Matt Brandon: Bangla Sahib Gurudwara

Photo © Matt Brandon-All Rights Reserved
Matt Brandon of The Digital Trekker blog has produced Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, a SoundSlides photo essay on the most prominent Sikh gurudwara (or Sikh house of worship) in Delhi. The gurudwara is known for its association with the eighth Sikh Guru, Guru Har Krishan, and for the pond inside its complex, known as the "Sarovar", whose water is considered holy by Sikhs. It was built by Sikh General, Sardar Bhagel Singh in 1783, who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in the same year, during the reign of Mughal Emperor, Shah Alam II.

It is situated in the Connaught Place area of Delhi, and is instantly recognizable by its stunning golden dome. While in Delhi for the Foundry Workshop, I was told of a massive Sikh religious festival occurring at the gurudwara, but I was too tired to attend it. Perhaps next year.

Tyler Hicks: Afghanistan's Elections

Photo © Tyler Hicks/NYTimes-All Rights Reserved

The New York Times is featuring Tyler Hicks' photographs of the currently under way Afghan elections in a slide show titled A Precarious Election. The accompanying article is by Carlotta Gall, and this caught my eye:

"With Taliban insurgents active in half the country, many Afghans remain doubtful that the Aug. 20 election will take place at all. The Taliban issued a statement last week calling for a boycott, a threat that could deter voters in much of the south, where the insurgency is strongest."

Reading the rest of the article, i couldn't help wondering if what we describe as the so-called Taliban are merely Pashtuns who are alienated from the increasingly corrupt government infrastructure. The pervasive and venal governance of Hamid Karzai and his acolytes is well documented, and the electoral results will surely reflect not only "irregularities" (as the New York Times rather quaintly describes them) but outright fraud. This does not bode well for Afghanistan.

I was also struck by the above photograph showing the portrait of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, prominently displayed. If he hadn't been assassinated in 2001, Afghanistan would look very different than it is today.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2009

The National Geographic Society has announced its international photography contest 2009, for which English-language-edition readers in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Republic of Ireland, South Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom are eligible to enter up to a total of six photographs across three categories: People, Places and Nature.

The contest began Wednesday, Aug. 5, and ends Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. The entries will be judged at National Geographic headquarters by a panel of three judges: National Geographic staff photographer Mark Thiessen; design editor of the international editions of National Geographic magazine Darren Smith; and White House photo editor Jenn Poggi. First-place category winners of the English-language-edition competition will win a digital camera kit.

As in all and every photography contests, I strongly encourage all interested photographers to make sure they carefully read the contests' terms and conditions, especially since misunderstandings between organizers and contestants over terms, prizes and other issues sometimes occur.

Via Imaging Insider.