Karnataka, my new favorite Indian state

Hampi

Desperately trying to get a bottle of wine open

Eating cheese and baguette and I am so happy

Cute and geeky little train museum in Mysore

Mysore Palace

Fancy hotel near Mysore

Cute little boy who swore he was going to school and just helping
out that day. Here you see him making inscence sticks. 

Sushi in Bengaluru. I was in heaven. 

My huge sundae that I unchristianly-like
did not share with anyone.

Some things give you pause

Every now and then I'm reminded of the stark contrasts that surround me. Less than an hour ago I returned from buying chicken. Seems innocuous enough, right? Except this chicken is going to feed my kitten. Still unclear? Let me paint the picture for you: Girl negotiates price of Rs 40 ($0.90) for a return trip on a rickshaw. Girl boards rickshaw and travels to chicken shop. On the way, girl is reminded that she has been craving a glass of wine, so girl asks the bicyclist to stop at the liquor shop on the way (girl speaks only a little Hindi, so she says, "Here, here, here," indicating to the driver he should stop, which puts them near the liquor shop.). She buys a bottle of wine for Rs 700 ($15.55 - more than she would might spend in NY on a bottle, but right now, who cares?), and outside she gets a request for money by a mother who could not have been older than 16 and who was cradling the tiniest, most adorable newborn. She debates the pros and cons of giving the woman some money and this time, opts to apologize and keep moving. They proceed to the chicken shop to buy chicken pieces - Rs 80 ($1.78) for two legs, two wings and a breast (chicken is relatively more expensive here than in the US; go subsidies!). But at the chicken shop something occurs to her. It came to her in the form of a little flick of her brain: How many Indians cannot afford chicken for their families - maybe 60% of them?  And she's buying it for her kitten! Oh, the world is a strange, confusing and difficult place. 

They're just like us

If you've traveled to India, you've probably experienced the phenomenon of being stared at. It's not an accusatory stare, or one of malice; it's a stare of extreme curiosity mixed with pleasure and often, if the stare-er is under 15, the giggles. Which got me to thinking about the US Weekly section called, Stars: They're Just Like Us! Before you go a gettin all holier than thou, no, I don't read this magazine regularly; but yes, I have been known to peruse it on occasion, such as when waiting on an interminable line at Duane Reade. At any rate, hopefully this does not come across the wrong way, but when I'm getting stared at here, I kind of feel like one of those stars!  I mean, it makes sense that maybe they're thinking, "Hey, that foreigner, she scratches her nose...just like us! Hey, that foreigner, she crosses the street...just like us!"


The other week I had an annoying layover in Delhi. I arrived on the train at 4:30 AM and had to wait until 7:20 AM to board my next train at a different train station. So my friend and I wiled away 2 hours at the Delhi train station waiting for the Metro to open. I had yet to brush my teeth, so decided that I would take a cue from my fellow Indians who are rarely shy about public grooming, bathing and toileting, or really anything, and just brush in the small outdoor cafe where we were waiting.  This should attract more staring, right? Well, given that I was already being stared at, and I'm always being stared at, I decided that little more could come of this. And I was right. Was that anticlimactic (Should hit the delete button?)? Well, you get the point.

Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand

My friend Alice came through on her way to yoga training in Maharashtra.  Here are some pics from the weekend at Jim Corbett park. Sadly, there were no tiger spottings. We did hear the warning call that the forest animals give to other animals to notify them of the tiger's wanderings, but in the end, that was the closest we got. Apparently you have spend the night in the park and you're more or less guaranteed to see a tiger.  

Vegetable art

Van tries to ensure greater access to PDS

I recently got the chance to visit a van that distributes rations from India's reputedly corrupt Public Distribution System (PDS).  I can't attest to what the papers say about the PDS, but I do know that the depots that distribute the rations are run by private citizens and often they are open only once a month.  So Jago, the NGO working on this project, was able to get some ration cards transferred from neighborhood depots to the van with the goal of increase residents' access to the rations. A study is currently being undertaken to see if the program is effective.

Carrying on the tradition

Traditional dance performance put on for school kids