some new photo galleries in Delhi like “PhotoInk.”  Their director says “”The fact is, we need to have more collectors than speculators. If you can’t see the work on somebody’s wall, how are you going to develop an aesthetic or a taste for it?” They have some great work on their website that I could definately see on my walls. I particularly like the series of Dileep Prakash called “The Anglo Indians.” There’s an interesting article here that talks about what an ‘Anglo-Indian’ is and their role in Indian culture. Briefly the Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry (a dying group since the British left the subcontinent in ‘47).

1. Life means suffering.

2. The origin of suffering is attachment.

3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.

4. The path to the cessation of suffering.

Here are four reasons that I travel to India. Being among the complete range of life that coexist on their streets reminds me of these four facts. People need to remember that this is not a dismal view on life, but a refreshing and liberating way of seeing. It’s a good thing to not live in the state of denial I find America is all the time. Plastic surgery, owning Gucci handbags or drinking organic wheatgrass shots aren’t going to negate any of the four noble truths. I lose sight of this in my own life when I get into stupid TV shows, spend more time surfing the interwebs rather than talking to Amanda or drinking fine whiskey instead of finding out what my friends really think. Somehow when I am in India all that washes away and I gain a sense of awareness I never have in NY. It is this sense of awareness that I am trying to talk about in my Thesis statement and ultimately try to have throughout my life. Not easy!

Photo by Albert Kahn

I had no idea color travel photography went back this far. I can only imagine that people were enthused by the whole thing. I can’t even begin to fathom how incredible this must have looked to westerners. We’ve become such a generation of people who just expect everything to be possible. It’s hard to understand how insane this must have been.

Thanks Rey!

It was amusing for my parents to recieve the first package from India from me in 2002. I had mailed them some Christmas presents and it arrived wrapped in cloth and sealed with red wax. They attributed the strange packaging to my recent BFA degree, and dismissed it as their strange ‘art school’ son. Actually, that is how every package leaves India. Enterprising young business men set up a tailor shop next to the post office, and charge 10 to 20 rupees for a parcel. The speed and accuracy that they make these parcels is to be admired and I have yet to have one go missing.

It took almost exactly 3 months for my shipment to arrive, which for 3 dollars is a great deal. If only the USPS had an international version of media mail.

This small cut in the side of the package is required to prove that it really is full of books (not elephant statues or charis???)

It was great to be away from cable TV and to read some books instead. “Shantaram” was a long and very entertaining read, although its autobiographical integrity is a little questionable and Johnny Depp has taken the lead roll in the 2009 movie. “Wolf at the Door,” was not my favorite Augusten Burroughs book, eventhough it completes a few gaps from his previous memoirs. Pico Iyer takes on the most honest and critial view of the Tibetans in exile I have ever read, he should be applauded for seeing the situation as it is. I am yet to write my indepth review of the “Denial of Death,” but I still think about those first few chapters every day and recommend it to as many people as possible. The rest were not amazing books, but kept me sane and out of trouble (I might even argue that the “Alchemy of Desire,” was infact a terrible book).

All the news sources claim that it is just a routine check up on a minor stomach ache. Apparently “There is nothing major to feel concerned about,” his personal secretary Tenzin Taklha told AFP. Hopefully that is all the news to report on his health. Normally stomach pain is minor news, however he turned 73 this summer and is certainly getting on in years. The Chinese government has refused talks with him or to return to the spiritual head of Tibet, and many claim that is espacially true with his growing age. The Chinese government are eager to appoint their own lamas (eg. Panchen Lama) whenever possible to maintain a better control of the monastic influence over Tibetans. Hopefully he will return to health and continue his good work.

“The various features and aspects of human life, such as longevity, good health, success, happiness, and so forth, which we consider desirable, are all dependent on kindness and a good heart.”

Above is a picture I took of him in 2003 at the Kalachakra intitation in Bodhgaya, India.

And then there is this Pepsi commercial