cover image Wisdom: 365 Thoughts from Indian Masters

Wisdom: 365 Thoughts from Indian Masters

Danielle Follmi, Olivier Follmi, Danielle Fllmi. ABRAMS, $29.95 (744pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-5620-9

The official photographers of the Dalai Lama train their lenses on modern India and package nearly 400 images into a weighty volume of colorful spreads, one for each day of the year. Ranging from majestic landscapes to intimate portraits, each picture is displayed alongside musings from a venerated Indian thinker or poet whose words resonate with some image or mood conveyed in the photograph. A quote from Gandhi accompanies a snapshot of a female silhouette with hands pressed against a gigantic boulder: ""Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."" Gandhi's aphorisms crop up repeatedly; other muses include Krishnamurti, Buddha and the Dalai Lama himself. Capturing a mosaic of scenes--from the bright and whimsical to the pensive and shadowy, and from tranquil nature scenes to bustling bazaars--the photographs depict the multi-faceted mystique of India, cradle of Eastern religion and font of spirituality. All in all, this is a lyrical expression of wisdom borne of and shaped by a culture's rich heritage.