240 - 12th - The tribal dance

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Aug'08

Mexico has a rich ancient cultural heritage in the form of the Aztecs. Aztecs were the indigenous people & the original inhabitants of the country before it was influenced and transformed by Spanish colonization.

Almost everywhere in the country you can see this cultural heritage on display. It can be seen in the form of pyramids, gastronomy or even minute expressions like tribal dances. You go out for a trip on a weekend and you can see groups of people dressed in huge tribal attires, dancing to loud thumping music of drums. A typical dance troupe has them all; men, women and children. The atmosphere has a sort of enchanting effect and you just can't help yourself from standing there and enjoying the dance for hours.

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220 - 23rd - The Red Fort

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd July'08

The Red Fort and the city of Shahjahanabad was constructed by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639 A.D. The layout of the Red Fort was organised to retain and integrate this site with the Salimgarh Fort. The fortress palace is an important focal point of the medieval city of Shahjahanabad. The planning and aesthetics of the Red Fort represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which prevailed during the reign of Emperor Shahjahan. This Fort has had many developments added on after its construction by Emperor Shahjahan. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Talking about contemporary importance, the Red fort in Delhi is a major political landmark because this is the place from where the prime minister of the country delivers his speech on the Independence Day. This was the place where the tricolor was first officially unfurled in independent India by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru

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210 - 13th - The archway

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th July'08

Though i have been living in Delhi for almost 10 years now, I never took the pain to go and explore the plethora of historical places it owns. So this time when I went to my home-town, I decided to explore the famous Lal Quila. I spent around an hour inside and it was then when I clicked this archway.

The whole premises is full of beautiful architectural work like tombs, archways and other royal residences. It was built by Shahjahan and is indeed a treat to "history-savvy" minds.

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208 - 11th - India Gate

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th July'08

India gate or the "All India war memorial" as it was originally called by its designer Edwin Lutyens, was built as a monument to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in world war 1 & the Afghan wars. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls.

At the center of the monument stands the "Amar jawaan jyoti" (the flame of immortal warrior). It consists of a rifle placed on its barrel with a soldier's helmet placed in its crest. The flame keeps on burning 24x7 and is gaurded by soldiers of Indian army 365 days of an year.

The monument looks spectacular in the darkness of the night, when it glows against the black open space.

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152 - 16th - The jungle safari

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 16th May'08

This shot is from Teotihuacan, the pyramids outside Mexico city. The place has a dedicated "tram" type travel bus to see the whole place. Since the whole Aztec construction is spread around for almost 4 square kilometers, it is practically impossible to see the whole place simply walking around.

Though I didn't sit in it, I took this shot from the top of the moon pyramid.

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143 - 7th - Ancient artifacts

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th May'08

Such small stalls are present in abundance at all the historic tourist places in Mexico. You can find small pyramid models and some pieces of art emulating the ancient Aztec art forms. The people selling them know nice English as its important for their business to survive & at the same time quote all the prices in USD. 10USD obviously sounds much better than 100 Mexican pesos :)

I bought many of these during my first trip to the country. Some of them really give a very different and authentically "tribal" look. Worth spending some money to have some memories for a lifetime.

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141 - 5th - Teotihuacan

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th May'08

Teotihuacan is an ancient Aztec city on the outskirts of Mexico City. This place is host to a bundle of temples built by the Aztecs. The main attraction of the place and actually the prominently visible constructions at the site are the Sun & Moon pyramids. These were considered to be the temples for the Sun & the Moon gods. Though most of the temples and pyramids no longer exist now you can see the architectural remains of them spread all over the place.

I took this photo from the Moon pyramid, because that is the place from where one can see the complete panaroma. The pyramid which you can see on top left is the Sun pyramid, which much higher and bigger in size than the Moon pyramid. I am providing below, some more shots of the place.

View from the Sun pyramid
Sun Pyramid - 1
Sun Pyramid - 2


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139 - 3rd - Messenger of death

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd May'08

This figure which you can see the picture is the messenger of death according to the ancient Aztec civilization. The Aztecs believed that these messengers of death are responsible for transporting the human soul between the two worlds. According to them, they are the intermediaries between the supreme power and the humans.

These figures can be prominently spotted at almost all the Aztec temples and pyramids. I took this photo at the Teotihuacan pyramids near Mexico city.

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118 - 12th - The cross

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Apr'08

The old city of Puebla is full of cathedrals. If you stand on top of the pyramid at Cholula, you can count around 20-25 cathedrals & churches spread around the vicinity. Religion seems to be an important aspect of ancient colonial Puebla.

I took this photo near the Cholula pyramid, which had many such crosses standing singularly at many places, defining the important role of religion in the ancient architecture.

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