Guarding the Borobudur, a photo from Jawa Tengah, Java

Photographer's Note

....Somewhere on the middle level of the Borobudur we encountered a curious scene. A man had already written “Nepal 1995 “ with chalk on one of the stupas and was now writing an undecipherable addition to it. He was caught red handed by a guard. “Sorry….We’re from Nepal !!” the very embarrassed man said in English, while bowing apologetically and starting to rub out the chalk with his handkerchief, in a more symbolic than effective way.

The guard was not impressed and gesticulated that he should put more effort into it – he wanted the text removed completely. Notwithstanding the now totally dedicated efforts of the Nepalese man the result was minimal and after a few minutes the impassively waiting guard released the profusely sweating and even more embarrassed man ( a small crowd had gathered) man while sadly shaking his head.

During the trip back there was a group of teen school girls in the midi bus back to Yokya , singing along to the music the driver played and, lo and behold, we recognized one of the tracks. It was from a tape a Bandung MC seller sold us few days before: 22 Beat Hits Indonesia and the performers were Doel Sumbang & Nini Carlina. We loved the syrupy synthi-pop full of rindu (longing), of course best experienced during malam (evening) :-)

Scan (with a Canon MP610) of a local (Bali) print on Kodak paper.

This is part of a series of scans, number 9 of the 'Les Années Argentiques' theme.

Royaldevon, holmertz, ikeharel, jemaflor, COSTANTINO, jhm ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (222811) 2020-02-26 0:49

Ciao Bert, lovely composition with man polishing fantastic architecture, fine details, excellent clarity, splendid light and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Royaldevon (86392) 2020-02-26 1:47

Hello Bert,

Well, this must be a first!
Capturing a criminal at work and recording the punishment accorded by the policemen!
I wonder if the small child is taking note, how not to behave at a place of celebrated antiquity!
The inclusion of the man and child are important for they add the audience content to what is happening to the two main characters. They also provide a sense of depth in such a close shot.
Lovely clarity.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-02-26 2:19

Hallo Bert, the guard is going to remove the scribbles written by the tourists on the old stupa in stone. Many monuments are damaged by visitors who would like to leave a trace of their visit as a souvenir. Fine colors, good sharpness, interesting photo note, regards.

holmertz (103564) 2020-02-26 2:34

Hello Bert,
Since people started to travel there seems to have been a deep human urge to leave behind messages of "I was here". There is Viking graffiti in the Hagia Sophia of Istanbul, and I am sure that people disfigured precious monuments even much earlier than that. Still, it's hard to understand that not even a well protected Unesco World heritage site is left untouched. This photo is sort of funny, but even more painful. The vandal's embarrassment is so well captured, especially because we see there were witnesses. The man and the boy connect us with what is going on and make me feel part of the crowd.
Best regards,
Gert

Tue (93340) 2020-02-26 3:54

Hallo Bert,
Een prachtige foto van de episode bij de Borobudur. Die man verdiende natuurlijk al het schaamrood dat hij op de kaken kreeg vanwege zijn actie, maar hij mocht in zijn handjes knijpen dat hij er toch 'with a slap on the wrist' vanaf kwam. Mooie compositie waarbij de voorgangers ook aandacht naar de man en de bewaker kijken.
Lars

lousat (139926) 2020-02-26 4:23

Hi Bert,the episodes of vandalism on walls and even worse on historical monuments are a recurring fashion all over the world and also in times gone by as from your photo. I'm glad that the gentleman was caught on the fact, even if the cleaning does not seem to give good results .. hehe .. who knows how it ended. Curious scene and excellent quality from the scanning process. Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

Gerrit (62042) 2020-02-26 10:21

Dag Bert,
Mooi vastgelegd op een zichtbaar oud medium. Ik zal het onthouden als excuus na een wandaad. Goed verhaal.
groet, Gerrit

jemaflor (148146) 2020-02-26 13:13

Hi Bert,
Interesting view, original about these monuments, well taken, good angle and rendering, tfs.

COSTANTINO (117700) 2020-02-26 13:16

Hello dear Bert and have a nice time
and a happy new day
original version
thanks for your useful notes
and the description about
the man who had already written
Nepal 1995...
they also provide a sense of depth
regards
Costantino

emka (158710) 2020-02-26 18:08

Hello Bertolucci, Interesting note. Good that the guard is protecting the old walls. What is the excuse that they were from Nepal? Nice composition.

KInd regards Malgo

jhm (211738) 2020-02-27 5:55

Dag Bert,

Hun politieke inslag kan ik niet over oordelen.
Maar hoe dan ook wild schrijven en graffiti kan volgens mij ook niet.
Maar hopelijk heeft den man zijn les geleerd
Maar uw foto is heerlijk gemaakt, bedankt

Groeten uit een winterachtig Vlaanderen,
John