World Cultures Portfolio/Postcards

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World Cultures South Asia Postcards

Ganges Light Ceremony

River Ganges light ceremony.jpg Ganges River Light Ceremony from Flickr [1] by user:enuseong

Dear Mom, I'm enjoying my trip to India. Everything's different here. Well I thought I might send you this card to let you know I'm all right and to tell you about my trip so far. Last night I visited the great Ganges River, considered by Hindus as the holiest river in India. Hindus even think of it as a goddess, or at least part of one. Did you know that Hindus are actually monotheistic? However, they believe that their god takes thousands of forms. Well anyway, I got to witness a religious ceremony. They had fire! I think you know about me and fire! Well, they use fire, among other things, to honor their gods. Most Indians even have a shrine in their houses where they make offerings to the gods. Also this means that Hindus do need to go to temple regularly. Jeeze, I wish I could do that; I could sleep in on Sunday mornings! India really represents a unique section of the world. I hope you're doing well Mom, I'll see you soon! -Michael

Lazmi Street

Laxmi street.jpg Laxmi Street from Flickr [2] by user:wili_hybrid - The traffic on the streets of Pune is busy with rickshaws, bicycles, buses and pedestrians. November 2006.

Dear Justin, how are you? I bet you wish you we here with me in India! Actually, I kinda wish I wasn't; all of the dust and grime does not bode well for my asthma. The air is very dirty and filled with smog. You can't see it in this photo, but I can hardly breathe! On the other hand, don't you think the colors are just amazing! I love the way this photo shows them. I tweaked it a bit in Photoshop to bring out the high levels of contrast. This technique is called "HDR."

Anyway, this is the city of Pune. It is only the 7th largest city in India, but still has around 4.5 million people! That would still count as really big in the USA! Notice the old buses and motorcycle rickshaws. They cause all of the pollution. Also note that the women are wearing these beautifully colored clothes. I can't believe how they can keep them so clean considering the rest of the land, unfortunately, gets covered in shades of gray. Lastly, look down the street, the people go on for miles. The streets are just packed here in India. This means that the traffic sucks! Can you believe you can travel for hours and not get anywhere? And don't get me started on their driving techniques when they are moving, because WATCH OUT FOR THAT TRUCK!!!!!. Sorry, my driver's a little crazy (and he's not the only one). Hope I make through this alive, Plaz