Srinivas Bobbili's Travel & Photography Blog

After attending for the Holla Mohalla festival in Punjab on 1st of March I have put an end to the tour of February. I have visited three north India states of three different dominant religions, Uttarakhand (Hindu), Jammu & Kashmir(Muslim) and Punjab(Sikh). The festivals, Melas, celebrations and riots in these states during the trip made me go through three different religious fervours and got an opportunity to photograph these crowded, colourful, picturesque, religious and controversial environments.

Outcome of the hatred. Wall writing in Baramulla, Kashmir.

Go India Go….Wall writing at Baramulla, Kashmir.

During my entire travel, I have seen religious advertisements, and there is an air of religious promotions, rebirth of the religious martyrs, sign of hatred, and people suffering from a disease called religious fanaticism.

(Above)Selling religion in Haridwar…….an ad campaign of Pilot Baba Camp. During Kumbhmela, Haridwar is covered with such hoarding all over.

(Above) In Punjab…selling of China made T-Shirts during the festival of Holla Mohalla, marked by a Sikh Martyr Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star carried out by Indian Military in 1984.

For me all these seems like, the contemporary practices of religion is nothing, but just for making money, or for creating a new problems, or reminding the forgotten issues.

“In the name of religion”, Sanyasis are looting money and peace from the innocents, youth in Kashmir are been misguided, and saint soldiers are adding fuel to the smoke try getting fire out of it.

(Above) The writing by the priest sitting in yellow shirt at the Ghats of Haridwar says..”Perform Pooja to Shiva and you will get everything in this world”. And Just question what is he performing poojas for all….just spending time cheating piligrims at the ghats.

(Above) Religious Messages spreading in Posters…Bhindranwale and a Sikh child with AK-47.

So, let us beware of the contemporary religious talks and deeds. They are just a shit made out of fanatics, politics, and eventually it is for the survival of vested interests.

Coming to the terms of my photographic endeavour, during this travel, I have noticed a change in the way I see and its impact on the photographic expression. The compositions are much more refined than before with the augmented sense of colour, movement and curiosity.

Attending Melas in India, would give an endless and infinite possibilities of photographing(composing), because these celebrations are dynamic to a greater extent as millions of people crisscross in different activities. Especially the hardcore human gathering like Kumbhmela and Holla Mohalla, One can see the vast number of people everywhere ruffled in activity. Every other minute the landscape changes radically, obviously, it arouses yet an other visual feeling, with different set of colours around, people, in a word, the whole environment. But what remains always is the comprehension of life force, undoubtedly, it exist everywhere in India, and every mote of India.

Presently I am completely occupied with editing the images shot during the travel, probably I would be publishing them soon on my online gallery http://srinivasbobbili.com