Last Day -- Mumbai

On our last day in India we went out for dinner in Mumbai, and the whole experience, from the cab driver to the restaurant was really surreal.

We cooked our own appetizers at dinner, grilled kebabs.












Custom sweets were made for us on our way out. We decided to opt out partly because the last time we ate something similar we felt like we were burping soap for hours.














Dad dressed up in an Indian hat, and the next morning we were off back home, leaving the trip feeling like something of a dream, though that could be for our lack of sleep.

Bangalore

After 5 days in Delhi, we flew to Bangalore, where the weather is much warmer, the food a little spicier, and the language even stranger to American ears.

Today I went to the Hare Krishna temple in Bangalore, the biggest in Asia. It was a pretty bizarre experience overall, but what I saw of the temple was beautiful. Again no photos were allowed, so my photography is limited to what I could get from outside the main grounds. The big thing they do here is feed children lunches in schools in poor rural areas, which not only feeds hungry kids, but also keeps them in school and out of trouble (and teaches them religion). India uses crore and lakhs to describe large numbers, so I was told that they feed “lakhs and lakhs of schoolchildren,” or 10 lakhs to be exact, which the rest of us would say is one million children they feed each day. It sounds like an amazing operation.

This little temple across the street was quite beautiful as well.














Bangles
After my very mellow morning in the temple, I stopped by one of the shopping streets in Bangalore—Commercial Street. What was the most fun was actually not the big street, but the tons of little shops on the side streets, where they had lahks of bangles. I would have never known, but bangles come in pretty precise sizes, and they have an art of putting them on your wrist that probably can’t be recreated at home, so I didn’t buy anything I couldn’t get on my hand myself.

More Street Photos

Women on the street filling water jugs.

Around Delhi

Henna!

Everyone told me the best place to get henna done was outside of the monkey god temple. When I got there, however, I was told it was the day to worship the monkey god, so I had to come back later. Eventually, I made it back to the square outside the temple, where several henna artists were waiting for prospective clients. I checked out books of images from a few to pick my favorite. I had a lot of fun getting the designs painted, but even more fun hanging out with the 6 little kids who started clinging to me when they saw I was willing to pay attention to them. We didn't speak the same language, but we could still laugh and play plenty.

The henna ladies are amazingly fast and fluid in their design concepts. I want to learn from them for my carvings in clay.

The final product (before it gets very dark--that happens over a couple of hours):



Rugs:

I learned about the process of making rugs, including the wool collecting, pattern designs, and knotting and cutting techniques. This is the loom used to do the knotting.















Roof House and the Real India:
I got to see what life in "real India" is like in a house on a rooftop inhabited by a group of construction workers in a hotel being renovated.

In addition to the roof house I rode in a "scootie" a three wheeled taxi the size of a golf cart that weaves in and out of traffic.

I got my palm read by a jeweler who was ready to prescribe stones for me to wear to improve my future (apparently I need sapphires...). It was certainly interesting to hear what he had to say, though I remain unconvinced of the truth in it.

Yesterday I went to Indian cooking school and learned a bit more about cooking various sauces and breads. It was fun, but I think it killed any desire I may have had remaining in my mind to attend cooking school at any point in my life (which is probably a good thing).

street photos

Taj Mahal, Akbar's Tomb, and Elephant Riding

On our way to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, we stopped for breakfast and happened upon a snake charmer and an elephant for hire.

Dad and I rode the elephant much in the style of a kid riding a pony at a birthday party but on a MUCH bigger scale. I never appreciated our car and driver so much when we were able to go back to using that mode of transport.





Akbar's Tomb:

Here we learned that many tombs of the time had a ceremonial (fake) tomb and a real tomb where only the family were allowed to enter. Akbar's real tomb was open to the public, and it was down a long plain corridor where you could hear a beautiful echo with chanting.



The Taj:

The Taj Mahal was built by a Mogul emperor as a tomb for his wife, and is said to be something of a symbol of love because he fulfilled her dying wish of never remarrying, and burying her in the most beautiful place on earth. When he wanted to build himself a matching one in black behind it for his own tomb, his son imprisoned him in a fort next door to stop the construction and save the money. I guess we're stuck with just one.


The white marble is inlayed with semi-precious stones from around Asia, Europe, and Africa in intricate flower designs.


The mosque built so that visitors would have a place to pray when paying their respects to the tomb:

Three gates the courtyard to enter the Taj. All three are identical, and the same on the inside and outside except for the verse written in calligraphy.



I think my picture karma is catching up to me, because after taking so many photos of strangers, two families asked to take pictures of their kids with me today...

As for the rest of the animals we saw: gazelles, mongoose, monkeys (or apes?), donkeys, camels, pelicans, cranes, horses, buffaloes, cows, and giant birds of prey.

Quite a day.

day two in india -- cooking, shopping, and temple/mosque/tomb-viewing

It's been an action packed day here. We got a pretty early start out on the town, and withing 10 minutes of being in the car, smack--we were in our first Indian car accident! It wasn't bad, all that happened was the drivers got out and yelled at each other as a good 20 people gathered to watch the excitement, and we were soon on our way again.


Then we were back on our way to visit Hamayun's tomb. It has one large building with a hundred tombs, a smaller tomb building, a mosque, and nicely looked-after grounds. Most Indian schools run on Saturday mornings, so there were field trips with many many uniformed children touring as well. As cool as all the architecture and the history was, I think my favorite part was the woman below here who was sitting on the steps waving a stick to scare off a group of high school boys who were about to walk into one of my pictures.




After the tomb, we went to a local market, which made our Indian friend flinch, but he was willing to grin and bear it for our amusement. We saw several tailors on the street with pedal operated sewing machines. Who knew anyone still used those? Also to be seen--sari dying on the streets, super cool produce, chickens in cages, three wheeled "scooties" (small motor taxis), bike taxis, and families of four or five on a motor bike.


Then we headed off to learn how to cook Indian food. I think my favorite part was learning the technique for making chapatis--Indian bread made over the stove. All in all, a delicious meal.




Our final stop for the day was the Swaminarayan Akshardham, a modern temple where they don't allow photos! Sorry you'll have to either imagine it or look it up. It was accompanied by a religious and historical video and human-like robots talking about the religious sect and special things about India. It's a hundred acres, with a lotus garden , a visitor's center, a fountain/light show, and an elaborate temple. It was so amazing, it's a shame we have no pics.

First Day in India

After 15 years of wanting to come to India, I finally made it! And I'm loving it. Thanks, Dad, for letting me tag along.

There's no easing into India. Getting off the plane, even the air is different. After a mild adventure getting our car, we made it to the hotel around 3:30 am. Friday afternoon we got to explore the area around the hotel, and go into stores and little markets. I think it's my shopping dream come true--beautiful colors, designs, and all up for bargaining... It was a lot of fun. We got chai and some guy drummed and sang us an Indian love song.

Along the streets there are food vendors making things right there for you at your request. When I stopped to take these pictures a woman offered us a taste of her freshly made food. People have been so sweet to us!

The saga begins...

Okay, I've been feeling a bit of temptation to blog lately, so here goes my first attempt.