Categories: myanmar, photos

Monks of Mandalay, Myanmar

In the last five years or so, I have developed a growing fascination to everyday life of Buddhist Monks. I have spent considerable amount of time watching them when they pray, work, seek alms or go through their daily chores.

It is also a happy coincidence that the countries I have visited exploring as a travel photographer in the last few years–Bhutan, Myanmar and Cambodia–have a thriving population of Buddhist Monks.

Monks in Mandalay, Myanmar

This image was made in Mandalay, Myanmar, the erstwhile capital of the Burmese Kings. Thanks to the patronage of these kings and subsequently from the general population, Mandalay is home to many monasteries and a large number of practicing and learning monks. This photograph was made early in the morning, before the sun came up in the east. This was the penultimate day of the photography tour I was leading in Myanmar. We had a few successive days of very-early morning outings, but despite that, decided that we should go out to watch the monks seeking alms in the morning hours. A short walk later, I found this bunch of young monks being lovingly fed by these restaurateurs. It’s a moment that has stayed strongly in my memory and I wanted to capture this as an image to share what I saw.


Categories: cambodia, photos

Cambodian Monks on a boat

I was walking in this small village adjoining Tonle Sap Lake, where I made this image.
Cambodian Monks
The village was a long line of houses on either side of a unmetalled road. The road was a raised mud-bank, while the houses were built on stilts to keep the water out during the high season. This place also served as a gateway to several other dwellings that are built fully over water, without road access. These monks were on their way to one such place on Tonle Sap Lake. They were getting in to boat driven by the boatman, but it rook a bit hop,skip and jump over other boats to get there.

Travel Photography: Meeting Monks in Myanmar

I have a fascination for Buddhist Monks. I have watched, interacted, admired and photographed practicing monks for many years during my travels in Ladakh, Himachal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh. They have a genial smile that quickly puts me at ease, and their photogenic faces and ochre-robes seem to attract my camera. My last encounter with monks happened at a remote village in Central Myanmar, where curiosity led me to a Buddhist monastery.

Buddhist Monks, Myanmar

This was at Ywama Village in Inle Lake region, where I was with my guide-cum-boatman to visit a market. The monastery was at the entrance to the market and I wasn’t going to miss a chance to exchange smiles with monks.