September 11, 2001: The Fringe

All Photos © 2011 Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

For those who have no press passes, access to Ground Zero was prohibited yesterday. Nonetheless, the areas around it did provide opportunities for good street photography.  Naturally, any event of such a magnitude brings along the fringe...the conspiracy theorists,  the government haters, the religious minded...and the Obama supporters.

Maldives Cocoa island Resort Hotel

Maldives Cocoa island Resort Hotel is one of the fantastic beach resort in the Maldives.The cocoa resort hotel is the best among the Maldives resort hotel.The other name for the cocoa island is known locally as Makunufushi, is situated in South Male’s coral atolls. Cocoa Island satisfy all your needs and keep you away from the stress and in relaxed mind . The cocoa resort hotel contains 33 over-water rooms are inspired by fishing dhoni boats .Each room gives you the gorgeous view of the sea and a chance to treat yourself in the warm clear waters of the Maldives.The place which give you the chance to enjoy the nature .
COCOA Island has a water sports centre, a library with an extensive collection of books, an all day lounge, a boutique, a fully equipped Dive Centre, gym with yoga facilities, and a COMO Shambhala Retreat offering a full range of treatments including massages, Ayurveda, facials and facilities such as massage pavilions, hydrotherapy pool, steam rooms and meditation area.

. As with all COMO Hotels and Resorts, cuisine is considered a crucial element of the guest experience. Menus display a well sourced, seasonal ingredients from nature’s larder – organic vegetables, the evening’s catch, supplied by local fishermen and farmers. Dishes also take inspiration from India’s Malabar Coast, and its traditions of spicing – coriander, ginger, tamarind, okra and green chilly–while the true flavors of fresh produce are finished off with light-handed, contemporary flourishes. This environment really guarantees relaxation and recreation.

Be here with your lover for honeymoon or just come with your travel partner and explore the true colours of Maldives.

Parth Sanyal: The Kadaiwallahs

Photo © Parth Sanyal-All Rights Reserved

A couple of weeks before the start of my Kolkata's Cult of Durga Photo-Expedition/Workshop, I am particularly pleased to have stumbled on Parth Sanyal's website through a link on Global Post's photo blog PlanetPic, because one of his galleries depicts the Kadaiwallahs (men with large pans), the gold scavengers of Kolkata.

About 200 gold scavengers make an meagre living by collecting gold dust from the narrow lanes housing the small gold factories of Kolkata. They collect the dust in large metal pans, and burn the impurities with acid hoping to be left with tiny gold particles.

Indians consider it auspicious to buy gold during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, when the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi, is worshipped. The period from October to February is high seasons for gold buying, however with its price skyrocketing, consumers are looking for alternatives, and this impacts the Kadaiwallahs livelihood. Their occupation is an ancient one; they've been doing this traditional and crude means of collecting gold since the 16th century during the Mughal Rule.

Parth Sanyal has been covering South Asia over the last 18 years for various Indian newspapers and global wire services. He has worked for The Independent in Mumbai, The Hindu group of publications and Reuters. His photographs appeared in the International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Boston Globe, National Geography online and Global Post.

Stephane Sednaoui: September 11, 2001

Photo © Stephane Sednaoui-All Rights Reserved

Out of the many images of the aftermath of September 11, 2001 that were published in the past few weeks, I thought the most compelling were by Stephane Sednaoui featured by TIME's LightBox, which is one of the best photo blogs.. Perhaps it's because I hadn't heard of him nor seen these images before,  and were in many ways different from those I had seen before.

Stephane Sednaoui is a photographer and a movie director, and has also worked as a documentary photographer covering the Romanian Revolution of 1989. He has photographed many music album covers, and directed more than 50 music videos.

Interestingly, Sednaoui's ancestors were originally from Syria, who moved to Egypt and established one of the country's first top notch department stores. The Sednaoui brothers, Samaan and Selim, established the Sednaoui (pronounced 'Sednawee') store in the early 1900s. The store still exists to this day, but is a shadow of its grandeur after being nationalized in the 60s.

The school I attended in Cairo required that all students buy their uniforms; blazers, caps, shorts and keen-high grey socks from the Sednaoui store, and I recall quite well my excitement each year in getting these new uniforms.