JUNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Every religion on earth has its origins in culture. All systems of belief can be traced directly to a country and language but the word culture is a very inadequate way to describe the complexity of people who are bonded by much more than a faith based doctrine. Often they are connected by oral traditions and gatherings that while steeped in religious ceremonies, are more often than not a way of continuing on the gift of belonging to a group. 
In this way we have maintained a wonderful diversity on this planet that enriches us all. At this time in history we are experiencing a clash of cultures that has created a division based on fear. As always, it is the artist who brings peace through the clarity and unbiased perspective of their gift. One such artist is photographer Rohit Gautam. In the following group of ten photos, Rohit shares a fascinating, candid and balanced view of the annual Urs of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Festival that was held in Ajmer City in Rajasthan recently. Many of the images are breathtaking in their depiction of devotion that is sometimes brutal but more often beautiful and fragile. Rohit Gautam does much more than take photos, he extracts truth and gives it to our hearts. I won’t preface these photos as I feel they need to be experienced wordlessly by the viewer because quite frankly, these images are each a complete work of art that when strung together build a  collage of a culture enjoying its uniqueness and the act of belonging to one another.

To see more of Rohit Gautam’s photography you can friend him on facebook and follow him twitter