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Monday, April 5, 2010

Neemrana Palace


On the way back to Delhi we met Virendra, Vandanna and Veer at Neemrana Palace for a night. It was built in 1300 and something, and at some point was converted into a boutique hotel. I’m running out of hyperbole, but I think these late afternoon pics above and below will speak for me (though again, a lack of wide angle lens means the scale is just not captured). An incredible building of extraordinary size, atop a hill overlooking India. The boys and I had a blast – Ange did too – but unfortunately of the Delhi Belly version; she was just completely hammered by some grim biotic; Aiden Ev and I were fortunate to escape pretty much unscathed.

Indian innovativeness; no TV or internet connection - so best we have a quick game on the old man's phone (sigh) before crashing for the night

The next morning I got up early to look out of my window at this mist enshrouded plain below the palace with the sounds of India waking up and stretching below.  I went for a walk with the camera to the lower terraces of the palace to shoot this one.





































I like the below picture a lot, and I think it’s illustrative – life in India is tough for most of its people, in the sense that work is hard, and convenience limited. But it is also collective and therein seems joyful; people are with and surrounded by others, and beauty matters. I took this picture of five women across a valley to the side of the palace with my long lens. There was nothing on the side of the rugged hill to suggest where they were going, and it must have been a very tough trek, especially as they were carrying things. But they were together, and infinitely colourful in their rugged surrounds. 

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