Archive for January, 2013

Why don’t Indians Read?

Why don’t Indians Read?

I believe, one of the main reasons why we don’t read in India is because historically in the East the exploration has always been within. If you want any answers you look within rather than without.


Interview in Kyoorius Magazine

Interview in Kyoorius Magazine

Sanjay Austa is a name to be reckoned with in the world of photojournalism in India. Austa started out as a journalist and gradually switched to photography. His first assignment as a photojournalist was an ardous expedition to Kanchenjunga where he documented the indian army’s climb to the summit.
Austa asserts that for a photojournalist the story behind a photo is every thing, ”Most of the photo-essays I work on are stories which I think are important to me…


Kumbh Mela- And the Great Churning of Superstitions.

Kumbh Mela- And the Great Churning  of Superstitions.

The Kumbh Mela does no service to Hinduism. Rather it presents a very narrow, clichéd and archaic picture of this versatile religion. Thanks to events like the Kumbh, Hinduism has become a mere Brahaminical ritualistic mumbo jumbo. Hinduism of the Upanishads that expounds on existentialism, and a deep personal inquiry is virtually unknown to the Hindus or is completely lost to them.
Only a sustained public discourse on the subject can restore Hinduism to the heights of wisdom the great Upanishadic mystics had elevated it to. Otherwise Gurus like Assaram will continue to emerge from the woodwork and try and define it for us.


Safdarjung’s Tomb. The Flawed Mughal Monument

Safdarjung's Tomb. The Flawed Mughal Monument

The main dome itself seems a bit out of place compared to the domes of other Mughal Mosoleums. The domb here is somewhat extended at the top giving it the ‘onion’ look. The dome and other places where marble is used has a rough patchwork look to it. Thats because most of the marble used in Safdarjung Tomb was marble plundered from other tombs-most notable the tomb in Nizamuddin of Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, Akbar’s protege,


A Mosque, a Temple and a Gurudwara- All Under One Roof.

A Mosque, a  Temple and a Gurudwara- All Under One Roof.

One of the main triggers of religious conflict in India particularly between the Hindus and the Muslims has been over places of worship. The demolition in 1992 of the ancient Babri Mosque at Ayodhya by the Hindu religious right who claimed it was the birthplace of Lord Ram, is just one example. Many religious sites […]


An Interview with Documentary Photographer Sanjay Austa

An Interview with  Documentary Photographer Sanjay Austa

Sanjay Austa is a Delhi based documentary photographer who is widely published in International Media including the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic Traveller, The Sunday Guardian, Departures, Centurion, Mint-WSJ, Outlook Traveller etc. His photo-feature on the 1984 anti-Sikh Delhi riots was exhibited in California and UK by various human rights groups in 2009 and 2010 respectively.