[Leica] New photos: Vesaka Puja in Braintree, Massachusetts (non-Leica)

[phong at doan-ltd.com (Phong)]

The full moon this past week was the 2548th anniversary
of the birth of the Buddha (Shakyamuni).  This weekend
the Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Braintree, just South
of Boston, celebrated the occasion, known as Vesaka Puja,
or Phat Dan in Vietnamese, by inviting buddhist delegations
from different nationalities and lineages (buddhist "denominations",
so to speak) and have a big bash.  There were Vietnamese, Chinese,
Khmers, Laotians, Nepalese, Indians, Tibetans, Thai,
Burmese, people from Sri Lanka, etc., etc.

I was there for a few hours;  I had to leave early but stayed
long enough for lunch, the procession in traditional dresses,
the offerings of gifts to the Buddha, and a bit of folk dance.
Of course, I took some photos.

In particular, this one is for B.D.:
http://www.phongdoan.com/Photography/PhatDan2004/crw_1046.htm

The small photos on the wall in
http://www.phongdoan.com/Photography/PhatDan2004/crw_1100.htm
are of departed ancestors; Vietnamese buddhists often keep an ancestral
altar at home, as well as photos (used to be name tablets) of the departed
in the temple so they can pray to and for the ancestor when they visit the
temple.
The bigger, framed photo lower, by the woman's hand undoubtedly is one
of a freshly departed parent.  Once the mourning period is over, the framed
photo is replaced by a smaller one, on the wall.  [Be careful when visiting
a Vietnamese home; that photo on the mantel piece, could easily be
one of the dead, as well the living, and a faux-pas can easily be made
:-)  ]

Also in the same photo you can see the round script on the wall; it used to
be
a sino-vietnamese round script, similar to what you may find in a restaurant
in Chinatown.  Now it is a latinized round script, as the Vietnamese have
adopted the latin alphabet as the national writing, thanks to the colonial
French in the late 19th century.

You can see more photos of the day at
 www.phongdoan.com/Photography/PhatDan2004,
part of the continuing "You can't go home again" series.

Photographically, I tried to avoid blocked faces in the main
subjects in a crowd.   I was not totally successful in my goal.
A Leica rangefinder with a widish angle lens would be much better
for this purpose,  the best really;  unfortunately I was not
using my Leica M.

Comments, critiques, criticisms, etc. are always welcome and
always appreciated.  Otherwise, please enjoy the photos.

Cheers,

- Phong