–These photos were exposed at « Visa pour l’image », for the 20th anniversary of the festival, in September, 2008.–

Soon after his return from South Africain 1917 Gandhi led his first political struggle in the state of Bihar, in support of peasant small holders against British indigo planters. In the course of doing so, he earned the title of Mahatma,The Great Soul.

More than ninety years later, little has changed in this largely rural state situated in northern India, which remains one of the poorest in the country.Poverty, illiteracy and violence: the daily life of the poor and maginalised in India today is a world apart from the ideals that were set by India’s prophet of non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi.

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Photos ©Marie Dorigny/LightMediation Text ®Christèle Dedebant

Contact – Thierry Tinacci – LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com

Dharavi in central Mumbai is one of Asia’s largest slums. It is enterprise personified. Between 1200 to 1500 small scale industries exist and function within the Dharavi industrial area. It is a place where industry,incorrigibility and a never say die spirit co-exists.Plastic recycling ( perhaps the largestin India ), leather processing, oil drum and tin can reconditioning, dye making,garment and embroidery work, wastepaper raw material supplies, potterymaking , food processing are some of the major enterprises that operateamong other innumerable small scaleunits exists in Dharavi.It is a shadow city where nearly amillion live and work, annually churning out almost 500 million dollar worth of goods. It’s a place where new arrivals found their first footing , make businessand start their life in the urban metro like Mumbai.

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A Photo story by ©Amit Chakravarty/LightMediation

Contact – Thierry Tinacci – LightMediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com

Ambitious, the ultra-dynamic town of Hyderabad collects the charms to attract itself to the glances of the world. In spite of its preserving character and its situation in the middle of one of the poorest states of the country, it took the challenge to become the ambassadress of modern India…

Photos ©Pascal Meunier/Lightmediation Text ®Maud Tyckaert

Contact – Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency + 33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com

Last guardians of the warrior Sikh traditions, thousands of Nihang monks roam across Punjab: a life of wandering dedicated to prayer, the practice of Martial Arts, and to the protection of the Sikhs, their front forward mission. To that end, they are excellent Gatka masters, a Martial Art practiced since the 17th century with sabers, daggers, maces and edge bracelets. Each year in March, the Hola Mohalla military parade in Anandpur Sahib is the opportunity for them to demonstrate their mastery of the Martial Arts; thus proving to the 3 millions of followers gathered from all over India their power and heroism.

Photos ©Virginie Vican/Picturetank/Lightmediation Text ®Guillaume Pitron

Contact – Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry[AT]lightmediation.com

Français: Ultime capitale du dernier des grands royaumes de l’Inde du Sud, enrichie par le commerce du coton et des épices, Hampi fut l’une des plus belles villes du monde médiéval, auréolée de palais et temples dravidiens couverts de joyaux. Hampi reste aujourd’hui l’un des sites les plus saisissants du monde. Haut lieu de la beauté mais d’un accès difficile. Les sept heures de voyage à partir de Bangalore par des routes cahotantes surchargées de camions la maintienne pour l’instant hors de portée des hordes touristiques.

Photos © Cyril le Tourneur d’Ison Text ® Claudine le Tourneur d’Ison -A longer text is avalaible- Contact – Thierry Tinacci Lightmediation Photo Agency +33 (0)6 61 80 57 21 thierry [at] lightmediation.com

Bangalore above the Silicon Valley!

Within 15 years, the capital of Karnataka, south of India, has become the first IT City in the world. As said in the official website of the city: « all the information routes lead to Bangalore ». The biggest hi-tech companies have settle there and the Californian Silicon Valley outsources in Bangalore most of its software development and back-office. Should you call G.E. or IBM hotlines, you’ll probably be answered with an Indian accent!

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Photos and text ©Marc Roussel / Orizon / Lightmediation

Every year, in January, several million pilgrims gather in Sabrimala. There are scores of stories of « miracles ». Says Jai Dev Rao : « My wife couldn’t bear a child so I made up my mind to go on this pilgrimage : thanks to the Lord Ayyappa I have got a son. » Bela Krishna says : « Being disabled, I was crawling on the ground for my first pilgrimage, Ayyappa healed me and I came back walking! » And yet, the pilgrimage, if it is undertaken according to rule, is far from easy. It requires 41 days of austerities: walking bare-foot, a vegeterian diet, sleeping on a mat on the ground, strict chastity…

The pilgrim will have to trek along a 57-km trail in the midst of the jungle, carrying a bag with a coconut on his head until he reaches the Lord Ayyappa’s temple on the hill of Sabrimala. There he will break a coconut on the golden steps of the sanctuary. Lord Ayyappa’s temple is open one month a year and the pilgrims rush particularly during the holy week at the end of which the Lord’s light is supposed to shine. Processions of richly adorned elephants, mystical dancing, Brahman rituals… the Lord Ayyappa pilgrimage is now the key-date of Hinduism.

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Photos and text ©Jean-Baptiste Rabouan / Lightmediation