The Thing About Walls …

The thing about walls
is there’s always a hole
and eventually . . .
they all crumble and fall

“All in all, be part of the whole.
Not just another brick in the wall.”
~ Floyd, the Pink Rabbit

Words;
David B.Redpath © 2019 – 2023

“I’m a traveller
. . . not a tourist!
There is a difference.”

Photography;
David & Linda Redpath © 2019-2023

163 thoughts on “The Thing About Walls …”

    1. It is an amazing land. Just wish we could
      stay longer. Soon as the world switches to
      electric cars, the beautiful people of India
      can shake off their facemasks, and breathe
      easy. Thanks for having me, Aruna.

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      1. You have obliged me to come my India.if you know the blogger-thelonelyauthor,plz tell him about my India.most most thanks for visit my India.😊😊😊😊🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹💐

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Oh.Jaipur is Capital of Rajsthan State from which my town is 100 km.i had studied in Rajsthan University,Jaipur.Hawa Mahal,Janter Manter,Chandersen palace,Rambagh palace and 15km far from Jaipur-Amer fort,Jaygarh Fort and many many things are able to visit.my town is Chirawa distt-Jhunjhunu near Pilani.if you come here to me then i will show you d amazing Haweliyan(residence of rich merchent,)Bawadiyaan(wells).enjoy dear!!

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      4. If only I had known, Aruna.
        We caught the midnight train from Jaipur
        to Udaipur. That, in itself, was quite a trip.
        The Monkey Temple was amazing, and
        the Wind Palace with walls of pink.
        They call Udaipur the Venice of India, but
        it is so much more. Perhaps next time, God
        willing, I’ll get to visit you in Chirawa.

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    1. I took the ‘Envy’ pic in Kathmandu, Punam.
      I’ve now worked my way down to Delhi, after
      a wonderful trek from Jaipur, aboard the
      midnight train, to Udaipur (that was a most
      interesting experience). Popped over to
      Agra for a peek at the Taj Mahal. The traffic
      situation is, to say the least, remarkable.
      And I’m now full of admiration for those
      who traverse the roads here every day.

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      Reply

      1. Thanks for the clarification David. Such sights abound in Delhi!
        I am sure there are verses brewing about your visit to Nepal and India and I can’t wait to read those.
        Aha! So you have had a taste of our chaotic infamous traffic!! Don’t admire us, we created the mess ourselves! Lol

        Liked by 1 person

      2. With a little help from the British.
        I’ve invented a wrap around, 360°
        bumper bar, made of rubber, just
        for the Indian market. I’m calling
        it the ‘Holy Cow & Bull Bars’ …
        (patent pending). I’ll send you a
        set to try out, Punam.

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      3. After more than 70 years we are still blaming the British for our ills!!
        Oh, I do look forward to the ‘Holy Cow& Bull Bars’ in my mail. Though if the current political dispensation wins, you might have to change the name, for under their rule nothing is holier than the cow!!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Ivor. I actually saw high tension power line towers standing in swamps.
      I now consider being an electrician in Nepal
      the most dangerous job in the world. I was
      told of a local boy who lost both arms when
      a cable fell on him.

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      Reply

    1. Thanks Charlie. Still ramblin’…
      but now in a homeward direction,
      where my Sim card waits patiently,
      and the WiFi is true. To get a Sim in
      Nepal & India you need to produce
      your passport & answer a hundred or
      so questions, so I didn’t bother.
      Check in with you soon. Just brushing
      up with William Burroughs Jr. on how
      to contract the interstellar word virus
      . . . and live.

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      Reply

    1. Thanks Chris. I had to be quick . . .
      the border guards were right on my trail.
      I got to visit several “great big beautiful
      walls”. Usually built by Moguls, trying
      to keep all they had conquered.
      Sooner or later, they all come tumbling
      down (the Mogul Rulers, that is).

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  26. WOW! These are all SO WONDERFUL!!! Man. With Your art, Your photos and Your take on the world….This one made me smile so big. Absolutely beautiful. The people. The envy sign view is brilliant! Life. Thank You for these, David. Cheers!!! 🙂

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    Reply

  30. You really are a great artist-photographer-poet… so multitalented. All these photos capture so well the essence of the people, their souls, their natural envirnoment, the human-made things that look like chaos like the picture with the many wires and the yellow sign saying Envy. Excellent work, David! I have an artist.writer friend who shot a beautiful picture of Paris: https://savioni.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/latin-quarter-paris-1995/

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    Reply

      2. If you’ve never been
        to Montmartre, Marta,
        you should most certainly
        do so. But best to go
        in the Springtime
        when Paris is in blossom.
        Not in the Summer
        as it’s tourist peak season.
        For August is a bust,
        as many a Parisienne
        flees to the Riviera.
        And don’t forget to grace
        the Dalí Espace.
        A gallery of much wonder! 😎

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Love Paris and Montmartre
        and read a book by Sartre.
        Been there twice, so nice,
        and like you, appreciate Dalí,
        tout ça a Paris, c’est très joli,
        also le Museé d’Orsay,
        le Louvre, le Bois de Bologne,
        le Quartier latin, la Sainte Chapelle
        and the Seine river walk.

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Off course! … you live so close.
        For us Down Under, going to Europe
        can be like flying to another planet 👽
        Been twice to Spain. Can’t wait to
        get back there again. Hopefully
        a free Catalan by then😎

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I think Catalonia will be a free nation in some years’ time because Spain will entirely collapse. And it will not be the only state in the world to desintegrate. I am just worried about the human costs to achieve necessary freedom, democracy and respect for human rights not just where I live, but everywhere in the world. We have to keep the different worldwide non-violent civil resistance movements like the Me Too movement, etc, Non-violence is the only way to lessen the human costs. This is very interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zymhIgWpMs

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      6. Yes, we must learn from history,
        or be condemned to repeat it.
        Perhaps the swings between tyranny
        and anarchy are fracturing under the
        the blowtorch of social media?
        All empires are forged and maintained
        through tyranny. The Tree of Liberty,
        unfortunately, needs regular watering
        . . . with the blood of martyrs.
        Freedom seems to always come at a
        very high price. Violence simply replaces
        one tyrant, with another. Non violence is
        the way … Just look at Syria.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. My Nepalese pleasure, Anna 🙏
      Since we had no inclination to go
      climbing mountains 🏔️ we had
      no problem with hyperthermia, or
      hypoxia 🥶 You just have to keep
      an eye out 👁️ as the locals do, for
      falling power lines⚡in Katmandu.

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    1. Greatly appreciated, Cheryl 🙏
      Linda and I were most fortunate in
      having two travelling companions who
      know Nepal and India very well, so we
      were free to roam around and be led
      from one picturesque location to another

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      Reply

    1. Thank you very much, Rosaliene 🙏
      I did manage to prove to the Tourist
      Police that they had no jurisdiction
      over me by showing them my second
      class ticket 🎟️ for the midnight train
      from Jaipur to Udaipur. A trip no tourist
      would voluntarily undertake 😎

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      Reply

    1. Thank you, Dalo 🙏
      It was certainly a magical mystery tour
      as a couple of friends who know India
      very well led us around by our backpacks.
      Linda and I didn’t have to arrange a thing.

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    1. Human resilience was on full display
      amongst the poor of India, oppressed
      under an archaic caste system, Tamara.
      Back here in the “developed” west, I find
      people don’t realise just how privileged
      they are 🤔🕶️

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    1. Greatly appreciated, Indira 🙏
      I do travel about in my own
      backyard of Australia, but …

      Seeing sights foreign
      the more colourful
      the better
      hearing sounds unfamiliar
      musical
      yet strangely mystical
      does something wonderful
      to the traveller’s brain
      whereas a tourist
      on a tight
      prepackaged schedule
      with all meals included
      designed to appeal
      to the not so adventurous
      serviced up
      in a plastic cup
      on a plastic tray
      with the bland
      following the lame
      doing it for the pay 💰

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Sadly, it has ever been thus.
      The caste system, unlike cricket 🏏
      wasn’t learnt from the British.
      Saying that someone’s poverty
      and dire circumstances is down
      to their “bad karma”, is just an
      excuse to do nothing to alleviate
      the suffering of others.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Someone spoke up against it recently and some priest put a bounty on his head. Yeah it’s an awful thing. Even when it comes to things like religious persecution (which is increasing everyday because of the present government) it’s the poorer people or those of ‘lower castes’ that really suffer.

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      2. The Indian constitution requires the
        government to behave in a secular
        fashion, thereby ruling on behalf of
        all it’s citizens. I’m not sure if using
        the Sanskrit term ‘Bharat’ is all that
        conducive to a united India. But then
        the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi,
        is a Hindu Nationalist.

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      3. Oh I have much to say about those in power here, but I’ll refrain since I’m a minority and this is a public space. What’s happening is inhumane. The name changing is just a tiny aspect of it. Btw this is Nitin. I wasn’t sure you knew that yet 😂 Most of my old friends do lol.

        Liked by 1 person

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