A Religious Month

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival, South London – September 11, 2010

September 11th 2010 was a special day in the Hindu calendar, marking the birthday of Ganesh – one of the most revered Hindu gods.

In India and other parts of South Asia this is celebrated on a huge way, and I was lucky enough to experience this a couple of years ago in Mumbai – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=132

It’s not quite on the same scale here, but in this normally uneventful part of South London, known for its crime rate more than anything else, it’s a nice surprise to see a colourful procession go by.  I was caught by surprise as it wasn’t publicised and only realised it was happening when I heard the music outside.  A local temple organised it and they paraded a statue of Ganesh around the block.

I didn’t notice her arm when I took this..only after I uploaded it:

Bystanders stood and watched with curiosity while others like the woman on the left above, brought her hands together as a sign of respect and prayer.

Fruit and flowers are offered to Ganesh:

It was getting darker.. good job I was using the 50mm f1.8. Grainy but works without needing flash.

Regarding the above, notice the sign for ‘Beau Dogs’, still with an ‘0181’ number.  If you don’t live in the UK, this number was discontinued 10 years ago.  FYI – the shop is owned by a lady with around 50 poodles and is never open to the public.  To the right is a Crispy Fried Chicken shop – one of only 50 on the high street.  Below is one of the 20 barber shops on the same street.  Welcome to South London. I’m available for tours.

The procession turned into the temple’s entrance, where the statue of Ganesh will remain for another year:

There was a great atmosphere, and it’s good to see a local event like this, which rarely happens.

Ramadan 2010

On the topic of religion, over the last month Ramadan has taken place – of course the most important month in the Islamic calendar.  I took some images one Friday at the East London Mosque.

(Apologies for the watermark – the original images are on another computer.)

So, Happy Eid to those who celebrate it, and Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to those who celebrate it! I don’t have any images relating to it, but Happy Rosh Hashanah to all my Jewish friends.  Keeping with the religious theme, next week I bring you the Pope.  Or should I say, a tiny dot which will supposedly be the Pope.

On a different note, my site (i.e. what you lovely readers are looking at right now) was named ‘Blog of the Month’ in Better Photography, India’s most popular photography magazine.  I don’t have a clue how it ended up in there but thanks to everyone who has mailed me about it.  Since it’s only available in India, here is a scan of what was written (courtesy of an Indian photography student called Abhisek Das):

I have to say it really caught me by surprise and meant a lot.  It’s also great to know I have such an international audience, but then again, my site stats tells me I have more non-UK viewers than I do UK ones.  In fact, most of you are apparently from the US, followed by India, which is no surprise considering the amount of blogs I have on India!

All comments, emails and support are always appreciated, and thank you for looking, as always.

Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival

August 30th, 2010

An August Bank Holiday means one thing – Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s larget street party, where the posh streets of London are transformed into one big rubbish tip.

Then again, the rubbish is totally worth the atmosphere and music – by far the best street party of the year.

There were around 40 separate soundsystems playing all kinds of music from Ska to Dubstep to Reggae.  This was Channel One’s soundsystem:

It was one of the best without a doubt.  I took these pictures when it was less crowded.  After a few hours it was impossible to get into this area so going before 3pm is key to enjoying the carnival! Too many people = less fun.

A short video I took – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTTCRRwyQfs

£1.50 to take a piss? Isn’t THAT taking the piss?

Vuvuzelas might have been banned by UEFA but were out in force here:

I can’t remember the name of this soundsystem but it was pretty funky:

Letting your arse hang out is not cool, even if you are wearing Ed Hardy boxers:

Very cool burger man who persuaded us that his £3 hotdog was far more superior to the guy next to him selling an icecream for the same amount.

Had this instead:

Jerk chicken, rice and peas  – it had to be done.

Toilet queues:

The BBC 1 Xtra soundsystem was the busiest – and most overrated:

Somehow we managed to walk through the crowds to leave it, and police had blocked off the exit so no one could enter it from here.  This was the only place we encountered some trouble, when someone threw some glass bottles.  Unfortunately this kind of trouble has deterred a lot of people from going to the Carnival, which is a shame really.

It was in that crowd I dropped my watch for about the 6th time. I’ve dropped it down a drain in India, as well as lost it in crowds numerous times here and abroad, yet someone still ends up finding it for me! In this case, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if it was mine. Very lucky watch. Kind of pointless story I suppose.

This man stood outside his house with his own ‘mini’ soundsystem:

The best soundsystem was Sir Lloyd which mostly played Dubstep and surprisingly wasn’t crowded at all.

There were lots of very good random acts performing on street corners.

The carnival must have the most Ed Hardy gear in one place at one time.

Most of the houses and shops were boarded up – no doubt in case riots took place like last year.

This man was walking around the streets with his “pet snake” as he put it. I thought it was a fake until it almost licked my face.   I have to say, it was a great way for him to get people out of the way!

It just occurred to me that I took no pictures of any floats or performers – for a change ; )

Sadly, the Notting Hill Carnival also marks the end of summer.  I’m positive we have a few more days of hot weather left though..! Summer can’t be over yet.. it’s gone far too quickly.

Thanks for looking, as always!