Here is an event alert for people in Ahmedabad. An excellent collection of images from Myanmar by Dr.Hiren Shah will be exhibited at gallery ‘Amdavad ni Gufa’. The exhibition opens tomorrow evening and will be on display till Feb 22nd.
I am especially delighted of the fact that Dr.Shah’s images on display were all made during my photography tour to Myanmar with Darter Photography.
Not to be missed, if you are in Ahmedabad. Details in the invite below.
Also see: Our photography tour to Myanmar
For most visitors to Myanmar, Yangon is just a Port of Entry to arrive in the country. After a quick visit to Shwedagon Pagoda, they move on towards other destinations such as Inle Lake, Bagan or Mandalay. But there is much to do and see in Yangon other than Shwedagon Pagoda. Here is a quick guide to spending two days in the city.
Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon.
Yangon, Day 1
Start your day early in the Streets of Yangon. One of the most cherished experiences of Myanmar is watching the Buddhist monks and nuns walk silently in a line as they seek alms. They are normally out at the break of dawn with a small pot hanging on their shoulders. With a large number of monasteries spread across the country and very densely present in the cities, there is no specific place you need to wait for them. Just ask your hotel staff for the nearest place where they normally walk by. You can silently watch them come and go or follow them without disturbing them. Of course, you are welcome to contribute.
I travelled extensively in North-East India last December, exploring many remote and rural locations in Assam, Nagaland and Meghalaya. There were many things common in photographing people across the three states – they were all very friendly, approachable and also very shy. One experience that stood out among all these was a short time we spent in a small village of Rangma Nagas on our way to Kohima.
We were on a long drive from Mokokchung—a small town in the northern part of Nagaland—to Kohima on a pleasant sunny afternoon. We stopped for a short break nearly an hour before reaching Kohima, in a small village inhabited by Rengma Naga people. At the road leading off the main road to the village, we met a man holding a rifle who saw us and stopped by for a conversation. He was out hunting birds, and did not seem to have any catch that day.
A few minutes into our introductions, he invited us into the village and called us home for a cup of tea. It was a pleasant surprise to be invited home by a complete stranger and we were more than glad to tag along. At his small but beautiful dwelling, we were welcome by the lady of the house who quickly got around to lighting the stove and making some black tea. We did not even speak each other’s language, except one of us who spoke a bit of Nagamese and interfaced us.