Juxtapositions

India — Themes7 photographs2000

These pictures catch some tiny degree of the collision between the traditional and the modern in India.

Old and new in central Chennai Madras.

Old and new in central Chennai (Madras).

The expansion of Indian cities has been dramatic, not only in its scale but in its newly organized geometry, in this case at Hyderabad.

The expansion of Indian cities has been dramatic, not only in its scale but in its newly organized geometry, in this case at Hyderabad.

New technology meets old custom: a wedding procession is lit by a portable generator that powers a music system, too. Etawah, between Agra a

New technology meets old custom: a wedding procession is lit by a portable generator that powers a music system, too. Etawah, between Agra and Kanpur.

The Chennai Madras Bookfair, with scores of participating publishers.

The Chennai (Madras) Bookfair, with scores of participating publishers.

Signfest at Mathura, near Agra.

Signfest at Mathura, near Agra.

And always the ultimate contrast, between rich and poor. Middle-class housing in the background, with a pup tent in the foreground belonging

And always the ultimate contrast, between rich and poor. Middle-class housing in the background, with a pup tent in the foreground belonging to a family of semi-nomadic Banjara, typically engaged in hard labor.

Mother and daughter at home in the streets close to Osmania University in Hyderabad.

Mother and daughter at home in the streets close to Osmania University in Hyderabad.