I visited Rishikesh and Dharamshala in 2014. I was on my way to the abandoned Beatles ashram. A derelict collection of ruins that once belonged to Chaurasi Kutia Ashram, the group personal spiritual leader. It is where most of the songs for the acclaimed 'White Album' were composed. This post is not about the ashram, I will post about that soon. However the 5 mile walk through the eastern villages of Rishikesh were full of culture and quirk and I wanted to present a collection of 6 imagesI took on that journey.
I didn't see many donkeys in India, just cows, dogs, cats and more cows. However up in the north a working donkey seemed to be a valuable asset. This particular specimen was nibbling some moss of a wall. Nom nom.
I thought this guy was interesting, he allowed me to take his portrait. In the end he turned out to be quite a nasty peice of work. After I took up no more than 30 seconds of his time, was polite and honest. He got annoyed because I wouldn't buy anything from his shop. I did get the free gift of profanities thrown at my wife, best to just walk away. I'm the visitor here.
Okay, a wee treat. This is actually a modern addition to the Ashram, probably built in the 50s, it contained a collection of interesting graffiti, but apart from that the inside was a repetitive hive of small identical living spaces.
Two monkeys debate life beneath a tree, hiding from the harsh midday sun. I'm always cautious around these fella's. They are little camera grabbers, and if your not careful, swoosh an your camera is gone. I had the pleasure of watching monkeys during sunrise in Varanasi from the rooftops, again another story and more photographs for another day.
More wall munching, let me know if you know why these animals are so into walls?
I want to finish this post with a landscape taken in Dharamshala from the public gardens of the Dalai Llama. I like to see Buddhist Prayer flags in black and white, helps you focus on the shapes and sheer vast number of prayers. They are such colourful objects that often I am distracted by the glow, probably because I'm always a little bake haha.
I hope you enjoyed these images, let me know which one is your favourite or if you hated them all that's also cool with me.
Till next time,
Cotton!