The Al-Wahidhiyyah Arabic College in Kalmunai is a small privately funded school for boys. Like the Christian Parochial Schools, nowadays rare in Europe, this school teaches along the official government curriculum, but gives special religious lessons. The boys were interested to use the little English they knew, and really open and friendly. I hope they…
Not from Sri Lanka, rather from a wintery and dark Bavaria, are the new Wallpapers for January available for download from here
Well, on New Year’s Evening, a widely thrown out net could be a suitable starting point for a long, personal reflection about the coming year. And with that image I wish all of you, around the world, a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Koduvamadu/Periyapullumalai, Sri Lanka, 2010. See also here, 2009.
Summarizing what is all our work about in one picture: Providing clean drinking water to families who couldn’t afford up to now. See also here, here, or here – many of the posts in the Batticaloa category target this subject.
These images are exemplary for the joy I have in photography afterwards. When visiting beneficiary families to inspect the rainwater harvesting tanks, photographs first of all serve documentary purposes. Making images for another purpose has to remain subordinate, especially when there are some 30 more places to visit. But during the talking with the families…
Roughly 3.500 km to the west, in the middle of the Arabic world, the Commercial aspects of christmas seem to overcome all religious sensibilities or regulations applicable outside of the touristic money machines.
I could have known that Dec. 24th would need a post prepared well in advance. So here is, for the given reason, the image of a mother with her son in the village of Koduvamadu, a place where our project has built rainwater harvesting tanks. I like the open and optimistic smile of the lady,…
Christmas without doubt is the most child centered event in the western culture. This fact of course makes it an easy target for economic exploitation, something which evokes grimmer feelings the elder I grow. But this increasing distance in age and the experience with my own kids also grows genuine interest in kids’ lives and…
When evaluating possible project sites for rainwater harvesting tanks, we were visiting several villages. For a very simple reason the women were most interested in these units: They are the ones who toil and sweat when the traditional well provides no water during the two annual dry seasons, and they suffer with their kids and…
As we are nearing Christmas (C-4 to quote Earl), I decided to switch subject.
Found next to Beira Lake, in the center of Colombo.
Colombo, Duplication Rd.
I found those two matching garage doors not far from each other in the small town of Oddaimavadi on the east coast of Sri Lanka.
Found in the southern town of Galle in Sri Lanka. As it was the very begin of the tourist season, the beach still belonged to the locals.
Galle, Sri Lanka. The shutter did actuate itself.
Note the excellent pelvis move of the gentleman in white. Only seconds before he had somewhat posed when descending from the bus, but then the driver got annoyed. You can listen to some seconds of the original sound here: [audio://markus-spring.info/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2010/12/00018_Galle_BusStation2-part1.mp3|autostart=no]If you don’t like this sound autoplay, please let me know for future reference.
Colombo mural, Duplication Rd.
Found near Thurstan Rd. (if the GPS coordinates are correct) and on Galle Rd., Colombo.
Lack of colonial knowledge makes me wonder about the connection between authorized vehicles and barefoot staff.
R. A. de Mel Mawatha, Colombo. Those oversized billboards already at home create a feeling of them being somewhat out of place. In places like Colombo, this becomes overwhelming.
Found in Jayawardane Mawatha, Colombo.
Just taking up the relationship between religion and money, started in the comment section of yesterday’s post: Despite of the strong influence of the Buddhist religion in Sri Lanka, the originally christian custom of giving wrapped presents for christmas has gained strong foothold here as well. Just think of the christmassy decorated tusks here. F.Y.I.…
The Jesus sticker on the wall in yesterday’s image sparked a short conversation with Martina about the presence of private religious symbols in the streets of different countries. Carl Weese from time to time shows such shrines in the U.S., mostly in suburban gardens, if I remember correctly. Despite being a Buddhist country, where the…