The Lotus Eaters

Pale watchers weary of watching stars
That fall, and fall, and forever fall,
Tear-worn and troubled with many scars,
They seek the Lotus and end life's thrall.

Where Do I Begin...

Begin at the very beginning, perhaps before the Dawn of Time itself
Begin at the very precipice of darkness before light first flared up..
Begin in the instant before the universe burst onto the scene....

The search for answers (if there are any) perhaps will one day satisfactorily answered
and maybe the answer to that ultimate question of Life, The Universe & Everything
will be something other than 42..

Till then keep wandering and wondering Across The Universe.

Fiona Apple Cover Version of Beatles original on YouTube

Watching The Watcher.

A Face In The Wall., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

Over the mountain, watching the watcher
Breaking the darkness, waking the grapevine
One inch of love is one inch of shadow
Love is the shadow that ripens the wine

Witness the man who raves at the wall
Making the shape of his question to heaven
Whether the sun will fall in the evening
Will he remember the lesson of giving


(lyrics adapted from "Set The Controls for the Heart of the Sun by Pink Floyd)

Orchidea.

Orchidea., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

If you were to be a flower
I wish you'd be a Wild Orchid

You so unique and wild.
With a soul different from them all
Different to touch, to hold, to look at.

Ebb & Flow

Evenflow., originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

When the sun set in the evening
An orange moon began to rise
As if the sea itself were burning
And flames leapt towards the skies

We share this world, my love and I
Parallel these shores we reside
We live and love as time goes by
With each changing of the tide

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Jonathan Livingston Seagull, originally uploaded by The Wandering Hermit.

"The gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere, slowly.
Those who put aside travel for the sake of perfection go anywhere, instantly..."

Richard Bach.

The Roof Of The World TIBET

Tibet has been in the news recently and after having visited there last year, I am quite interested to see what will transpire in Tibet in this year when China holds the Olympics. Tibet will undoubtedly be the most controversial topic this year and as the games get nearer it will be interesting to see whether the native Tibetans can garner world sympathy and opinion to their plight under China.



These photographs were taken last year during my stopover in Lhasa, Tibet..

Although it was a peaceful demonstration still a lot of police were out and it was mostly young people who made up the crowd . In the afternoon the police cleared out the square of all foreigners and then dispersed this crowd with a lathi charge and tear gas, but they were back the next day too and shouting that soon they would resort to other means if their demands were not met by peaceful demonstrations... I guess the latest riots show that the ire of the Tibetans has finally broken loose of the government apathy towards them.


The Tibetans were protesting the Hanization of Tibet. Its a policy pursued by the Chinese government which gives people of mainland China tax rebates and extra pay for working in Tibet and often these Han Chinese look down upon the Tibetans as Second Class Citizens and consider them uncivilized and religious fools. Their food mostly comes from the mainland and the 2 communities seldom fraternize with each other. There are more Hans in Tibet these days than Tibetans and it is mostly the Hans who control key government positions and businesses even with the curio stalls around Lhasa there were many more Han Chinese than Tibetan owners.

This is one of the many reasons for Tibetan discontent specially among the younger generation who have grown up under such regressive policies and deny them a level playing field with other Chinese when it comes to jobs and education.

My overall impression after my visit was that the Han Chinese and Tibetans live together in a co operative segregation: language, food, dress. religion and attitudes divide them. People bought up on Noodles don't like to switch over to a staple rice diet and vice versa.



This is poster from McLeod Ganj, where the Tibetan government in Exile is Headquartered.