Colorful India

[Isaq Khan]

Colorful India

A folk dancer from Kerala state looks on near his state's tableau, at a preview ahead of the Republic Day, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010.

An army cadet looks through a barrel of a cannon during the reunion carnival of the Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) corps in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad January 8, 2010.

A Greenpeace activist dressed as a brinjal protests against Bt brinjal, a genetically modified eggplant crop, in Bangalore, India, Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. The Indian government is organizing a series of public consultations to decide on the approval of Bt brinjal, India's first GM crop.

A man cries as he prays at the shrine of Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya in New Delhi February 4, 2010

Hindu women leave the Rameswari temple after offering prayers during the Pongal festival in Rameswaram, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils across the world.

A villager tries to control a bull during a bull-taming festival on the outskirts of Madurai town, about 500 km (311 miles) from Chennai January 16, 2010. The annual bull-taming festival is celebrated as part of south India's harvest festival of Pongal.

A young Buddhist monk makes a face during the Dalai Lama's prayer session at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Patna, India, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010.

An employee works inside a plant of Ford Motor Co. in Maraimalar Nagar, about 50 km (31 miles) from the southern Indian city of Chennai February 5, 2010.

 

[Isaq Khan]

An Indian Border Security Force soldier patrols near fencing at the India-Pakistan border at Suchetgarh, about 30 km (19 miles) south of Jammu January 9, 2010.

A sweeper cleans the side of a road near a replica of the Eiffel Tower amid heavy fog in the early morning in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh January 18, 2010.

An Indian farmer woman walks through a mustard field at Bisothi village, about 53 kilometers (33 miles) east of Allahabad, India, Monday, Feb.1, 2010.

A competitor flexes his muscles during the "Mr. Senior Gujarat 2010" bodybuilding contest in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad January 31, 2010. More than 200 body builders across the state on Sunday participated in a contest organized by the Gujarat state body building association in an aim to encourage youth in body building sports and to aware common people about their health, a media release said.

A Nanga Sadhu, or naked Hindu holy man with his face smeared with holy ash exhales smoke after puffing marijuana at a transit camp on the way to Gangasagar, in Calcutta, India, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010. Pilgrims started pour into the city to take a holy dip at the confluence of River Ganges and Bay of Bengal at Sagar Island, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of Calcutta, on the auspicious day of Makarsankranti on Jan. 14.

The Lotus Temple's silhouette is seen at sunset in New Delhi on February 3, 2010. The Bahai House of Worship, popularly known as the Lotus Temple due to its flower-like shape, was completed in 1986.

People look at illuminated buildings that house the country's main government offices, during Republic Day in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010.

A Kathakali dancer performs during a cultural program in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh February 1, 2010. Kathakali is an elaborate classical dance-drama from the southern Indian state of Kerala that combines literature, music, painting, acting and dance. The dance depicts stories from Hindu mythology and is usually religious in nature.