The image to your left has significant meaning to me. Although there is no organic subject in the frame, the image bleeds character. Maybe its the boarded up windows or tape riddled street post but when I took the image, I could feel the history of this one ten foot by ten foot street corner… Classic Atlanta.
One of the phrases that always rolls off of my tongue when people asked me what I thought about living in India: “It was soo full of life.” Simple term but at its core the meaning can only be expressed by actually feeling it. A year in Delhi will drastically change how you look at life, your value system, and your perspective of the human experience. Delhi itself is a city with over 13 million people. That is 13 million beating hearts, racing minds, and flowing spirits. Many people say that India is the heart of the world and I believe it.
Getting back to the phrase about India being full of life, allow me to paint a picture for you. At around 5:30 in the morning, you are transferred from a sleeping state to a waking state via the harmonious melody of morning prayers being sung at a mosque down the street from you. The sun has not yet made its debut and even the slightest movement in the side streets can be heard and felt. India is still sleep and suspended in a moment of unmoved movement.
Like a spark to kindling, you see a woman open her door to take some clothes out for to wash. Almost simultaneously, you witness a man sleepily open his apartment windows with a yawn. Something is happening and it seems as the light bleeds down the streets, each house is activated with single rays of morning light.
The morning has now chased away the darkness and like a poem expressing an epic battle, darkness retreats into the ever-dying shadows. Suddenly every side street, main street, and sidewalk explodes with life like the city is in its final push of birth. As I type, my mind is being filled with images of dark brown people, colorful Indian garb, and sapphire blue skies.
These images are more than images, it’s an energy that I find difficult to find here in Atlanta. This is a very difficult to admit but the life I earlier described simply is just not present. In India, the culture is founded in roles, processes, and purpose. It is hard to explain but it has a lot to do with movement. When you walk the streets of Delhi, there is always some kind of movement. A man pushing a cart of fruit. A woman sweeping the main street, a pack of dogs weaving through morning traffic. Every movement has a story to tell, everyone has their place and although there is chaos, there is peace.
Try not to misconstrue the words I have typed because Atlanta is a very eclectic city made of a cultural mosaic and accented by beautiful people who are images of God. The glaring contrast between the two cities is the sterility of Atlanta that is derived from the corporate construct. Bob Marley sang about it and the song “Concrete Jungle” is an accurate description indeed. Manicured grounds, a sea of luxury cars all driving towards covered parking spaces next to marble clad 40-floor towers… The tailored suits, 4 dollar lattés, TPS reports, and tanning parlors all give me a feeling that life is much more than 1’s and 0’s (absent and present).
As I walked with my camera swinging on my left shoulder, I felt like a nomad exploring a large and foreign land. The people that I passed on the streets struggled to keep from making eye contact… It was almost as if they were hiding something. Even the trees seemed as if they had egos which made them uncomfortable in front of the lens. Today was a day where I struggled to capture the essence of the Creator through a shadowy angle, imperfect side street, or time-worn architectural structure.
Where has the city of Atlanta gone? Gentrified districts have given birth to rarefied moments of an experienced history. You know the feeling you get when you stand at the intersection of a road whose structures are more than 100 years old? You can feel the struggle, the expression, and the humanity. The landscapes of these places literally pose for pictures. All you have to do is just snap an image and the print will speak volumes to the viewer.
Alas I must continue my search for structures and feelings endowed with such a spirit… Until then I struggle to find life in a city of people.
3E
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