gujarat

in ahmedabad, gujarat's capital...

its around 44-45 degrees, and thats hot by any means.

making photos are not at all easy.

the only way is to shoot either in the evenings or early mornings,

weaving my way through crazy traffic of a'bad,

as i was enjoying the meat samosas,

someone taps on my shoulder and asks, ...you a foreigner?

i reply, no!

"...NID (national institute of design) student then?"

no!

why else would you take photos here then?

what could i say to that... was left speechless.

there are somethings one cannot explain... so i let it be.

carried on... shooting of course!

this is manipur for you..

Here is one clichés

rajasthan.

colour.

turban clad man, smoking bidi.

there, i shot a cliché

so what?

on way to Pushkar

guess what i found on my way to pushkar...

was expecting to find chai somewhere along, 

found cafe coffee day instead!!

things we do when we travel alone...

take self portraits!

who wants a cold drink?

i do!

Holy Quran

during one of my visit to a madrasa in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh

 

chai break

soft porn in lucknow

b grade soft porn films

5 shows a day, daily.

title: ek baar pyar karo (love me one time!)

somehow reminds me of jim morrison.

stare.

luck now

afternoon harsh light, love it.

i smile

i smoke... 

i build... 

someone else dream...

maya's dream.

i smile.

nightrider of lucknow

UP galore...

heading out again... this time to lucknow - again!!

benares after that...

may be ayodhya...

gorakhpur...

same dodgy places, some dodgy people, some not...

guns, votes, jails, power, caste... mix of all

lots expected...

excited.

am back home, on my desk...

keith tries my G10 and takes this photo...

read like a chinese. Chinese + English = Chinenglish

Ah Kaw  was asked to make a sentence using1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 

Not only did he do it 1to 10, he did it again from 10 back to 1.

This is what he came up with..... 

1 day I go 2 climb a 3 outside a house to peep. 

But the couple saw me, so I panic and 4 down.

 

The man rushed out and wanted to 5 with me. 

I ran until I fell 6 and threw up.

 

So I go into7-eleven and grabbed some 8 to throw at him. 

Then I took a 9 and try to stab at him. 

10 God he run away.

10 I put the 9 back and pay for the 8 and left 7-eleven. 

Next day I called my boss and told him I was 6. 

He said 5, tomorrow also no need to come back 4 work. 

He also asked me to go climb a 3 and jump down. 

I don't understand. 

I am so nice 2 him but I don't know what he 1. 

trip has come to an end... for now!

we ended our trip little earlier than we expected...

rushed back home...

been a fantastic trip.

loved it.

will head back soon...

soon.

us on our jeep

stopped for lunch on our way to patna... 

lunch my mother packed for us.

back on the road...through bihar this time...

bizarre things we saw through the wind screen...

dusty roads (or no roads really!)

a jeep upside down...

the damaged tractor (probably) next to it, in pieces,

a young kid tries to pull his buffalo...

photos: suzanne lee

this is darjeeling...

the tea,

the tea garden,

the tea factory,

the tea tasting,

the train, 

the hill roads,

the heritage hotel, 

the streets, 

the little shops,

gorkhaland shop,

dogs,

this is darjeeling...

...we were there, and we loved it...

you would too...

must go.

all photos: suzanne lee

on New America Media radio in the US

was interviewed by the NPR when I was in San Francisco for a story i did...

he(ar)re it is...

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b4add94d548789db61a331f833e53060

darjeeling streets

walked around photographing... peacefully

no one bothered

no one asked any question

no one stared

no one seemed to care

everyone was going on with their daily chores...

love darjeeling!