William Darlymple's Nine Lives

Despite Thai Airways' efficient service and the knowledge that I would have a row all to myself as the flight was only half full, spending 12 hours on the flight from Bangkok to London wasn't something I looked forward to. However I bought William Dalrymple's new book Nine Lives to keep me company during the long haul flight.

I had high expectations that this book would be highly enjoyable and informative, and was glad to have found it in paperback version at the airport's bookstore. I'm almost 2/3 through it and have to say that, whilst it's not as well written as the author's previous books, it is nevertheless extremely educational.

Nine Lives is described as an Indian Canterbury Tales, and introduces us to 9 characters with varied and different lives. I thought The Nun's Tale (a poignant portrait of a Jain nun), The Dancer of Kannur (a Theyyam performer) and The Red Fairy (a Sufi female ascetic) to be the most magnetic of the characters, and provide an extraordinary insight in their worlds that most of us can't imagine.

I wish I had read The Dancer of Kannur before my Theyyam of Malabar photo expedition, and will re-read The Red Fairy before my periodic visits to the Sufi shrines in Delhi.illiam

Bhutan Field Report: Group Photograph

Photo © Ugen Dorji-All Rights Reserved
Well, all good things have to have an end and the Bhutan: Land of the Druk Yul photo-expedition came to its end a couple of days ago. Our stay was extended for 24 hours due to heavy rain in Paro which meant that our scheduled Druk Air flight was unable to take off to Bangkok, but we made it out the following day October 8th. I had the foresight to advise the group members to give themselves an additional day in Bangkok as a buffer against such an eventuality.

In my view, the highlight of the trip was a photo shoot during which we documented a traditional exorcist at work in a farmhouse. He was called in to exorcise evil spirits out of a child and a middle-aged woman. In due course, I will post a photo gallery of these photographs. A totally photo journalistic event which led itself extremely well to some of our collective interests and photo styles.

The group photograph above was taken by Ugen Dorji, our guide, fixer and the go-to-man all through our 15 days expedition in Bhutan. Don't be fooled by the serious expression adopted by these photographers...it's only for the camera.

From the left: Graham Ware, Jenny Jozwiak, Kayla Keenan, our wonderful driver Norbu, Kim McClellan, Carlos Amores, Dan Bannister, Nuray Jemil and group leader Tewfic El-Sawy. The photograph was made against the rock painting of Guru Rimpoche on the way to the Tango monastery in Thimpu.

I shall post a complete verdict of the Bhutan: Land of the Druk Yul photo expedition in due course, however I will not disclose the location and details of the exorcism's photo shoot for obvious reasons. Our land travel agent and I worked hard to make this photo shoot happen as it did, and I have no intention of sharing this information with others, especially as we were told that this event was rarely witnessed by non-Bhutanese.

Bhutan Field Report: Ura Goempa

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Besides the tsechus festivals in Wangdue and Tamshing, we were privileged in attending a funerary ritual at the Ura monastery. It appears that a prominent judge in the Ura valley region had died, and funerary rites were being held at the ancient monastery and goempa, as we arrived. Having secured the permission from the head monk of the temple, we trooped in the main chamber along with around 30 monks, who started chanting.

We were told that this was the first time that foreign photographers were allowed to photograph inside the goempa (temple) as it hold extremely sacred wall murals. We had given our assurances that we would not photograph them. The ritual was the first of its kind that I've ever witnessed in Bhutan. It involved monks stretching a sacred string from the altar where the holy statutes are kept to the seat of the head monk. This string is designed to facilitate the transmission of the deceased soul to the heavens.

Another interesting event was the monks' debate at the Kharchhu monastery, which overlooks the town of Jakar. Around 300 monks meet in its main courtyard and debate philosophical issues of the Buddhist tradition. The debate is held in Sanskrit language and is intensely heated. This is another event I've never witnessed before. Depending on the quality and diversity of the images I've captured, I'll probably produce a multimedia essay on this particular debate in due course, as I've also recorded some of the audio.

While waiting for a lunch of pizza and spaghetti bolognaise at the Swiss Guest House Restaurant, I was interviewed by the Bhutan National Television.

We are two-thirds through our photo-expedition, and many of us have exceeded 100 gigabyte in images already!