If You Were...

If we meet no Gods, it is because we harbour none, said Emerson. For us, God is not a remote, abstract figure; He is a living, loving Presence.
Hindu Worship

	Pritviraj If you were to breathe life into that Greco-Roman statue on the mantelpiece or that manifestation of Rama on the altar, would it not look something like this?
Vinod If I were to select one near perfect image of the young South Asian male physique, then this just might be it:
Pritviraj & Vinod
They are an incredible pair, but the image here is not what it may seem. It is nonetheless an incredibly artful and captivating image.

If I were...
If only I were...

If only I were the photographer responsible for these images, I would present them here even more enthusiastically.

Instead, I dutifully credit the author, LAURENT G, and his website DESIGNLDG BY LAURENT G, while meekly daring to display these images on Sri Lankan Male.

These heavenly images are out of India, at the river Ganga in Varanasi.

Now, there is the dilemma in being a blogger of whether or not to post the images of others. It is not so dissimilar from the MP3 debate and the older debate over photocopying.

Surely, it isn't fair that one makes use of the work of another's to earn profit, but what about the use of other's work in a form of artistic expression, where there is no material profit or false claims of ownership?

Creativity is stifled unless one is free to expand freely on the work of others.

For what it is worth, I sincerely hope to draw attention to the work and talents of the creator of these remarkable images, while at the same time expanding upon his work and opening it up to a new audience.

I humbly present these images for the Sri Lankan Male audience and encourage you to see more of the author's works through the links provided:

DESIGNLDG BY LAURENT G.

Believe me, you cannot but marvel at the images. YOU HAVE TO SEE THEM!

Whatever his day job--it is referred to on the site--LAURENT G ought instead consider his primary purpose in life to be a chronicler of what can only be described as splendid and magnificent India.

While the focus of interest here (on Sri Lankan Male) is the beauty of the male physique--and the images of LAURENT depicted here capture that so well in the images of these young Indian wrestlers--there is even more treasure than this to be found on LAURENT G's website.

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Now, back to the artist's canvas...

The featured youths are wrestlers in the tradition referred to as pelwan and massage therapy forms a part of the discipline.





According to the author, a brief massage is an integral part of the daily routine of the wrestler and is related to the practice of ayurvedic healing.

Certainly, there is nothing more satisfying than a good daily massage by the hands of a loving comrade.




Images, especially artistic ones, speak to us. Is the wet, course fabric (below) not beautiful? What does this image of Pritviraj, with the knot of his smartly tied waist garment, communicate to you?

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Take Me There!
Take me to a better place...

I believe the word Ganga itself means river, so the Ganga River as we would refer to it in English is perhaps more correctly thought of as the River.

Mr. Laurent G. explains the story behind this most incredible image. And OMG, this has to be an all time favorite image for me. The bathing Indian man is magnificent and makes a display that befits the legendary grandeur of the River.

Archanam Andpadasevanam
The worship and adoration of a God
...made visible to our eyes in beautiful images--like this one.Hindu Worship

More images where religion, art and the beautiful male physique collide at Sri Lankan Male:

• My Sweet Lord (4-Apr-09)
• Incredible Passion (17-Oct-08)

All of the images in this post were obtained from a variety of sources and no claims of ownership are being made by this author. Some of the images have, however, been digitally modified for artistic purposes in accordance with the theme of this post.

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