Photos

This picture was taken on the way to Chakrata in Uttaranchal from Himachal Pradesh. The roads seemed to be alive with pilgrims making slow but sure progress into the mountains...escaping the heat.
The two in front were from Jind in Haryana whereas the "monkey man" at the rear was their ticket to earning, but from Haridwar!

When I met them they seemed in danger of terminating a fragile partnership...distribution of wealth was, as is usual, the cause of discord!

The monkey man is a regular but elusive figure in Himachal. He is supposed to represent 'Hanuman' the monkey king and God who assisted Lord Rama in his fight against the ten headed Ravana...king of Lanka and abductor of Sita...Ram's wife in the world famous tale 'The Ramayana'!!!

He (the monkeyman)collects a sizeable amount of money every day but Tuesday which is Hanuman's Day is special and they almost quadruple takings!!
He needs the other two, with their large moustaches, to keep the children from throwing stones at him in order to make him dance!!
I will post another pic of him alone in a day or so..

Pic background was desaturated to a great extent as well, to experiment and be quieter than my usual colorful pics :-)))

Enjoy India!