Monthly Photos　June 2018

Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa.

(The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

An Indian Dance Scene

Sometimes you encounter a chance while you are traveling on research.
I conducted research on a bas-relief of the Bṛhadīśvara Temple (a World Heritage site) this February. That day fell by chance on Mahāśivarātri (meaning “Great night of Śiva”), an important Hindu festival. Keeping a wake on this night is believed to be especially meritorious. So, an all-night dance festival with a number of famous dance teams from all over South India was organized in the temple precinct free of charge. The photo depicts a modern styled mise en scene, in which overlapping eight dancers’ arms express 16 arms of the god.

13 FEB 2018
Thanjavur, India
Photograph by Jun TAKASHIMA

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