Arunima Kumar performs at Khajuraho Dance Festival

Public Domain Photo: Kuchipudi dancer Arunima Kumar performs at the Khajuraho Dance Festival on 5th February 2010.

Laser Show at Lumbini Park, Hyderabad, India

Public Domain Photo: Lumbini Park Laser Show auditorium, showing the history of Hyderabad

Lumbini Park in Hyderabad, India

Public Domain Photo: Lumbini Park in Hyderabad, India, with visitors in day time

Public Domain Photo: Hyderabad’s Lumbini Park entrance gate

Lotus Temple, the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi

The Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, India, popularly known as the Lotus Temple, was completed in 1986. It is constructed in the shape of a nine-sided lotus flower having 27 free-standing marble clad "petals". It has become one of the most visited buildings in India, attracting about 4.5 million visitors a year. The Lotus Temple is open to all persons regardless of their religion or any other distinctions.

The nine doors of the Lotus Temple open onto a central hall capable of housing up to 2,500 people. The hall is slightly more than 40 meters tall and its surface is made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece. The Lotus Temple, along with the nine surrounding ponds and the gardens around it comprise 26 acres (105,000 squire meters).

Public Domain photos of Lotus Temple: Click on the photos to download or view the large/ full resolution photos.

Kandeels: paper lanterns lighted during Diwali

PD Photos: symbolic Diyas or Kandeel (colorful paper lanterns) as an integral part of Diwali (Festival of Lights) decorations. Diwali is a five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism, celebrated in India, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Mauritius, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Fiji, Surinam, and some other countries.

Raja Harishchandra, the first Indian feature film

PD Photos: Scenes from the first Indian feature film ‘Raja Harishchandra’ (1913), a silent film produced and directed by the legendary film maker Dadasaheb Phalke.

Raja Harishchandra (1913) is a silent film produced and directed by the legendary film maker Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke (1870 - 1944). It is the first full-length Indian feature film (about 40 minutes). The film depicts the legend of the noble and righteous King Harishchandra, taken from the Hindu religious epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The film Raja Harishchandra had an all-male cast and crew of more than 500 people. The roles of female characters in the film were played by men dressed as women, as no woman in India was ready to act in a film, so the men played all the roles.

The film was first released on 3 May 1913 at Mumbai's Coronation Cinema. As the film was very successful, Dada Saheb had to make more prints for exhibition in other areas. The film not only was a grand success establishing Phalke as a producer, but it marked the birth of Indian film industry, the world's largest producer of films.

Following Raja Harishchandra, Dadasaheb Phalke made 95 movies and 26 short films in his career spanning 19 years (till 1937). His most noted works include Mohini Bhasmasur (1913), Satyavan Savitri (1914), Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna Janma (1918) and Kaliya Mardan (1919).

Dadasaheb Phalke is considered as the father of Indian cinema. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian Cinema for lifetime contribution to cinema, was constituted in his honour by the Government of India in 1969.

Two Devadasis from Chennai in India, 1920s

PD Photo: photograph of two Devadasis from Chennai in India, taken in 1920s

Devadasi, a word in many Indian languages, means ‘a woman who serves god’, and is a practitioner or follower of the Devadasi tradition, a Hindu religious tradition in which girls are married of to and dedicated to a deity - Deva (god) or Devi (goddess), or they are simply married of to a temple. These women learned and practiced Bharatanatyam, Odissi and other forms of classical Indian dances, and they enjoyed high social status. However, the Devadasi Tradition and practices were made illegal in all states/ regions of India in 1988.

However, Devadasis still exist in India, as shown in a 2004 report by the National Human Rights Commission of the Government of India that read, "After initiation as Devadasis, women migrate either to nearby towns or other far-off cities to practice prostitution". A study from 1990 recorded that 45.9% of Devadasis in a particular district were prostitutes, while most of the others relied on manual labour and agriculture for their income. The practice of dedicating Devadasis was declared illegal by the Government Karnataka in 1982 and by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1988. However, as of 2006 the practice was found to be still prevalent in at least 10 districts of northern Karnataka and 14 districts in Andhra Pradesh.

Devadasis are known by various other names, such as Jogini, and the Devadasi practice of religious prostitution is known as Basivi in Karnataka and Mathangi in Maharashtra. The tradition is also known as Venkatasani, Nailis, Muralis and Theradiyan.

Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata

PD Photo: Victoria Memorial Hall at dusk

Victoria Memorial Hall situated in the Indian metropolitan city Kolkata was built on the initiative of Lord Curzon, then Viceroy of India. On the death of Queen Victoria in January 1901, Curzon suggested building a fitting memorial to the Queen. The funds for the construction of the memorial were to be collected from the Indian people.

The people of India responded positively to Lord Curzon’s suggestion and total cost of construction of this monument was contributed by the people by way of donations. Prince of Wales King George V laid the foundation stone on January 4, 1906 and the Victoria Memorial Hall was constructed and opened to the public in 1921.

Onam celebrations: Pookalam

PD Photos: Pookalam (floral mosaic or floral carpet), an artistic floral mosaic created on the front courtyard of homes and buildings in Kerala during the annual Onam celebrations.

Thiruvathira Kali during Onam celebrations

Photo: Students of College of Engineering Chengannur (CEC), affiliated to the Cochin University of Science and Technology, performing Thiruvathira Kali as a part of the Onam celebrations. Thiruvathira Kali is a dance form of Kerala, photo by Arunanand T A.

Onam is the grandest festival celebrated in Kerala, India, as well as Malayali people settled or working in all parts of the world, in the month of Chingam (Malayalam calendar) may fall August-September. It is symbolic of the homecoming of the legendary King Mahabali, who once ruled his kingdom, which was the most prosperous and the happiest according to legends. The festival lasts for four or more days and it is an occasion to highlight and re-enact Kerala's culture and tradition, and among many other things include snake boat races (Vallam Kali) and perform dances like Thiruvathira Kali, Kaikottikkali, Thumbi Tullal, Kummattikali, Kathakali, Pulikali (Kaduvakali), etc.

Sculpture by Kanai Kunhiraman at Shankumugham Beach, Thiruvananthapuram

Photo: Sculpture by Kanai Kunhiraman at Shankumugham Beach, Thiruvananthapuram

Shankumugham Beach is a beautiful beach on the western side of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) city, adjacent to Trivandrum International Airport, in Kerala, India. There is a vast stretch of white sand and the serene atmosphere away from the crowd in the city that attracts a lot of visitors, both local people and tourists, as it is one of the cleanest beaches in India.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India

Photo: A leopard at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India

Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), earlier known as Borivali National Park, is a large protected area on the northern fringes of suburban Mumbai city in India, covering an area of 104 sq km (40 sq miles). It is one of the few national parks existing within a metropolis limit in Asia and it attracts more than two million visitors annually. The 2400-year-old Kanheri Caves sculpted out of the rocky cliffs which lie within the park.

Photo: A monkey and its baby at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India

The Sanjay Gandhi National Park is home to a number of species of flora and fauna. Visitors can easily spot animals including leopards, spotted deer, Indian hares, barking deer, porcupine, Asian palm civet, mouse deer, monkeys, Indian flying fox, Sambar deer and reptiles such as crocodiles, pythons, cobras, monitor lizards, Russell's vipers, bamboo pit vipers and Ceylonese cat snakes.

Statue of Lord Shiva in Mauritius Island

Mauritius is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the dominant religion, with about 52 per cent of the population following Hinduism. Hinduism came to Mauritius with the Indians who came to work for the European settlers of the island, and most of the initial Hindu settlers arrived from the regions of the present day Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

One of the biggest Hindu festivals in Mauritius is Maha Shivaratri (Great Night of Lord Shiva), which is celebrated in the month of February/March. Up to nine days of celebrations, prayers and fasting lead up to an all-night worship of Lord Shiva.

Shiva-Nataraja at Musée Guimet, Paris

Shiva-Nataraja, the 11th century bronze sculpture of the Chola period from Tamil Nadu, India, displayed at Musée Guimet. Shiva-Nataraja (or Lord of Dance/Seigneur de la danse); statue of the dancing Lord Shiva, the most powerful and most skilled warrior God across the cosmos, holds in this depiction of him as Cosmic Dancer with the power to destroy and recreate the world. Shiva is shown in most Nataraja statues as dancing on the demon of ignorance. The Guimet Museum (Musée national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet or Musée Guimet), the museum of Asian art located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia.

The Hookah Lighter, painting by Jean-Leon Gerome

Image: The Hookah Lighter (1898), oil on canvas painting by French painter and sculptor Jean-Leon Gerome.

The hookah or waterpipe is a single or multi-stemmed device made of copper or glass for smoking tobacco. In a hookah the smoke is cooled and filtered by passing through water. Originally from India, hookah has gained popularity in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil.

Sunset over River Ganges in Mayapur, West Bengal

Mayapur, located on the banks of the River Ganges, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi, near Navadvip, West Bengal, India, has the Head Quarters of ISKCON. Though Mayapur is considered a holy place by a number of other Hindu traditions, it is of special significance to the followers of Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition as the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, regarded as a special incarnation of Krishna. Mayapur is visited by over a million pilgrims annually.

Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut on May 20, 1498

Photo: Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama lands at Calicut (in Kerala, India) on May 20, 1498; photographic reproduction of painting (1880-01) by Ernesto Casanova (born 1845, year of death unknown). Source: US Library of Congress; Illustration for ‘Os Lusíadas by Luís de Camões’, 1880 edition).

The Taj Mahal: view from the River Yamuna

This image (The Taj Mahal world heritage site in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India) was produced by Mr. David Castor, Eslöv, Sweden and found in Wikipedia. The pictures he submits to the Wikipedia Project are released to the public domain. This gives you the right to use them in any way you like, without any kind of notification. All his photos are placed in Category:Images by David Castor or a subcategory thereof.

Mr. David Castor is Minister in the Church of Sweden/Swedish Evangelical Mission and in the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden. He is primarily active on the Swedish Wikipedia, where he is an administrator. You can view a vast collection of his photos/images at his homepage: http://pastorcastor.se/