A PICTURE IS WORTH MORE THAN WHAT MEETS THE EYE

When expressions speaks louder than words and when life is captured in a moment- this is what I call a breathtaking picture. If you closely observe any form of art, a brilliant piece of photography or a near real painting, each has a story to tell. In its own subtle and colorful way it uses a tiny window of reality to communicate with us.

Imagine a gallery full of images and paintings, each representing a different aspect of faith. One showing Ganga Puja at Rishikesh, the other showing a girl sitting on the floor in a mosque and the third showing the vast expanse of the Golden temple at Amritsar. Each picture is a depiction of faith, of belief in an unknown power. While there might be a common thread of faith that connects all of them, yet each has its own story to tell. Each has a vibrant history attached to it and conveys volumes about the present.

Most people who view a picture analyze it from two extremes. One who would look at the technical aspect and say the light is perfect and the angle is great. While the other would be layman’s view which will take an instant in saying it’s a nice picture just like they would say nice to a dress or a movie.

Most of these look ‘at’ the picture but only a handful will look ‘into’ it. An old man with a wrinkled face and eyes that have seen the world is sitting with his hands on his lap. He is wearing 32 rings in his fingers. To some this will be a boring picture but to some it will be an image that conveys rustic belief. An image of India as a land of snake charmers, elephants and people who believe in the power of the supernatural. A picture that speaks volumes of what our predecessors believed in. It is a story of blind faith.

You might say that the beauty with which a picture conveys a story lies in the hands of the artist and on how well he is able to capture it.

This brings me to conclude with the fact that while talent might lie in skill of the painter or photographer but the ability to truly comprehend and appreciate it lies in the wisdom of the onlooker.

RISHIKESH- FAITH & RELIGION ALL IN THE NAME OF THE RIVER

The gurgling and overpowering sound of the Ganges permeates the fresh & clean air. Far away you can see the trees swaying to the tune of the water. Bells ringing, people chanting; it almost seems like the mighty river rules both man and nature.

While the river rules the land, it’s here where religion and faith seem to converge. The natives of the land seem to worship the river and make religion their business. Old women fervently chanting at the Ganga Puja, foreigners dressed in yellow and orange, bedecked with Rudraksh beads seem to be under some spell. It’s hard to say if this spell can be called faith or religion. It almost seems like people here have surrendered to a power. The purity of the water & the power of the river has left all spellbound.

Religion has become the livelihood of the people here. Pious music, ornaments, religious books, incense sticks all sold in the name of religion. Millions throng to this city from faraway lands, in the name of what? Faith or religion or is it to see the pious India? (Traditionally known as the land of snake charmers).

The concoction of faith and religion is at its concentrated best in Rishikesh. It’s hard to decipher where one ends and the other begins. While religion seems to be more commercial, faith seems to be the spiritual undercurrent that governs all.

Sitting at the banks, when the cold water touches my feet and the bells in the temple chime, I begin to decipher the difference between faith and religion. I begin to understand that faith is beyond the realms of reasoning. Faith is like the river Ganga- no one knows precisely when and where it originates from and where it ends. The only overpowering truth is that it exists and is a driving force.

Faith is the river itself and religion, devotion, divinity are the paraphernalia which are nothing but manmade, superficial and commercial entrapments.  At the heart of it all resides the belief and the faith that is as pure and as natural is the river. It has no religion and has no reason for its existence.