The Runup to the Match

Pictures from the afternoon session (inside someone's house), and then the evening session -- when India batted. Lots of Indian flags.

Everyone got into the spirit.
The afternoon session, watched inside.
All men.
The evening session:
The liquor stand.
The setup on the street. Big screen, loudspeakers, plastic chairs.
All ages.
More Indian spirit.
Of course, visiting with neighbors is also important, and when the match starts at 2:30 and doesn't finish until after 11, there is a lot of time to visit.

Celebrating the win:

Lots of hugs, dancing, and fireworks.

India Wins!

Cricket World Cup Mania hit its peak, and India won. Here are some pictures of the game as it was watched and celebrated by my house. I apologize that the lighting is bad on the videos, but wanted to capture the noise.



I will post the other pictures in the next post, as this takes a long time to upload!

Trip to Amhedabad, part 1

Controversial Chief Minister Modi not-withstanding, Vibrant Gujurat, or at least its Ahmedabad variant, lived up to the moniker, although the broken globe was too much to resist. In the northwest of India, bordering on Pakistan, Gujurat is known for being the home of Mahatma Gandhi, colorful clothes, innovative policies, and a lively economy. Some beautiful buildings too. Below are shots of and around two beautiful mosques.

The loudspeakers are everywhere, on every type of religious building.
Amazing carving.

To wash your feet before entering.

Lots of street life of all sorts.

Celebrating Holi.
The McMansions being built off the Ring Road.
Celebrating Gujurat's accomplishments and culture ... I think ...

Nice mosaics on the grade separators and flyover walls present a strong contrast with Bangalore.

Ahmedabad is also the home of Mahatma Gandhi, so there are Gandhi-themed murals in several parts of the city.

And it is the home of IIM-A, where we stayed.

The car museum was a highlight of the trip for one member of our family.

The buildings housing the car museum.

For me, seeing the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in action probably was one of the highlights. This system will get more detailed treatment in a future post.

One site we failed to get into this time, but hope to visit in the future, is the Calico Museum -- devoted to the history of cotton fabric. No children allowed, and reservations must be made in advance, with only small numbers allowed. Next time, maybe.

Broken Arm

Well, it was just a matter of time, I suppose. Our first broken arm, which happened during an early morning match of the non-contact sport of cricket. Probably just the first of many.

Meanwhile, cricket mania has consumed India. The Indian team won its much anticipated semi-final match against Pakistan on Wednesday, and tomorrow (Saturday, April 2) will play in the finals in Mumbai against Sri Lanka. Everything will be shut down, there will be large screens set up in every apartment complex, and millions will watch the match on TV. Think of the Super Bowl, for an American equivalent, but held only every four years (the soccer FIFA world cup would be the natural analogy for most of the world). New commercials will be rolled out on the TV, with the most expensive tv ad time for the year. Actually, given inflation, and overall wealth in India, the ad rates will probably be record setting highs. And I will be one of the hundreds of millions watching along.