Travel with Owais Mughal

porn videos
Owais Mughal

In November 2009, we started our virtual journey on N55 Indus Highway from its zero point at Jamshoro (N55-Part I) and today after 13 months of stop and go journey we will hopefully reach its end on the Ring Road of Peshawar. When we reach there we will have covered 1256 km.
Following photo is N55's approach to Friendship tunnel between Kohat and Dara Adam Khel endash one of the landmarks you ll see on today s travels.

For a quick recap, in Part II we had traveled on the right bank of Indus and driven 333 km to reach Dera Ghazi Khan (N55-Part II). In Part III we covered further 214 km to reach Dera Ismail Khan (N55-PartIII) . Lets try to reach Peshawar today. It is 334 km from here and it reminds me of a naara which I once heard from participants of a juloos (procession) in Liaqatabad, Karachi which was going Peshawar by foot in 1990. One of their leaders was shouting on megaphone Peshawar dur hai and everybody else in the procession replied in chorus jaana bhi zaroor hai . These guys were apparently doing Karachi-Peshawar long march for some unknown demands. I was passing by on my Yamaha 50 and all I remember was this naara. So for us today on N55 endash after a gap of 20 years endash lets raise the same slogan again:Peshawar dur hai
jana bhi zaroor haiToday we ll start our journey just north of Dera Ismail Khan and the first town that we ll pass through is called Yarak.

Yarak (km marker 964)
Yarak is a small village 33 kilometers north from D.I.Khan city center. From Yarak a small road branche off from N55 towards east and goes to Chashma Right Bank Canal. Yarak is also sometimes spelled and pronounced as Yarik .
Kulachi N55 Link Road (km marker unknown)Few kilometers north of Yarak, this link road branches to the West and meets D.I.Khan-Tank road at Gara Hayat and then connects to the town of Kulachi.
Lucky Cement Factory (km marker unknown)
Just few kilometers before Pezu, Lucky Cement Factory is located on the east side of N55.
Pezu (km marker 990)Pezu is a junction point for a link road to Tank which branches off from N55 towards west.
Shahbaz Khel (km marker unknown)Tittar Khel (km marker 1011) (also called Tattar Khel and Guli Jan)Ghazni Khel (km marker 1017)
Ghazni Khel is a junction point with link roads leaving east and west off N55. The road to the east connects to a town called Kaka khel and the road to west connects to a town called Khaira Khel.Laki Marwat Link Road Junction (km marker unknown)Few kilometers north of Ghazni Khel, another east-west link road connects N55 to Laki Marwat towards east and Khair Khel towards West.
Tochi River N55 Bridge (km marker unknown)Sarai Naurang (km marker 1048)
The new alignment of N55 does does not enter Sarai Naurang but few kilometer before the old town center it takes a sharp right to bypass the town. The old alignment of N55 (now called Bannu Road) goes to Sarai Naurang and then onwards to Bannu.
Bannu (km marker 1073)Bannu was served by the old alignment of N55. Currently the highway bypasses the city but there are link roads which connect the city center to N55.
Bannu is also the largest town on this section on N55 between D.I.Khan and Kohat. Bannu s population including the cantonment in 1998 was 46896.
The present day Bannu city was fiunded in 1848 by a Britisher Sir Herbert Edwards and therefore it was initially called Edwardsabad. For some years it was also called Dhulipnagar (or Dalipnagar) named after its main bazaar as well as Dhulipgarh (or Dalipgarh) named after its fort, before its current name Bannu took over.
Bridge over Kurram River Tributary (km marker unknown)Latambar (km marker 1011)Latambar is also bypassed by the new N55 alignment. The old N55 endash now called Bannu Road connects Latambar town to the new alignment.
Bahadur Khel (km marker 1117)
Khurram Muhammad (km marker 1127)
Jata Ismail Khan (Km marker 1159)The four towns listed above are located on old N55 aligment called Bannu-Lachi Road and Thal-Lachi Road. Some portion of old N55 is called Bannu-lachi and from a junction point onwards from where a link road heads to Thal it is called Thal-Lachi road. The new N55 bypasses all of these towns but runs in parallel to Bannu-Lachi and Thal-Lachi Roads.
Ahmad Khel (km marker unknown)Ahmad Khel is located on N55 new alignment before the town of Lachi.
Lachi (km marker 1169)Lachi is the junction where old alignment of N55 and new alignment meet again.

Gada Khel (km marker unknown)North of Lachi, this is the junction point for a link road heading west to Hangu.
Kohat (km marker 1196)

Population of Kohat including cantonment in 1998 was 125271. 
N55's new alignment has a bypass for Kohat and several roads from Kohat connect to N55. The old N55 alignment that goes into Kohat town is now called Bannu Road. Then there is Indus Highway Link Road, Rawalpindi Road, Kohat bypass Road, an unnamed road and Kohat Road which connect Kohat city center to N55.
Friendship Tunnel (km marker unknown)ATP had a very detailed post dedicated to Kohat Tunnel itself. 
This tunnel cuts down the distance between Kohat and Peshawar (and hence the length of N55) by 25 kilometers, which is definitely a great saving in time (40 min) and fuel for people traveling here.A signboard on N55 near Friendship Tunnel on North bound road.
Dara Adam Khel (km marker 1220)Matanni (km marker 1240)Peshawar-Hayatabad Road Junction (km marker unknown)Peshawar (km marker 1265)
N55 ends in Peshawar (or starts from Peshawar in down direction) from a place called Gulshan Rehman Colony and Garhi Qamar Din located on Peshawar Ring Road. From Ring road to Peshawar City Center the old alignment of N55 is called Kohat Road. The map to the left shows the end (or starting) point of N55 at Peshawar Ring Road.
According to 1998 census, population of Peshawar City was 982,816. ATP has covered portions of Peshawar in following articles, which I d like to present here:1. Masjid Mahabat Khan, Peshawar
2. How Islamia College Peshawar Lost its kullahAnd this completes our 1265 km journey on Pakistan s second longest national higway endash the N55.References:1) Google maps (googlemaps.com)
2) National Highway Authority, Pakistan (nha.gov.pk)

Best Rare-Bird Pictures of 2010

porn videos

National Geographic

Wanna ride a dinky in Lahore?

porn videos
A resident of Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore has stunned people with a collection of more than 4,000 dinkies (toy cars) at his home. A 39-year-old Aamir Ashfaq has been collecting dinkies for the last 31 years, consisting of various car models. Aamir claims that he has the biggest collection of dinkies in Pakistan. Passionate about his hobby, Aamir has designated a special room in his house to place the toy cars.
Aamir is married and has three daughters. Talking to Pakistan Today, he said that although his daughters were not much interested in cars collection but they help him while cleaning the dinkies.
Aamir s dinkies have various interesting features including hoods, trunks, doors and fuel caps that open, ashtrays that slide out and glove compartments that work are some of the realised features. Some models of cars even have hanging ignition keys and removable hood pins to open the hood. Most have working steering and suspension with real materials used in interiors. Aamir said, New models have always attracted me, whereas, Eidul Fitr, was the day full of excitement for me each year because car models were presented to me as Eid gifts from my parents. Similarly, I always preferred to purchase dinkies from my Eidy.
Aamir has a variety of toy car models such as Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Pontiac, Plymouth and Dodge, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, Citroen, Rolls Royce, Rover, MG, Austin Martin, Austin Healey, Lotus, Morgan, Land Rover, Range Rover, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Isuzu, Mazda, Toyota, Lexus, Subaru, Saab, Volvo, Holden, Ford, Hyundai and others.
Talking about his wishes, Aamir said, It is my dream to drive the world s fastest sports car Bugatti Veyron. This kind of treasure takes decades to build, hours and hours of care but if you have the passion then all that hard work brings pleasure and always keeps a smile of satisfaction on your face.
Aamir also possesses antique cars such as Nascar, London Bus, London Taxi, American school Bus and Hollywood movies cars such as Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazard, Gone in 60, The Italian Job, Fast & the Furious Series, Back to the Future, the animated movie Cars and various cartoon characters. Aamir said that his parents always facilitated him in the collection of cars, especially his father told him about the matchbox dinky, made in the UK and Majorette dinky cars, made in France, which were easily available at super stores in Lahore worth Rs 10 in 1977-1978. The friction power Tin dinkies, made in Japan, were also available in Pakistan in the 70s at Rs 25.
Related:  My Passion Collection

A Different Sort of City

porn videos
Asad Badruddin
Most people will be surprised to know that urban planners can influence people s socializing habits and their choice of friends and acquaintances within a city. They can plan cities in ways that can increase ethnic tensions and they can organize cities in a way that can help people live harmoniously.
People are social animals and human beings are inclined to meet and befriend people if the right conditions are present. And vice versa: if the correct obstacles are present (whether by design or by accident) we become less inclined to meet people. The latter can lead to dangerous cases of the other and can strengthen existing biases of people. One example of this was in the 1970s and 1980s when low income housing and urban projects in American cities reinforced segregation because black communities would not be found in predominantly white neighbourhoods. In this essay I will highlight three things that are essential for cities to connect people: transport systems, parks and squares.
The railway infrastructure connecting Pakistani cities is rapidly declining and the one within cities is almost non-existent. Pakistan needs an overhaul in its intra city and inter-city transport network. Within our cities we need to have an organized and spread out system where someone can easily travel around the city without taking any cars. If Pakistan does not have the funds to start such a project, it should ask China for help in investing in a joint venture. The Chinese are themselves building a train system that is to surpass even America s rail infrastructure; their input will be extremely useful. It would be nice if any urban development that does take place has a Pakistani signature on it. Perhaps our trains can imitate Pakistan s famous bus art in this respect.
While transport systems are vital to help people connect, so are their destinations. Parks are essential for socialization in a city. They improve family life, and the health of parents and their children. A good park must be secluded from the city s noisy and smokey streets. It must be welcoming. It must also be placed at a location which allows people from different neighbourhoods to access it equally. Children, regardless of whether they are from rich or poor families, should have the luxury of playing and enjoying themselves in parks with friends.
Another very important piece that most of our cities are missing are squares or meeting places in the heart of the city, where people can just linger and where pigeons can be fed to their hearts content. London has its Trafalgar Square, Turkey has its Taksim Square and we all now know of Egypt s Tahrir Square made famous because of the revolution it spawned. Such meeting spaces are important because they help people meet and socialize. Various interest groups, social organizations and civil society can gather there. This can further promote our democratic culture and strengthen civil society groups. In Karachi the only venue that serves this kind of endeavour is the Karachi Arts Council which has over the years has generously given its space to numerous social and progressive causes and campaigns.
Today young people will often be heard complaining of boredom in the city. There is nothing to do except eat and for most young people the only way to meet new friends is through school or tuitions. A city square would provide a creative outlet for the youth to engage in. Artists could come and display their work, musicians could perform their raags to people passing by, and circus performers could enthral the on looking audience. These city squares must of course be easily accessible by bus or train, but it would be best if we can have as few cars as possible. Nothing ruins the soul of a city more than cars and traffic jams, and the noise that accompanies them. City squares can also pay tribute to our heritage of mushairas (poetry recitals). Once while interviewing gentleman about former East Pakistan for an internship, he told me that there was a large tree in Dhaka where every evening poets would gather to recite their poetry. I do not know whether this place still exists in Dhaka but a similar sort of arrangement could be organized for our major cities that are devoid of both trees and culture.

Lahore Yoga Group in Kashmir

porn videos



Images: Husain Qazi

The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara

porn videos
After what seemed like an endless run of geopolitical roadblocks, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara has finally come, six months late, from Pakistan to Asia Society. Is the show worth all the diplomatic headaches it caused? With its images of bruiser bodhisattvas, poly-cultural goddesses and occasional flights into stratosphere splendor, it is.
A figure of the Buddhist deity Hariti, an infant-gobbling demon, is on display in "The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara" at Asia Society Museum, New York. That all but a handful of the 75 sculptures are from museums in Lahore and Karachi is in itself remarkable. Any effort to borrow ancient art from South Asia is fraught, even in the best of times. For an entire show of loans to make the trip, and in a period when Pakistan and the United States are barely on speaking terms, is miraculous. (Without the persistent effort of Pakistan s ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the exhibition would almost certainly never have happened.) So the show has a cliffhanger back story as an attraction, and some monumental work, like the fantastic relief called Vision of a Buddha s Paradise. (Dated to the fourth century A.D., it s a kind of flash-mob version of heaven.)
But most of what s here is neither dramatic nor grand: a chunk of a column; a head knocked from a statue; a panel sliced from some long-since-crumbled wall. Like most museums shows aiming for a big-picture view of a vanished world, it s a scattering of small effects: precious scraps and remnants. For every stand-back-and-stare item, there are a dozen others that require close-up scrutiny and informed historical imagining to make their point.
The multi-layered and time-obscured history of ancient Gandhara is particularly difficult to grasp. The area, which encompassed what is now northwestern Pakistan and a sliver of Afghanistan, was a crossroads for international traffic. If you had business that took you to or from the Indian subcontinent, you passed through Gandhara. If you were in the business of empire building, you made every effort to control it.
Persia, under Darius I, colonized the area in the sixth century B.C. Two centuries later Alexander the Great, a Macedonian Greek and a conquest addict, charged in and charged out, leaving behind a Hellenistic occupancy, which held firm even as Gandhara was absorbed into the Mauryan empire of India, South Asia s first great Buddhist power.
Over time Greco-Bactrians, Scythians and Parthians dominated the terrain. Then, around the first century A.D., the Kushans, originally nomads from the steppe-lands north of China, settled in, extending their reach down into the Indian subcontinent.
They were genuine cosmopolitans, linked to the Mediterranean, Persia and China, and tolerant of religions. It was under their aegis that Gandharan Buddhist art, compounded of foreign and local ingredients, flourished.
The exhibition, organized by Adriana Proser, a curator at Asia Society, begins by showing elements interacting. The first thing you see is a substantial female figure carved from the dark schist that was the common stone of the region. She has a funny look, familiar but not. She s dressed in a sort of cocktail-dress version of a Roman stola; her hairdo is pure 1970s Charlie s Angels, long but with back-flipped bangs.
Because she wears a helmet, she s been called Athena in the past, though she probably represents some regional genius loci modeled, at a remove of thousands of miles, on Greco-Roman prototypes. Another female figure with comparable features has more certain identity. Much as she resembles a Roman goddess of good fortune, the three clinging children she juggles mark her as the Buddhist deity Hariti, an infant-gobbling demon, who, after a little enlightenment, changed her ways.
The culture mix thickens further. On a fragmentary stone panel we find in relief a Persian-style column with an Indian nature goddess posed in front of it. A squat stone figure in baggy Kushan pants turns out to be Skanda, the Hindu god of war. And a stele devoted mainly to sober scenes from Buddha s life doubles as a playground for dozens of cupids.
The point is, Gandharan art was all over the map. Yet confusion sparked innovation. The first known figurative images of the Buddha are thought to have emerged from this region. So did, despite all the crazy components, an instantly recognizable sculptural style, on persuasive display in the second of the show s three sections.
Here we find the classic Gandharan Buddha. Dating from the second to fifth century A.D., he is a standing figure in an ankle-length tunic and a toga like cloak that falls in rhythmical folds, with hints at the shape of the body beneath. The facial features are symmetrical and crisply cut, and idealized, though on ethnic and aesthetic terms different from those of a Greek Apollo. 
On the whole the image is naturalistic in a way that the purely Indian equivalents being carved from sandstone farther south were not. And the naturalism is especially pronounced in Gandharan images of bodhisattvas, those evolved beings who postpone nirvana to aid struggling creatures on earth.
One example from the Lahore Museum suggests a leader-of-the-pack biker: slightly paunchy, with a handle-bar mustache, a cascade of curls and a challenging stare. Technically, he s Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, though judging by his ornamental hardware emdash bicep bracelets, neck chains emdash he still has something to learn about the spiritual path of less-is-more.
The show s highlight, Vision of a Buddha s Paradise, is in this section too, and culturally everything comes together here. The big Buddha seated at its center wears an off-the-shoulder robe, South Indian tropical attire, while a couple dozen of mini-bodhisattvas around him mix and match international fashions, with no two outfits, or gestures, or poses, quite the same. Two figures gaze raptly up at the Buddha; another, chin propped on hand, looks daydreamingly away; far below, two tiny observers feed lotuses to fish in a stream.
Was this really designed as a vision of Paradise? We don t know, though we might if we had some clue as to the piece s original setting, probably as one of several related panels in an architectural context. But, as is true of most Gandharan art collected before very recent times, such information went unrecorded, and an accurate sense of what this art meant to its makers and early viewers is lost.
Ms. Proser addresses the issue of context in the exhibition s last section, which is in its own gallery, by going with what we know: that much Buddhist art from Gandhara took the form of carved narrative panels depicting episodes from the life of the Buddha; that these panels once appeared on the walls of sanctuaries or cylindrical stupa mounds; and that many of the artists were entertaining storytellers.
Their skills are evident in the sequence of a dozen or so panels arranged around a stupalike structure in the gallery. In one, the Buddha s mother, Maya, anticipates his birth in a dream, and the artist has made her look like a Roman matron en döe9shabillöe9 and asleep on her couch. But in a second panel, carved by a different artist and showing the infant Buddha being examined by a sage, we've switched countries and cultures: now we re in a land of turbans, boots and layered outwear.
A third episode takes place after the Buddha s enlightenment, as the lords of the four directions, essentially Vedic or Hindu beings, decorously offer him bowls of food. And a panel set next to that is packed with the figures of demons who had tried hard to prevent that enlightenment. The scene looks like a Wookiee convention. It s very funny, but also rich with information about armor and weaponry in use centuries ago.
For historians the value of an exhibition is in just such details, while for nonspecialists the main attraction is likely to be visual impact. Ordinarily, I d rather look at Kushan-era Buddhist art carved farther south from rosy Indian sandstone than at sculpture made in cold, dark stone in Gandhara. (Asia Society had a show of both in 1986.) But that s just personal taste, and, besides, the show has changed my mind about this: it pulses with human warmth. That s one of the things we go to great art for, though in this case, and against very long odds, some of that great art has come to us.
The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara remains through Oct. 30 at Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street; (212) 288-6400, asiasociety.org. {with thanks from Munir Alvi}

Salman Rashid on Wheels of Empire

travel videos

Salman Rashid is clearly Pakistan s most notable and erudite travel writer. His work is informed not only by deep insight but an even deeper love of his subject. A signature Salman piece welds impressive knowledge of geography, history, ethnography and ingenious and tradition with a writing style that quivers with life.


Salman Rashid is also an accomplished lensman with a sensitive eye for landscape photography that further enriches his travelogues.


In a career spanning some 30 years, he has contributed to numerous publications and authored several books including Riders on the Wind, Between Two Burrs on a map, Prisoner a Bus, Jhelum: City of the Vitasta, Sea Monsters and the Sun God and most recently the Apricot Road to Yarkand.


Those who are familiar with Salman Rashid s work (remember the Little Railway Bazaar he did and which is no less amazing than the Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux) may already know about his love for railways. He has extensively travelled on rail tracks (some of them don t even exist now) throughout Pakistan. He has inherited his love for railways from his father Abdur Rashid who was an engineer serving in railway before partition. And now Salman Rashid has recorded Pakistan Railway History in Wheels of Empire endash the book of days for the year 2012. Thanks to Saquib Hanif from Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) who has been a moving force in bringing out series of diaries Salman Rashid is doing since 2009; each one of them is equally unique. PPL's work is one very noble examples of social responsibilty of any corporation.

In Wheels of Empire - a book of days for 2012- Salman Rashid has some of the most hidden gems from glory days of Pakistan Railways (you have to believe that Pakistan Railways once was one the safest, economical and preferred mode of travel). Diary contains tales about Indus Valley State Railway, Kandhar State Railway, Chappar Rift Line, Chaman Extension Railway, Nushki Extension Railway, Attock Khurd Railwa Station, Golra Railway Museum, Sindh Sagir Railway, Rawalpindi Mianwali Line, Zohb Valley Railway, Meter Gauge Steam and Jassar Bridge; all supported by amazing imagery.

On a personal note, I am not going to write anything on Wheels of Empire sir. To me it is a book, not a book of days. It is a delight for any collector.

Related: Roads Less Travelled

Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens

travel videos

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Those who want to save on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications including discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic supplies and also want to get risk free membership to Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens.

Walgreens endash one of the largest drug stores chain in United States with more than 7,500 drugstores - is offering a special discount on annual membership for its Prescription Savings Club and a family membership offers coverage to everyone in immediate family, including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger and pets just for $10. For individuals the fee for the membership is $5. And savings are simply great. Risk free Walgreens Prescription Savings Club membership is not only easy way to save but also a great convenience. Which is why over two million are availing discount pricing on their medications as members? (If you are interested, you must get the membership before the discount expires in Jan 31, 2012. You will still be able to join after January though on normal rates).

Everyone needs medication at one point or the other in life. I suggest you take a look at Walgreens and see what they offer and how affordably. The site is information and resource rich and users friendly. Also support Walgreens and stay updated by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter. I am connected with them on both. You too must.

Virtual Travel Communities

travel videos

The virtual world is beginning to blend seamlessly with the real world. The social side of technology is making the World Wide Web much more localized by bringing like-minded people together and in the process creating closely knit online communities.
A combination of features like worldwide accessibility and instantaneous communication has made it possible for backpackers, globetrotters, and other adventurers from all over the world to join together at different online platforms to exchange information, experiences, and plans in their favorite pursuit emdash travel.
Subscribers range from the professional travel writers to hardcore travelers and adventurers and regular folks who are simply interested in reading online. Travel communities are accessible by millions of interested people all over the world.
Out of some major and lesser travel forums on the Web, I have had the good fortune to belong to a few and have been visiting some others for my travel information needs.
Exceptions apart, all virtual travel communities have some common features. Communities mostly provide a warm, trusting, and supportive atmosphere. When members share information, they do it with great care and responsibility. They rely on each other more than they do on outdated travel guidebooks or on second-hand and static information from conventional travel literature.
Visit any online community and one finds anything related to travel, along with flames and off topic comments, which are sometimes informative, sometimes funny, and occasionally annoying. The mutual exchange of information is not restricted only to destinations, affordable places to stay and dine in, security issues, maps, weather conditions there. and where to find the best bargains and how to find public restrooms or which Websites better describe any particular place (or which dress a female anthropologist going to study Kalash clan up in northern district Chitral should wear during her extended stay there). It goes much further to helping in finding work, selling and promoting each other in local markets.
Travel forums have become hunting grounds for meeting fellow travelers and making new friends. You really do not require any other reason to join a community or two, says Atoorva Sinha, who intends building up the travelers community at Mindzwine.
Carla King is a founding member of one virtual travel community called Wild Writing Women for female travelers. She emailed, When we published 'Wild Writing Women emdash Stories of World Travel' (an anthology of women s travel stories) emdash we got a lot of publicity. People wanted to know how we traveled solo and weren t afraid, and just how we went about it. We started giving workshops. We also started giving writing workshops and hosted a free monthly literary salon. People just gravitated, and we accepted them. We made a business of it and formed the online community. So it s a profitable business for us to expand the community, and also, happily, it s close to our hearts.
Members are slow to respond sometime. Chris Heidrich, the director of BootsnAll says, One has to be patient in waiting for a response from members and insiders. It should be understood that it is a voluntary favor and some people do not come on board or check email as often. Court, who is always found on board in the same community adds, Some time they may be away traveling to yet another location.
The recipients of information have to keep in mind that whatever comes is based upon individuals personal experiences or empirical observations. One member may have had different experiences than others. When I posted a query about virtual travel communities (for this article) at the BootsnAll community, the first reply referred me to Nick, the mediator at another community at Bali Blog who in turn advised me to email direct to all on his mailing list. The replies I am still receiving are varied, showing so many perspectives. There is nothing like variety, says Nick.
The virtual world is composed of information rather than physical identities. Information spreads and diffuses. Those who belong to these impalpable spaces are also diffuse, free to take it or leave it.

Travel bloggers

travel videos



































From here

Tony Smith: Kolkata's Cult of Durga (In Motion)

travel videos



I'm glad Tony Smith has now produced an audio slideshow of his work during the Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo Expedition/Workshop. The software he used to produce it is ProShow Producer, rather than SoundSlides that I normally use on my workshops. His audio slideshow is divided into chapters or segments which coincied with the different phases of the Durga Puja festival.

Tony is an Associate member of the Royal Photographic Society, and he traveled to Nepal, Bhutan, India, France, China, Spain, Morocco the USA and Canada and the West Coast of Ireland. He has attended Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Gypsy religious and secular festivals..

He worked quite hard during the Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo Expedition/Workshop to produce his audio slideshow on the festival; however and much to my disappointment, he has not added to it his narrative skills which are enhanced by his precise enunciation. Perhaps that'll happen in a forthcoming iteration?

In the meantime, I suggest you view his blog entry on his experiences at the Durga Puja during the workshop, which also has a number of his photographs of the festival.Subscribe to The Travel Photographer

POV: My Take On The World Press Photo Of 2012

travel videos

Photo öa9 Samuel Aranda-Courtesy World Press Photo

Well, the results were in from the World Press Photo 2012 contest, and it was Samuel Aranda who won the coveted title of World Press Photo of the Year 2012 award with his photograph of a veiled woman holding a wounded relative inside a mosque used as a field hospital by demonstrators against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, during clashes in Sanaa, Yemen.

Much has been said and written about whether this photograph deserved the award or didn't, and various opinions from respected photographers, editors and the like, literally flooded newspapers, websites and blogs...and on social network sites. Everyone has an opinion...and voiced it. NPR even compared the scene to the Pieta, writing "the image bears an uncanny resemblance to Michelangelo's iconic (and religious) Pieta. Along those lines, The New York Times describes it as having "the mood of a Renaissance painting."


Ah, well...is this perhaps too much artsy thinking?

Whatever.

But here's my take. I think the photograph is certainly powerful and compelling. Is it a great photograph? Maybe, maybe not...but it certainly hits home with its depiction of pain, anguish and upheaval arising from one of the countries least known in the Middle East...Yemen. This is not the often seen pictures of young protestors with painted faces or gas masks, civil war or brutal police or military violence. Just a profoundly sad image.

Another thing struck me. Here's a photograph of a scene of a badly injured protestor, lovingly cradled by a woman totally veiled, covered in a niqab and wearing gloves. While she is virtually faceless, I  sensed her pain, her suffering and agony by her body language...which no niqab can hide. Her being covered up so fully may even compound the poignancy of the scene.

And that's the power of this photograph.

And yes, niqab-wearing women are sentient human beings...they're mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and experience suffering, anguish. love and affection as we all do.

That's my take on it. And in my view, that's why it won.

Samuel Aranda was born in 1979 in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Barcelona, Spain. When he was 19, he began working as a photojournalist for El Pais and El Periodico de Catalunya. A few years later, he traveled to the Middle East to cover the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the Spanish agency EFE. In 2004, he joined Agence France-Presse, covering multiple conflicts and social issues in Spain, Pakistan, Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestinian Territories, Morocco and Western Sahara.Subscribe to The Travel Photographer

Nadia Shira Cohen: Egypt, The Burned Earth

Photos öa9 Nadia Shira Cohen-All Rights Reserved

Mohammad, Mohammad, Mohammad, she muttered. The words escaped just slightly under her breath as the tears began rolling down her face.
It's been a year and a day since Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office by the Egyptian people, and I thought it worthwhile to feature the work of Nadia Shira Cohen, which appeared in The New York Times a few days ago.

Her work focused on the Egyptian victims of the country s so-called emergency law, principally by talking with them first, and then by photographing them.

Whilst Nadia's photographs and synopsis of her conversation, or interviews, with a handful of these victims appear on her website, her photographs also appear on the The New York Times' LENS blog.

All of her interviews are painful to read...but I thought the most poignant was that of the mother of Mohammed Attiah, who's bedridden with grief at the disappearance of her son some 18 years ago at the hands of the Egyptian police.  She has never stopped saying his name since then.

Nadia Shira Cohen pursued her passion for photography at the University of Vermont, with a semester abroad at the SACI school in Florence, Italy. She worked as a photographer in New York City for the Associated Press and for Sipa Press.  She then went on to work at the VII photo agency, then moved Rome, Italy where she continues to tell stories of the lives of people who interest her and which she compassionately feels the need to expose.Subscribe to The Travel Photographer

Başlık

Konu