Ragubir Singh's India is poignant,stark, vital and alive. His photographs of everyday life in India are glimpses into the soul of all strata of Indian life. Whether seeing a mother and child, two little girls who are best friends, or the incredible paradox a rich man and his luxury car juxtaposed to the glaring,overwhelming poverty and human suffering, one can't help but be deeply moved and touched by the vibrant movement flowing through each and every image in this visual journey to the real India.

If you have ever been to India, or have ever wished in your mind's eye to go there, this is the book for you. Singh's legacy is to offer captivating images. Even my five year old daughter will sit and look at each image for the longest time, and think of what is seen -- just like a visit to India itself!

Raghubir Singh is arguably one of India's most well-known photographers and certainly one of the best I have seen in print. Most photographers will shy away from colour but Singh composes beautifully in this medium (and it wouldn't do Bombay justice to shoot it in black and white...) Above and beyong his talent with the lens, he has a very keen eye for the city, and captures the personality of the people who live there: laissez faire, slick, cosmopolitan. A typically Indian book - unabashed and bold - appropriately reflective of its subject matter. Naipaul is an odd choice for designing this work, given his relative distaste for India, but creates the perfect tension to accompany the photographs. In summary, Singh is in prime form in this book, doing what he does best: chronicling the people that define a city.

The Ganges is the fascinating and informative personal story of one man's pilgrimage along the famous and revered river Ganges, ranging from it's sources in the Himalaya mountains to its ultimate destination in the Bay of Bengal. 123 impressive, unforgettable color photographs enhance a deeply engaging text by contemporary photographer Raghubir Singh. Both image and commentary blend to document Singh's undeniable eye for detail, and fill the 192-pages this remarkable travelogue and memorable tribute to a timeless and sacred river.

A gorgeous slice of life photographed by Raghubir Singh in his eleventh book of photographs. These pictures are sumptuous to look at while stimulating one's curiosity about the enormous melange of peoples and cultures that make up India.

There are camels and carpets, a medieval milestone, scooter riders and monsoon floods. There is a museum watchman who could easily be the model for one of the ancient statues he guards. There are pilgrims and festivals. Everywhere there are people living. Some are aware of the cameraman others go about their business with out acknowledging his presence.

This book is enjoyable on so many levels. Singh's feeling for his subject matter and his exceptional sense of composition and color create a satisfying work of art.

A gorgeous slice of life photographed by Raghubir Singh in his eleventh book of photographs. These pictures are sumptuous to look at while stimulating one's curiosity about the enormous melange of peoples and cultures that make up India.

There are camels and carpets, a medieval milestone, scooter riders and monsoon floods. There is a museum watchman who could easily be the model for one of the ancient statues he guards. There are pilgrims and festivals. Everywhere there are people living. Some are aware of the cameraman others go about their business with out acknowledging his presence.

This book is enjoyable on so many levels. Singh's feeling for his subject matter and his exceptional sense of composition and color create a satisfying work of art.

In a book that gets this reviewer's award for best title of a photographic essay collection, Ketaki Sheth offers an interesting (if not limited) subject matter, the photography of twins named Patel in both India and England.

Sheth photographed more than 100 sets of multiples named Patel (the name originates in the 15th century and means record-keeper of crops) and chose 78 sets of twins and four sets of triplets to appear in her book.

Posed in banana fields, schools, streets in India and England, backyards, parks, weddings and other locales, the book offers beautiful photos that may be of special interest to two unique audiences--people with the surname Patel or twins of any type.

These pictures, though some are interesting, don't have the beauty and density of those found in other of his woriks. One will not come away with any sense of the landscape or cityscapes of Tamil Nadu. There are too many shots of individuals, but not enough sense of place, and on the whole, not the painterly quality he usually brings to his work.