What is exotic to one person is ordinary and everyday to another. Given that, there is something that seems pleasant to me about these these photos that isn’t entirely down to the strangeness of the scenes to a Western eye.
The first photograph is of two men who were relaxing on a bench facing Lake Pichola at Udaipur. Behind them is part of the old city wall. To the left of the gentlemen – out of the frame – there is a huge gateway that is permanently open and seems redundant now. Perhaps once it served a real function in defending the city from an attack from the lake.
Certainly the history of Rajasthan is one of battles and wars against the Mughal Empire, and each town has its fort.
This second photo is from the center of Bundi, at the end of a street that was filled with men making metal pots by hammering them – so the noise from this street was terrific – but didn’t stop this conversation.
