AshtangaNews

Normally we like to talk about, well, Ashtanga. Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga to be precise.

Sometimes, it’s nice to look at the bigger picture, and in this post, we invite you to look at an India that’s maybe a little different from the one that many foreigners – and possibly because of the practice, Ashtangis moreso than others – usually think of when they think India.

As an example, as of today, Flickr had 244,575 photos tagged India, and the photos on the first several pages of those deemed Most Interesting, depict that ancient, sometimes decrepit, thoroughly unmodern, yet warm and colorful world that is stereotypical India.

A few of the 244,575 photos tagged “India” on Flickr

India, however, is a lot more like the U.S. than you might think. Fareed Zakaria wrote that about India in India Rising in the March 6, 2006 issue of Newsweek:

…India, one of the poorest countries in the world, looks strikingly similar to the world’s wealthiest country, the United States of America. In both places, society has triumphed over the state.

The country might have several Silicon Valleys, but it also has three Nigerias within it, more than 300 million people living on less than a dollar a day. India is home to 40 percent of the world’s poor…

But that is the familiar India, the India of poverty and disease. The India of the future contains all this but also something new. You can feel the change even in the midst of the slums.

Definitely take a look at the full article, and take a look at some photos of India that are a little different from the usual fare at AshtangaNews. (Thank you to Bala for pointing out this story to us.)

Traffic in Rajasthan

Traffic in Mumbai

India is, by all accounts, the most pro-American country in the world. The Pew Global Attitudes Survey, released in June 2005, asked people in 6 countries whether they had a favorable impression of the United States. A stunning 71 percent of Indians said yes. Only Americans had a more favorable view of America (83 percent).

Webodrome in Mumbai
courtesy of Katherine Mieszowksi of Salon.com

Google Code Jam in Bangalore

Traffic in Chennai

A Shopping Mall in India

Shradda and her father

Sri K. Pattabhis Jois turned 90 on July 21, 2005.

This was a big deal. We’ve highlighted photos from Guruji’s birthday in the review of Mysore Style and in the 2006 Prana catalog posts.

We’ve saved the best for last: the site with the most photos is Govinda Kai’s Flickr stream of Guruji’s 90th Birthday celebration.

What I really like about Govinda’s photos is that he captures a wide variety of guests and truly shows us how big an event this was.

Extra special thanks to Govinda Kai, an Ashtanga yoga teacher in Japan, for this great photo set.

Govinda also wrote a great essay on his experience teaching Ashtanga in Japan for AshtangaNews and created some exciting and intimate sets of photos from the 2006 World Tour in San Francisco.

Here are just a few of Govinda’s pictures from Guruji’s 90th birthday celebration. The captions are his.

Sharath and Guruji Cut the Cake

Over a 1,000 Gathered

A Very Special Family

Meal on a Leaf

Sri K. Pattabhis Jois’ birthday celebration is also shown on film with Guru, the Movie. Robert Wilkins, the film maker, includes the event in his documentary on Ashtanga Yoga.