User:UnpetitproleX/POTD
Shingo La is a high-altitude mountain pass in the Himalayas in northern India, connecting the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh with the Zanskar region of Ladakh. The pass is located at an altitude of about 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) and becomes snowbound in the winter months. This photograph, taken in October 2022, depicts the Nimmu–Padum–Darcha road winding through the pass.Photograph credit: Timothy Gonsalves
4 May 2023
The Head of Bhairava is a 16th-century mask from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Made of gilt copper with rock crystal and paint during Nepal's Malla period, it depicts Bhairava, the destructive and terrifying manifestation of the Hindu god Shiva. The mask is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.Photograph credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art
28 May 2023
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Key Monastery is a monastery belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, located at an elevation of 4,166 m (13,668 ft) on a hill rising above the Spiti valley in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Said to have been founded in the 11th century, it is the largest monastery in Spiti, housing hundreds of monks. This view shows the monastery in winter, overlooking the snow-covered Spiti river valley with the Himalayas in the background.Photograph credit: Kulbhushan Suryawanshi
4 June 2023
The Palace of Assembly in Chandigarh, India, is a legislative assembly building designed by modernist architect Le Corbusier forming part of the Chandigarh Capitol Complex – a larger government compound including several other buildings such as the Secretariat Building and the Palace of Justice. Constructed to serve as the administrative capital for the eastern half of the historic British Indian Punjab province that remained in India after the 1947 partition of India, the compound, along with sixteen other globally scattered buildings designed by Le Corbusier, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2016. The Palace of Assembly houses the legislatures of the present-day northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana.Photograph credit: duncid, retouched by UnpetitproleX and Aristeas
14 August 2023
Lahaul and Spiti is a district of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Located in the Himalayas, it was formed by the merger of the districts of Lahaul and Spiti in 1960. At the 2011 census of India, it was the least densely populated district of India. This photograph shows the valley of the Bhaga River in Lahaul, with the villages of Kardang (left) and Biling (right) visible on opposite sides of the river, near the district headquarters of Kyelang.Photograph credit: Timothy A. Gonsalves
25 January 2024
Frere Hall is a building in Karachi, Pakistan, built in 1865 to serve as the city's town hall during British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent. Named in 1884 in honour of Henry Bartle Frere, a British administrator who had earlier served as Commissioner of Sind and Governor of Bombay, the building is now a library and a tourist attraction noted for its Venetian Gothic architecture, and is also used for exhibitions and events.Photographed credit: Alexander Savin
23 March 2024
The City Palace of Jaipur, constructed between 1727 and 1732, is a royal residence located in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was the ceremonial and administrative seat of the Kingdom of Amber, and home of its rulers, from the time of the state's foundation in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II until 30 March 1949. The palace continues to be a residence of the royal family of Jaipur and is a popular tourist attraction. This picture shows the Leheriya gate, one of four intricately designed gates in an inner courtyard of the palace. The gate is dedicated to Hindu god Ganesha (carved above the door) with the green colour representing the season of spring.Photograph credit: Jakub Hałun
30 March 2024
Takht-i-Bahi are the ruins of a 1st-century CE Buddhist monastery complex located in what was once the ancient Indian region of Gandhara, in the present-day northern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is representative of Buddhist monastic architecture from its era and the ruins were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1980, with UNESCO describing it as having been "exceptionally well-preserved". Pictured here is an aerial view of the complex, showing its various chambers and courtyards.Photograph credit: Muzamil Hussain Toori; retouched by UnpetitproleX
07 August 2024
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Diwali is a five-day Hindu festival of lights which symbolises the spiritual victory of light over darkness and good over evil. It commemorates the day when Hindu god Rama, along with his wife-consort Sita and brother Lakshmana, returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya after defeating demon-king Ravana and following 14 years of exile. Celebrations peak on the night of the third day of the festival—the main day of Diwali, which is today—marking the darkest night of the Hindu lunisolar calendar. People celebrate on this day by lighting traditional lamps (diyas) and candles. Pictured here is a woman lighting candles on Diwali.Photograph credit: AjoyDutta1997; edited by Aristeas
01 November 2024
Shinku La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas of northern India. The pass is traversed by the Darcha-Padum road connecting the high-altitude Zanskar region of Ladakh with rest of India. The pass becomes snowbound in the winter leading to closure of the road. Construction of a tunnel under the pass, to ensure all-weather connectivity, began in 2024. This picture shows the Shinku La pass covered in snow, with a frozen lake in the foreground.Photograph credit: Timothy Gonsalves
26 January 2025
Ancient temple dedicated to Hindu God Shiva at Wangath Temple complex in the Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Today is Maha Shivaratri, an annual Hindu festival in honour of Shiva. In the Kashmir Valley, it is celebrated by Kashmiri Hindus and is locally known as Herath.Photograph credit: Basavaraj K. Korkar; edited by UnpetitproleX
26 February 2025
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Nepalese woman lights traditional lamps (diyas) for Tihar. Tihar is the Nepali name for the five-day Hindu festival of Diwali. Today is the third and main day of the festival, which is celebrated by lighting diyas and candles.Photograph credit: Mithun Kunwar
21 October 2025
View of Keylong, a town in the Indian Himalayas which functions as the administrative headquarter of Lahaul and Spiti district of the state of Himachal Pradesh.Photograph credit: Timothy Gonsalves