A four week trip on the trains in northern
India is nearing completion. We, my
daughter Morag and me, have flitted around the country on and off trains on a 3
or 4 daily basis visiting some of the seminal sights of northern India and
seeing the country in the raw in between. And there is much to see and more
than a few surprises. But it has always
been an enjoyable and exciting experience.
A long held desire to visit India combined with Morag’s wish to get in
touch with India came together in August and September (2016).
It has been focused on photography and a search for the real
India. Sounds heroic but the camera
opens up so many avenues of engagement.
Particularly on trains as the world passes by and people engage. 2 AC is what foreigners are expected to do
and we need to book ahead. So it has
been highly structured. Varanasi, Agra,
Jaipur, Jaisalmer, and finally Amritsar with a base in New Delhi.
All at the tail end of the monsoon and summer heat. It has been hot and Varansi was particularly challenging
because of floods. But we quickly got
into the routine of going out at sunrise and returning to our hotel for 12-4 pm
and then out again for sunset. And it
works well to avoid the heat of the day.
Hotels have been good and not always budget. They have also been almost empty because this
is not the tourist season.
The trains have always been busy and it is a culture shock
but it is the real India you see. Uncensored
and trundling past your window as you wake up in the morning to the sound of
Chai or panne or much else.
For photography well I continue to shoot with the D800and
continue after 3 years to expand and improve how I use it. Perhaps it reflects the amount of time I have
recently been able to spend shooting with it.
But it is a fine tool. It has
become a reflex and the only limitation it has is its iso sensitivity beyond 3200. Which is a draw back yet given the recent
improvement in this area is hardly a criticism.
The Indian multitude wants its photograph taken. The difference between here and the UK is astounding.
Highly recommended.
Alex