Turbans of Rajasthan

[Rajan Parrikar]

More in my blog post.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

That's a fine set of portraits, Rajan.
Can you tell me just what instrument the third one is playing? A Sitar? Dilruba? Something else?

[Rajan Parrikar]

That's a fine set of portraits, Rajan.
Can you tell me just what instrument the third one is playing? A Sitar? Dilruba? Something else?

Eric,

He belongs to a sect of itinerant folk musicians known as the Bhopas.  I recently made a separate post on them here.  The ancient instrument he is playing is known as Ravanahatta, and it is considered to be a precursor of the modern violin family.  A couple of videos on YouTube -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRUW0IF-emc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4FFNe14O8

[francois]

That's a fine set of portraits, Rajan.
…

I agree 100%! Fantastic faces with rich colors. I don't know why but looking at those portraits makes me feel like Welcome in India.

[stamper]

Worth the effort to post them. A good colour palette.

[langier]

+1!

[William Walker]

Rajan, with respect, I think that it is brave to step into "Steve McCurry territory"!

I cannot help but make that association when I see these pictures. Perhaps I am being unfair...is this Steve McCurry territory?

[PeterAit]

Excellent! And, I might add, one of the best mustaches ever.

[RSL]

William's got a point. This literally is Steve McCurry territory. Actually, good portraits are good portraits wherever they're made, but geography breeds commonality. These are good portraits and Peter's right: One of the best mustaches I've seen in the past 84 years.

[Rajan Parrikar]

Thank you, gentlemen.  India is a good place for photography provided one is willing to sacrifice comfort.

William, at the time I took these shots (2007), I hadn't heard of Steve McCurry :-).

[RSL]

Right, Rajan, not many people had. My point was that if you make portraits in India they're going to look like Steve's portraits. You can't avoid it.