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Archive for the ‘Phil’s Photos’ Category
May
13
2009
Coconut Development Board
May
13
2009
Being Green
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There, I did it. I took a picture of a flower. Truthfully, the greenery here is amazing. Bangalore is known to be “the garden city,” and India in general has unbelievable plantlife: flowers that look like they came from outer space, trees that have bats and sausages hanging from them, and shrubs that have shades of green we have never ever seen before.
The problem in B’lore is that you can’t really be looking at these things as you walk through the city. You will either get hit by a taxi or fall into a sewer if you are not gauging your every step. And even if you were to notice, the city itself has a desaturating effect: the dust everywhere takes the green off things, making it all rather dull and brownish; and the huge IT corporate buidings fill the periphery with dullness of another kind.
But if you get out of town, or off the main drags, or even stop and plant yourself squarely on some safe patch of city ground, look around, and use your imagination, the mind reels at how gorgeous it all is.
May
13
2009
Bhaskar’s Beautiful Family
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Bhaskar, our amazing driver-slash-nanny, invited us to his sister’s home for lunch with their family last Sunday. A simple and delicious meal of naan and lamb meatballs in some ginger coconut curry, she served other people only after Pam and I had finished eating. We were not sure whether that was because we were guests or because there were only enough dishes to serve a few diners at a time; it was lovely in any case.
The flat was quite small, maybe only a couple of rooms, down an alley off a main road near downtown. She said she had lived there for forty years in the same place. Notice the Jesus puja above everyone. A Hindu-style home altar to your chosen God, but in this case instead of an elephant or snake, it is Jesus: Bhaskar’s family has been Catholic for generations.
You can spot Pam in the back row if you look real hard :)
May
10
2009
Lizard Luck
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Bhaskar says geckos are considered bad luck in India. We have loads of them, so who knows what that means… but he also says if you are a man, and a gecko falls from a tree onto your right shoulder, it is good luck; for women, if the gecko lands on the left shoulder it is good luck. Anywhere else and it’s bad. Very, very bad.