Bits from Bangalore: Letters from India

Do these buildings look real to you?

2011-11-20T22:53:00.001+05:30

We spent the last few days at the Infosys Training center in Mysore at the India Urban Conference that was a great chance to meet fascinating people. The site, like the conference itself, was large and sprawling. Here are some shots of some buildings that seemed, even right next to them, not to be quite real.

Looks like it could on top of a cake, don't you think?

The top of the facade seems a bit too abrupt for me.

A huge building.

Yes, this is India ... outside of Mysore.

Sorry there haven't been many posts lately, too busy doing other things. But I will try to post more in the upcoming several weeks and months, with writing along with more pictures, as I'm wrapping up my job at CSTEP and moving on to new adventures (but still in India, for a while).

Ganesh Chaturthi this year

2011-10-06T15:56:00.002+05:30

Somehow this didn't get posted in September, so we are on the next holiday, but I'll put these up now anyway.

It's time for the big Ganesh festival again, with decorated idols and offerings of his favorite foods. We were invited to spend the day in the house of our driver, where we participated in the puja and partook of the food.

Everyone took turns at the puja.

Including me:

Farewell to Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T15:54:00.000+05:30

There are all kinds of great articles (and images) all over the Web paying tribute to Steve Jobs, and although I can't hope to be very original, I feel like I must join in. He blended technology and design in such an artful way to produce elegant products and services that let us focus on what we want to do, not how to do it. We can only hope that his spirit (and products) will live on in others who will continue to innovate ... but maybe yell a little less.

Some of my favorite statements (thanks to the Huffington Post, that provides a lot more):
"Picasso had a saying: 'Good artists copy, great artists steal.' We have always been shameless about stealing great ideas...I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, poets, artists, zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world."
-- 1994
"That's been one of my mantras -- focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."
-- BusinessWeek interview, May 1998
"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything -- all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. ... Stay hungry. Stay foolish."
-- Stanford University commencement address, June 2005.

--written on a MacBook Pro ....

Some sights on the streets of DC

2011-10-02T23:08:00.000+05:30

During a recent short trip to DC I saw these sights and had to share them. Things getting scarier by the day.

On a rainy street.

Obama is the tyrant? Seems to me that he may not be that effective a leader, but tyrant is not what I would call him.

More proof of the range of wackos found in America today. Yikes. A reason to stay in India?

Welcome back to Bangalore

2011-08-31T16:41:00.007+05:30

The end of an active monsoon means roads that are converted into lakes of different sizes. Here are some images of our trip back from the airport to Jakkur, and then our road (which doesn't have a name that I know of).

Driving from the airport .... on Bellary Road converted to a lake in several sections.

Then, folks are trying to fix the road by pouring in construction garbage and trying to roll it into a road.

Some images from the protests

2011-08-31T16:18:00.003+05:30

Mr. Hazare is eating again, and there is debate in Parliament about corruption, but my expectations are pretty low. However, it was quite something to see so many people energized, here are some images from around town.

Lots of signs and billboards.
Impromptu marches of students.
Walking, two-wheelers.
Around many cities, students took to their bikes to drive around town to inform folks about the movement.
I didn't see any of the human chains that appeared in some parts of Bangalore, nor did I go to Freedom Park, where folks here were gathering, and which had its own group of folks fasting. Brilliant images used -- truly sacred -- Gandhi and the Indian flag.
Tee-shirts worn in support.

Anti-corruption protests throughout india

2011-08-21T19:49:00.005+05:30

Hello to all, sorry for the long absence ... a bout of bronchitis and travel both contributed, along with lots of turbulence all around. The world economy continues in a mess, silly US political debate and economic policies ensure a double dip recession, European tension threatens the existence of the Euro, and I'm convinced that some weird anti=matter cloud has enveloped Bangalore and caused irrationality to rule (even more than usual). For example, Yeddy says that he is joining the Anna anti-corruption fight. Huh? One of the most corrupt chief ministers saying he is going to the join the swelling anti-corruption movement.

Anyway, for those of you not in India, you need some background. And this is perhaps an amazing positive thing -- India this weekend is a country with protests and marches all over the country supporting an old man (Anna Hazare) on a hunger strike, fighting corruption. He is effectively invoking Gandhi in image and style, and I think these are the largest protests nationwide since Independence. NDTV, a leading Indian television channel, I think provides some of the best coverage, at least images. TimesNow provides more too.

Today is 6th day of his hunger strike, and the government is boxed in but doesn't want to give in. While many can correctly note that most of the protesters are middle or upper middle class in an attempt to downplay the scale or importance of the protests, that doesn't mean that it isn't relevant. However, within the Indian political discourse, this is like the kiss of death. The poor are courted for their votes -- since there are SO many of the time -- while the rich have access to influence policy, but the middle class -- which is growing rapidly as a result of booming growth, but generally criticized for apathy, and now lashing out in anger -- generally have been ignored. Indian representative democracy seems to forget people in between elections.

A Sunday in North Bangalore

2011-07-17T12:21:00.019+05:30

A lovely, breezy Sunday here in North Bangalore. A nice day to take a walk and see the latest is in the struggle to connect roads and walking paths. What do we see: Lots of construction, bad roads, construction blocking the walk to the village, and water tankers. Here is a walk down the street, such as it is:

Big fancy house to the right, detail below. Also note the realty sign on the left, with detail provide below the big house.

This isn't to advertise, just to let folks know that this is the development that is blocking the link to the main road to the village and layout behind it.

Continuing the walk down the street, we can see the tea stall at the left amidst the construction.The informal sector like this provides needed services to all levels of the population, in this case security guards, drivers, and construction workers.

Next, we see the construction moving along on the right side, while the raw materials for the construction (and some of the construction workers) are on "street" on the left.

Then we encounter the problem. New construction for those seven luxury homes blocking the path to the village. So these woman who had been walking to go to the village encounter a wall and security guards.
The guards from other areas come out too as an argument ensues.

To the left, the big hole that precedes construction of those luxury homes.

Then the women give up and have to go around the long way.
On the road they pass by multiple water tanker trucks.

The water tanker filling up the tank.
Another one coming.

And street dogs, of course, omnipresent along with the water tankers.

A side street in the making. Yet another big fancy house at the end, with the workers' huts in front.

Back to the main road, with its mini-lakes showing how much it rained earlier.

Inside the gates, our lives are easy. Passionfruit is starting to emerge from the vines ....
And the kids play cricket ....
With the recycling woman with her bags of recyclables working hard.

Monsoon rain and its effects

2011-07-13T18:32:00.002+05:30

Huge puddles on the road.
They seem like lakes sometimes, more than puddles.
The monsoon rains are lovely to watch, provide needed water and coolness.
And an opportunity for kids to play.

Thread Ceremony - Upanayanam - the pregame show

2011-06-21T22:40:00.007+05:30

A relative had his thread ceremony, and we attended day 1, more focused on the parents than on the boy. What is a thread ceremony? If you are Christian, think confirmation; Jewish, bar mitzvah. According to the invitation: This is one of the most important events in a boy's life. Of the 4 stages of life, Upanayanam is when he completes his 1st stage and enter his 2nd stage of life. He is given a thread (actually three) that denote thought, word and deed. We didn't actually attend the ceremony itself, but the elaborate full day celebration the day before. As with all such Indian celebrations, there are fabulous silk saris, overwhelming good, and lots of food.

Oh, and a bunch of priests sitting around a fire that fills the function hall with smoke. The fire is the witness to all things important in Hinduism. No one seems to worry about the smoke.

The kids, most in their silk finery, and including the boy who will get his thread, find a way to have fun no matter what is happening with all the priests.
We are in Bangalore which still produces large quantities of fresh flowers, so there are flowers everywhere, at the entrance above, and decorating the stage below.
The crowd mainly doesn't pay attention, just like at weddings.
The mother has a long sari with the gold belt.
Multiple scenes on the stage.

Multiple meals are served. All vegetarian of course.

As in weddings, banana leaves are used as the plates, and men come around with big buckets of food, waiting below.

More Singapore: Around Orchard Road

2011-06-05T18:41:00.011+05:30

I expected not to like Singapore, but coming from India, it was a welcome island of order. I expected the order, and well behaved crowds, and cleanliness, but I was surprised at how green it was, and it was a little less extreme in terms of rules than I expected. These photos are around Orchard Road, which was a pleasure to walk on (or below).

We stayed close to Orchard Road, a major shopping area both above ground and below. At one end, lots of greenery. Actually, there was lots of greenery all around.
Wide sidewalks, lots of signage, and of course, the surveillance camera.
Plenty of garbage and recycling bins all around.
Bus stops with great information and space to protect riders from the elements.
There was a Formula One related event while we were there, so there were barriers for crowd control set up, along with lots of extra lights.
The ERP sign provides information on the congestion pricing model used in the central of the city to reduce traffic by charging private vehicles a fee.

Great signage, everywhere, even on the construction work.

Sculpture of all sorts ... traditional and modern.

Wide sidewalks with greenery and lots of street furniture.

Colorful entrance to the shopping malls underground as well as the the metro.

Well mannered and run taxi lines.
Quintessential Singapore -- tall building, a heritage area, and the don't enter sign.
Lovely, and I'm sure out of this world expensive.
Mosaics, swinging wooden doors ... one could imagine this doorway in many parts of the world.

Expensive parking everywhere too.
Buildings (again, mainly malls) with huge screens advertising movies on them.
This area was off Orchard too.

A mixture of heritage and newer buildings.

Modern, modern.

Singapore subway

2011-05-25T21:09:00.005+05:30

Mobs of people, but well organized and super clean.
Signs in English, Chinese and Tamil.
While there were ads all over the stations, there were far fewer ads on overpasses and roads above ground than one sees in India.

Amazing signage.

In the trains too.

Crossing the border between Singapore and Malaysia in Johor

2011-05-25T20:57:00.003+05:30

Unfortunately my camera died after these shots, but we crossed the border between Singapore and Malaysia via the causeway that was built long ago by Sub's grandfather (under Japanese occupation), and entered into a quite ordered border crossing, certainly putting the Mexican-US border to shame.

Perfectly symmetrical on both sides, i.e., in both directions, actually quite disorienting that way, as the differences between Singapore and Malaysia are huge, just across the bridge. We took a bus to the border crossing, had to go through immigration and customs both ways, and then had to change buses on the other side, although we were on Singapore bus system buses throughout.

There were many buses of little children who go to school in Singapore and return home to Malaysia at the end of the day, along with many workers. The school buses below transport the children.

You know you're in Asia when ....

2011-05-25T20:53:00.003+05:30

These are both in the drawer of the bedstand in your hotel room. In the US, finding the Gideon Bible is the norm, maybe in California (where I haven't stayed in a hotel room in a long time) they give you Buddha too?

A walk in the High Grounds of Central Bangalore

2011-05-07T21:39:00.010+05:30

I decided to take some photos on the walk between my bank and my office to highlight the state of sidewalks, called footpaths here. On another day I'll emphasize the traffic, but today we'll concentrate on the sidewalks, with a few buildings here and there.

The road outside the office, Ali Askar Road.

Turning the corner.
At least there are trees left here.
But one must be vigilant, given the sad state of the sidewalks, which actually are more properly defined as drainage covers.
A lovely convent. Yes, a convent of cloistered carmelites!

There are a few residential houses, although the point here is the hand pushed cart of the street cleaner.
The garbage along the way is quite unattractive.
The trees come in handy to hang wires and put up announcements, along with providing oxygen and shade.

The footpath here is actually quite wide.
All the handier for dumping garbage ...
or providing a gathering space ...
or an eating place.

A feed in drain, unfortunately clogged.

Some nice shade for bicycle parking.
The regional development authority. Makes you wonder how they will help direct growth in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region when there are piles of garbage in front of their office

Classic ad, posted on tree.
More ads, posted on an electrical box.
A stretch in good shape, on Millers Road.
One of the office buildings, nearby, with some familiar names.
The parking lot and entrance to that office, NOT so familiar a sign.

Cricket with a broken arm

2011-05-07T21:16:00.005+05:30

It can be done. Sort of like having some armguards.
Taking it very seriously.Playing at a school event as well.

The Runup to the Match

2011-04-02T23:11:00.007+05:30

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!

2011-04-02T22:59:00.005+05:30

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

2011-04-01T17:50:00.023+05:30

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

2011-04-01T17:41:00.005+05:30

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.

Some family vehicles

2011-03-05T20:33:00.005+05:30

One of the things about India is how many folks fit into or onto vehicles. Here are some photos from around Bangalore.

Just a couple shots from this week of two wheeler motorcycles serving as family transportation vehicles. Both of these were on Bellary Road, a major highway. Drivers are legally required to wear a helmet.Not the passengers though. And not all the drivers wear them either.

Happy Birthday Yeddy

2011-03-05T19:33:00.005+05:30

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S.Yeddyurappa celebrated his birthday recently, so of course there are many photos celebrating the day all around. Here are some of them.Signs had to compete for space on the bridge over this underpass
Signs were written in both English and Kannada, and showed him in both traditional and more formal attire.

At least he said that politicians should share their birthday cakes with the poor, which he did with some slum-dwellers in Bangalore.

Graffiti at JNU

2011-02-21T19:11:00.006+05:30

Jawaharlal Nehru University -- commonly known as JNU -- in Delhi has a lively campus with impressive graffiti of all stripes. In the Center for Economic Studies and Planning, there is a red brick wall, the "Hallowed Red Wall" that contains the terms and names of its center's proud marxist tradition. I spent some time with students, and was impressed with their background in all stripes of economics.

Even the right wing graffiti was more progressive than one might find elsewhere, quite surprising when fundamentalist Hindutva types feel they might have their share of signs against female foeticide and crimes against women.

This one shows Sonia Gandhi pushing Prime Minister Singh in a wheelchair.

But most of the student driven posters and artwork were definitely lefty, some more so than others.

Political activism is alive and well, and up-to-date.
From another group.
And yet another.

Egypt

2011-02-11T21:41:00.003+05:30

The struggle of the Egyptian people -- peaceful -- to force Mubarak out and hopefully bring democracy to their country -- is an amazing inspiration to us all.

Somehow my complaints about infrastructure construction don't seem so important today.

Let us all hope for the best as the Egyptians work together to create their own democracy.

Saturday Outing

2011-01-17T06:24:00.010+05:30

These two pictures of a corner in Bangalore reflect a good slice of the Indian economy today. A cyber cafe. Citibank. A caterer. A travel agency, with international accreditations. Western Union. Other small shops. A traditional wood furniture makers, displaying their wares on the street to entice customers.

Muslim shops open, Hindu-run shops probably closed because of the holiday. Then, of course, Mayawati's 55th birthday, so we need signs in Bangalore for her too.

She clearly has hopes beyond UP. Now to Bangalore ....

I get very few opportunities just to explore, but Saturday I needed to run an errand on Commercial Street, an old fashioned market area, so I took advantage of the opportunity to to wander a bit around the neighborhood. Here is a bit of the flavor of the place. The main street has a lot of alleys and streets offshooting it and around it with every kind of shop imaginable.

This is a natural pedestrian only area, but unfortunately cars are allowed. As this Saturday was a holiday, there was less traffic, and fewer people that often. Traffic police were active carting away illegally parked motorcycles (or two-wheelers, as they are known here).

This was the first time I saw the traffic police in action like this. As they were leaving, others were asking them to return to move other vehicles.

A store that dyes fabric.
Embroidery work.
The friendly hijiras.
Christmas decorations still, along with a help wanted sign.

A sign nearby.

Confusing -- American, UK, Euro. The important thing is that it is foreign. But it does point to the huge demand for education that is not being met.

Some construction.

The circus.
Ads ... must have Rahul's picture there to link it to politics (and patronage).
Proliferation of signs and posters.
Furniture stores along Infantry Road.

Driving back home -- a road that was widened retaining the trees.

Wedding in the Family, part 1

2010-12-19T23:11:00.008+05:30

A combination North and South Indian wedding. First, the sangeet, with the groom arriving on a horse.

Fireworks and a band.

Family members get into the act.

The bride shows off her mehendi. I think I have pictures of Sukrutha (the beautiful bride) showing off her mehendi now over the course of many family weddings, more than 10 years.

Never this elaborate though.

The next day, the South Indian wedding has some games at the beginning -- with the bride and groom hoisted on shoulders, and trying to place garlands on each other.

After the garlands are placed, they sit on a swing, and receive blessings from relatives.

After the dramatically shortened South Indian ceremony, the bride is whisked away to be prepared for the North Indian ceremony. Different clothes and jewelry, of course.

Meanwhile, everyone else justs sit around, looking beautiful in gorgeous silks, surrounded by garlands decorating everything.

More on the North Indian wedding, and the reception, food, and songs from the Sangeet, to come ....

Ben-10 in Bangalore

2010-12-06T18:45:00.005+05:30

I attended a Cartoon-Network sponsored event cause Amartya and two of his friends wanted to go to a cricket match between characters held at Kantaveera Athletics stadium downtown on a recent Sunday night.

Waiting in line. A line. In Bangalore! The worst job related to this gig had to have been keeping the lines in order.Especially as it got darker and closer to the time of the event.
You'll note the fairly wide range of attire and people. The tickets were given out for free (you had to pick them up at local stores), so it probably was the broadest cross section of folks here in any event I have attended.

UB City at night -- Bangalore's homage to the Empire State Building.During the event, there were several times when there were games or some kind of promotion linked to cel phones. Note all the screens lit up above.

Of course, if an emergency would occur, it would be close to impossible to flee quickly, as different sections were cordoned off with the gates. Now I better understand how folks get crushed at soccer games and concerts.

Tortilla chips in Bangalore

2010-11-28T14:35:00.003+05:30

Continuing with our consumption fest here, I turn to more serious items: chips.

I'm forever on the hunt for tortilla chips, as I'm able to make fresh salsa all the time with the tomatoes, cilantro, and purple onions all around. There are some that get imported from the US, and are expensive and not great, but last week I found two new sources. Above you see the new Indian-made chips, with the details below.

The real find:

From Greece!

More bangles

2010-11-28T14:27:00.003+05:30

These bangles have clamps, unlike the traditional ones, so those of us like me who grew up without the art of putting on and taking off bangles, might actually be able to wear them.

In time for the holiday season.
Not my style, but I'm sure my sisters will like them.

Obama in India, part 1

2010-11-07T12:08:00.005+05:30

Diwali and even the end of Dusshera will have wait until Obama's gone probably, sorry, but this is too important. As I write this, President Obama is meeting with students at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, emphasizing the moral imperatives, the responsibility that we all share, and the possibilities. These students probably have never heard an Indian politician say things like this, especially to them.

Here are some images from the pre-visit coverage from Indian TV.

First, the Indian view that the Republican victory in the House in the US is positive news. Not my opinion, but this is consistent with the nostalgia for W. They remember the nuclear deal, but not how he got the world (and the US) into the mess in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the financial crisis.
Setting expectations low. Smart politics.

Excitement about the visit.

The countdown on some channels was day by day, and then minute by minute.

When they first arrived, they had a hard time getting the stairs to the plane. This took a while.

I didn't take any pictures of his interaction with the students unfortunately. Now, though, I have to shake my head as I hear the post-town hall discussion dissecting the performance.

ALL the discussion is about Pakistan, and a little about how there are no "big ticket items" so that means that India has nothing to gain. NOTHING about his call to engage with the world in responsible ways, about his attempts -- which he admits fall short -- to emulate Mahatma Gandhi, or about the need for respect for all people.

More to come.

Some Scenes from the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

2010-10-31T19:38:00.004+05:30

There are times when I am sad not to be in Washington, and yesterday was one of them. I tried to watch the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, which I finally found on politico.com but the signal was not even and I missed a lot of the wordplay, so I settled for listening to it on cspan radio and updating my browser and then stopping it every once in a while to see the scene but not get too disoriented by the simultaneous and slightly off time streams (CSPAN seemed a bit behind).

I especially liked Jon Stewart in front of the all the American flags, and when both he and Colbert had their flag jackets on. This collection of shots from Salon are really great: Scenes from the Rally to Restore Sanity.

Now I have to run to tend to the Halloween Trick or Treaters at the door! Never underestimate soft power, good, bad, and in between.

Nana's great-grandchildren

2010-10-25T07:30:00.004+05:30

Pictures of Nana with each of her great-grandchildren.
Nana with glamorous Sara.
Nana with Amartya.
Nana with Mick.
He gets two cause he's the smallest.

Goodbye to Nana as She Goes off to College

2010-10-24T21:56:00.004+05:30

Nana on the shore of Lake Ontario a couple of years ago. Nan, sorry I don't have any earlier pictures.

Laurina Fulgenzi DiCamillo was quite a lady. She went to sleep after dinner on Saturday night and didn’t wake up, peacefully passing away surrounded by family, with an even broader cloud of good feelings sent her way by those of us who were cities, states, and oceans away. We sure are going to miss you, Nana.

Hospice workers came to help ready her for her next adventure – college! Nana told us that she was finally going to go to college as she donated her body to the Medical School at the University of Buffalo (formally, SUNY-Buffalo). So off she went. Too bad the med students who will encounter her in their studies can’t tell us the secrets of how she lived to 97, or laugh at her jokes. Perhaps it was the daily garlic; probably not the gobs of butter and heavy cream. Or maybe her scrumptious ravioli or gnocchi, combined with her physical activity like tennis and gardening.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any of the old pictures of her, when she was a stylish young woman and athlete, hopefully I’ll get some soon, so here you will be limited to seeing her past 90.

Her father hailed from Calascio in Abruzzi, Italy, and her mother was born pretty much off the boat to parents from that same village (that her mother’s sister married her father’s brother is another story for a later date). They moved from Wimber, Pennsylvania, to which they had been recruited from Italy to work in the coal mines, producing the coal that fired the steel mills of Western Pennsylvania. They moved to Niagara Falls, where Laurina was the first of four daughters. Laurina was closer in age to her mother (Assunta, Susie) than to her youngest sister Julia, with Anita and Emma in between.

She eloped with a dashing Thomas DiCamillo at 19 because her husband-to-be’s family didn’t approve of her – not Catholic enough, from a different region of the Abruzzo state. The same state of faraway Italy mind you, but further inland, in the mountains. He worked in his family’s bakery (her family also had a bakery). Her badminton skills took her to the top of New York State badminton competitions. Her tennis skills kept her fit, as did her early morning shifts at the bakery rolling out dough with the men at the bread table. As the lifeguard at the Big Pool, the public swimming pool in Hyde Park in Niagara Falls, she encountered the entire spectrum of the population. She was a PhyEd teacher at Stella Niagara, a convent school, where I remember her cleaning the floors as well as teaching a lot of rich Latinas how to swim, shoot a basket, and smash a birdie. She played tennis throughout her life and well past 90 years old, and lived independently until 95. Her daughters Betty and Jerri grew up to be good tennis players too, and Jerri continues to be a tennis coach.

She never went anywhere unless her face was made up, and wouldn’t let the police in to answer an alarm call until she “put her face on”. She favored bright pinks and greens and yellows (SHE never complained about my colorful gifts from India, and Mexico before that, unlike everyone else!) for her clothes, and would take us clothes shopping for colorful clothes too.

I grew up with Nana bringing us fresh bread and doughnuts as she finished her morning bread shift before we set out to school. After stopping in to see us, she would continue on to see her mother (who lived almost to 100) to have morning coffee. I very vividly remember her (and her mother too, for that matter), hanging out windows to make sure they were clean, because clean windows, and clean everything, was very, very important.

When I was little I would spend Saturday nights at her house so my parents could have a social life, and she would wash and rinse (a big treat) our hair, and paint our toe-nails with nailpolish. The primping didn’t take with me, and she was forever asking me if I had lost my hair brush or comb. Even when I saw her a couple of weeks ago, at least once each day she would ask me. In the last few years, when her memory wasn’t what it used to be, she would ask several times a day about my next hair appointment , or who stole my comb, and the like.

She taught us to swim, took us to practice driving, and played hours and hours of tennis with us, especially me. We drove to visit her one sister who lived out of the area, and almost always had arguments about directions and map reading.

My big adventure with her, though, was a three week trip in Italy in 1985, before I started grad school. We stayed with relatives in Rome, L’Aquila (now devastated by the earthquake in 2009), and Ofena; visited her father’s house in Calascio and climbed La Rocca with her cousins; and traveled to Florence and Venice. For me it was a great chance to spend time with her, learn more about Italy, and get to know my relatives there a bit. My image of them was stuck with Topo Gigio and other kids books they brought me when I was little, so it was nice to move beyond that. We had a fun time visiting tourist sites, riding trains, eating great food, and exploring together, although her impression was almost always different than mine. For example, at the Vatican, while I wondered where they had gotten all the money for all that gold, she commented that they should have spent some of their money on cleaning, cause it was very dirty and dusty.

I could write on an on, but will end here today. Nana, wherever you are, you will be impossible to forget. I’m sure you will have your rouge on. And still be asking where my comb is.

Making pasta.

Visiting with Uncle Hook, her little sister Julia's husband, probably about 5 years ago.

Great piece on inequality

2010-10-18T09:49:00.004+05:30

To change pace a little, a quick comment on a great article ("Confronting Inequality: Too Big to Ignore) in yesterday's New York Times by Professor Robert Frank of Cornell, talking about how economists should really speak out on the negative effects of increased inequality that we see in the US -- although the argument can be extended all over the world, including places like India, and between countries as well. He notes:

There is no persuasive evidence that greater inequality bolsters economic growth or enhances anyone’s well-being. Yes, the rich can now buy bigger mansions and host more expensive parties. But this appears to have made them no happier. And in our winner-take-all economy, one effect of the growing inequality has been to lure our most talented graduates to the largely unproductive chase for financial bonanzas on Wall Street.

In short, the economist’s cost-benefit approach — itself long an important arrow in the moral philosopher’s quiver — has much to say about the effects of rising inequality. We need not reach agreement on all philosophical principles of fairness to recognize that it has imposed considerable harm across the income scale without generating significant offsetting benefits.

No one dares to argue that rising inequality is required in the name of fairness. So maybe we should just agree that it’s a bad thing — and try to do something about it.

In the US, it's financial service; in India, IT services. In both cases, talented individuals with training in many fields get lured into financial services or IT services rather than apply their education in more needed fields -- civil engineering comes to mind in both cases -- because the financial rewards are so astronomical compared to the alternatives.

Preparing for Dussera

2010-10-16T13:02:00.017+05:30

Dussera time once again. The first year, I was amazed at how cars, buses, and trucks were decorated, as well as bikes, hammers, and even file cabinets -- as folks decorated and prayed for their implements of work. This year, we will help decorate our car too, as our drivers wants to do a proper puja to protect it. So, first step, like in festivals everywhere in the world, involves shopping. Banana leaves, mango leaves, kum kum colored powder, garlands of flowers, coconuts, a type of pumpkin, bananas, lemons/limes, fruit, sweets, puffed rice. Below you can share some of our shopping experience.

Formal markets play a large role, but so do temporary informal markets that spring up along roads in specific areas, often nearby formal markets.

Bangalore has always been known for its flowers, here bound together in huge garlands to adorn vehicles and doorways.

Sweet shops also do a booming business.
Always an afterthought is parking. So, just as the informal markets take over sidewalk and road space, so do parking areas.

And of course, the produce has to be transported to the market.

And then transported home.

In our case, walking the banana leaves to the car as if leading a parade.This picture shows an informal market, and it captures some of the contrasts of India today.

The color. The contrast between the Center for Scientific Research (or at least its sign) with the chaos of the street -- cars, pedestrians (some with no shoes, in a wide array of styles both traditional and less so), and commerce all fighting for space. The sign announcing someone's death with the garland on it it. Woefully inadequate power lines. The solar water heater on the building in the background.

Next posting, our car's puja ceremony.

The street

2010-10-11T21:11:00.008+05:30

Too busy lately, sorry for the silence. Trips within and outside of India for research, a conference, and just normal work. Today, some shots from the street that connects our complex (and a bunch of new ones going up) with the main road. Longtime readers will have seen other pictures, but today the focus is on the trees that were planted, and then chopped down; the quantity of potholes; the buildings go up; and the workers building them.

To start, a tree that hasn't been chopped down.

And some that have been. Many of these had been planted over the course of the two + years I've been living here, but evidently they are now conflicting with the electrical lines, so a different gang of folks than those who planted the trees have come to "trim" them.
Clearly, what "trimming" means varies from person to person.

On the other side of the street, the trees are flourishing. However, there are the odd piles of building materials that go into the road here and there. You also see some of the potholes, and the vegetable man with his bike cart along with cars.
Further down the street.
More potholes, in the space between the two previous pictures.
The tea stall, an essential part of life for the workers who live in the labor camp area behind the metal sheet.
Many of the workers are building this McMansion.
Others are building new apartment complexes.
Finally, the status of the piece of land that blocks the road connecting our street with the village nearby, where many of the domestic workers live. Lots of the metal has come down, but the passage is still blocked.

An Indian Christian wedding

2010-08-28T21:46:00.005+05:30

I had the honor of attending an Indian Christian wedding here in Bangalore last week. The experience was quite different that the weddings I had attended here. Here is the couple ready to walk down the aisle, together.
The ceremony and reception were a mixture of traditional Indian Hindu traditions -- the red sari, tying the thali knot on a necklace as a symbol of marriage, exchange of garlands of flowers -- while some are very Christian -- the wedding mass, signs of the cross while greeting the couple, exchange of rings, the white veil. Here is a video of part of the mass.

Perhaps the biggest difference from the weddings I have attended though, was at the reception. There was still the receiving line, flowers for hair of everyone that wanted them, the dry red kumkum powder for the dot, and great food, but there were meat options as well as veg, and wet yellow (turmeric and sandalwood), and lively music (complete with break dancing).Here's a video, so you can see the stage, the musicians (although not the break dancing that followed), some of the guests, and the welcome table with flowers and other treats:

Nandi Hills

2010-08-25T20:17:00.008+05:30

Great excursion to Nandi Hills, a hill station just a bit north of Bangalore. The big Hill itself, the rocks and rock formations, and the temples on top of it were quite impressive. Seeing a temple that was built under the Cholas 400 hundred years ago -- so cool, solid, and still standing -- contrasts greatly with much of the modern architecture that requires AC, and seems so shoddily built, that one wonders what progress really means.

View from the bottom:

This was Tipu Sultan's Lodge:
With some nice views:The view from the top.

More proof the post office in India is everywhere:Some of the best signage I've seen in India:

Monkeys everywhere. Unfortunately, taps that were leaking were common too.A temple built into the side of the mountain, with bright buildings nearby.
Some wide and fairly well-constructed stairs for going up and down the mountain to the temple.
One of the water tanks near the top of the mountain.
Boys on the top!

Pizza making in Niagara

2010-08-15T09:36:00.005+05:30

While I usually emphasize things Indian, attending to my Italian heritage is also important, so here are hour generations making pizza.

Start with dough from DiCamillo's Bakery, and spread it on the sheet.

Next, get the sauce ready.

The fun part -- spreading out the sauce.

Now, add some cheese.

Take a big chunk of cheese, and grate/shred/cut it into smaller pieces for the top. LOTS of cheese is crucial for this kind of pizza.

Time to eat!

American Independence Day in India

2010-08-15T09:19:00.003+05:30

Okay, so I'm only posting this on Indian Independence Day, but between work, travel, and more work, I'm hopelessly behind, so I will try to catch up.

We celebrated the 4th of July by roasting marshmallows and lighting firecrackers with some fellow Americans in our housing complex.

The cutest little American:

More cross-cultural play: a baseball pinata to celebrate a birthday.

Mercosur at the Mundial

2010-07-03T19:17:00.002+05:30

I was hoping for an all Mercosur semi lineup, but Brazil of all teams flamed out. Still possible to have three of the four as of now (Uruguay is in, Paraguay and Argentina face tough matches in the next few hours). We'll have to see.

Hyderabad

2010-07-02T20:22:00.011+05:30

Long time without a posting. Too much work. But I will catch up, starting with our recent trip to Hyderabad. The CharMinar and bangles. Muslim finery, hints of a glorious past, and current poverty. We'll start with the bangles. Colorful, in all shades, materials, and shapes.The colors in the rows are all different sizes.

The bangle bazaar is on one street off the CharMinar, with two of its four posts seen below. It is an impressive structure, and perhaps the most impressive thing is how cool it is underneath it (full of families resting in the cool shade, escaping the oppressive heat), and upstairs. These guys knew how to build their fancy buildings.
Also impressive were the views from the top.
The view in the other direction.A close-up shot from above of one of the "commerce corners" below:
All kinds of things are bought and sold in addition to the bangles -- like hair ornaments, even if they will be hidden by a headscarf.
Or everyday Islamic garb.Or fancy dress up clothes that one sees at weddings.One great thing is the water that is available to drink, for free, found in coolers throughout these streets and stores too.The alleys and side streets are jumbles of wires, stores, signs, and people. In addition to the old City and the trade that takes place there, Hyderabad is spreading and growing. Political problems and protests (mainly over the establishment of a new state of Telegana, splitting Andhra Pradesh, the current unified state) have led some of the newer glass-laden buildings to protect themselves with mesh netting, as seen below.
New construction is seen all over the city -- although a bit less than in Bangalore. There are all these funny rock formations all over the city, supposedly "protected", as the rock above appears to be. Here the construction hasn't smashed it yet, but in many parts of town you can see where they have been removed. Large scale roads are being built, seeming a bit more serious and sturdier than the "magic boxes" found in Bangalore.Here are some shots of settlements (formal, informal, I can't tell) with houses set among the rocks in an area on the way to the airport.

These had a feel of Latin America -- except for all the mosques, but the houses on the hillside.

One great thing -- and evidently only recently introduced -- was the existence of bus bays set up at bus stops, with barriers keeping other vehicles out, and the buses in (and stopping at the appropriate places). In this case the barriers included a sign.
As shot from the back seat of the car, as we rapidly pass the bus bay on the left. Here the barriers were barrels. You can also see how Ganesh is blessing the driver.

Inside the Global Investor Meet

2010-06-04T19:24:00.008+05:30

I spent a few hours this afternoon at the Global Investors Meet, with an invitation to attend the breakout session on Education, scheduled for 2:00. This was one of the last sessions, with the closing ceremony to start at 6:30.

I took a printed copy of my invitation from my email, and waved it by the security guards, who didn't take a look at it. I found the registration area, but when I got to the front, they asked to see my invitation, took a business card, and offered me a ticket for lunch, but said that all their registration packets had been given out already, but that I could go in to whatever sessions I wanted.
There were lots of different kinds of police around, the picture below shows my favorite: the green police. I certainly had never seen these before here. They are supposed to help keep things clean. Unfortunately my attempt to find out what they have the power to do was unsuccessful as a result of limited language skills on both sides.Despite the name, there were very few "global" representatives there. Indian men were plentiful, although there were some women with great saris.
This is a group of men trying to enter the largest of the conference halls. Here is what the inside looked like:This was the stage. I'm not sure who was up there, but clearly someone important given the swarm of press.One positive note was that I saw a wide collection of emergency vehicles.

I personally don't see why you need the Chief Minister (equivalent to US Governor more or less) staring at you everywhere, but it seems to be a custom here. And here we have (from left to right) a fire truck, emergency police bus, police van, and the ambulance seen above from a different angle.
You can also see the garland of mango leaves for good luck hanging everywhere.
This was the entrance, and you can see the location on the palace grounds right next to the Bangalore Palace. This set up was built (and lit, and air conditioned) just for this occasion.
This picture doesn't really have the impact I would have liked, but let me explain. I took this at about 3 p.m. The lights are all on. I write this in the night when the lights are coming off and on every few minutes. Yet they made sure the lights were on OUTSIDE during the day, a hot and sunny day.

I did appreciate the lights inside and the air conditioning, but I didn't attend any sessions as the one I was supposed to attend didn't start on time (por supuesto), and then it started with a video in Kannada. So instead I went off to the exhibition. MUCH more interesting. I picked up all kinds of literature, and saw interesting exhibits of lots of government agencies but also some private sector folks.

The Bangalore Development Authority had a lovely display with great posters and little models of some of their overpass projects.
The Bangalore Metro had a mock up of a metro car:
Note all those lights. I was actually happy to get out into the hot air. As I was walking around, I saw three young white kids and heard strong Mexican accents (and vocabulary), so I talked to them. Turned out there were students from the TEC de Monterrey, on a tour around Asia, starting with India. That was the most interesting conversation I had, as most of the others were folks trying to convince me to use their services (electronic design, computer coding, etc.).
This gives a better perspective on the location. And here are more banners.

This exhibition ends tonight, I'll keep you posted on how long the hastily tarred roads remain pothole free.

Bangalore Gets Made Up

2010-06-03T18:48:00.012+05:30

In preparation for the Karnataka Global Investor's Meet being held today and tomorrow here in Bangalore, the city has been gussied up with new paint, new roads, lights hung all over (and power found, somehow, to light them), and signs galore.

First, the signs:Then the security cameras. Note that it is hard to find the stop light in this picture, probably the most useful piece of technology (not) in the pictures. Hint: it has a blur pole.

Then the sides of the road, painting the rocks where there is no formal border, or the border itself where this is one.
In some areas, new barriers were placed on the traffic medians too. Where will the people stop now as they dash across the highway? Note the new sod too.

Then there is the shoulder, or what should be the shoulder. I can't quite figure out what they are doing here, putting piles of white powder in piles on the side of the road, and then spreading it around. It is especially nice when it spills out into a lane of traffic.

Next the greenery in the median.

And of course you need lights everywhere, especially important when you have power cuts all the time.
The new asphalt on the roads, and the lines painted on it, could actually be useful if I thought the road would last longer than a few weeks.
Finally, the entry way for one of the sites of the accompanying parties, on the Palace Ground entrance that I have shown many times adorned for other occasions.
Tomorrow I'll go to the Investor's Meet itself, not sure if they'll let me take photos though.

Imagine if the money spent to doll up the place had been spent on schools and school books instead!

We are fine

2010-05-22T19:39:00.003+05:30

With the news of the terrible plane crash in Mangalore, we have gotten lots of calls, and I just wanted to say that we are fine. Mangalore is not Bangalore, although it is in the same state of Karnataka. It is along the coast, with Goa to the North and Kerala to the south, so the list of fatalities reads like the rainbow that South India is -- Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Wedding season is starting, so lots of folks who work in the Gulf come back for family events, certainly laden with lots of gold and electronics.

Watching the live coverage this morning (my visiting mother-in-law mentioned it to me as soon as I woke up, and she was watching it non-stop, a change from watching her religious channel) reminded me of some of the challenges that India faces when confronting a disaster. First of all, there are people everywhere. That might help in rescuing survivors when there is no other other emergency response, but it is awfully dangerous to have normal folks within a few feet of a burning aircraft. This is a result of there not being a clear emergency response protocol, and no one being in charge. This is seen over and over, certainly everywhere in the world, but few places carry it off with the aplomb that is seen here. The emergency vehicles that appear, eventually, are rather sad looking. Then, of course, the different politicians are blaming each other, and the foreign pilot brings out the xenophobic worst of the Indians. Seems to me that more investigation into the process by which this airport just got certified for international flights might be worthwhile -- as one can see the cutting of corners everywhere as folks rush to keep up with demand for transportation, housing, education, and many of the other things that go along with economic development.

By tonight things are still tragic, but the State has gotten its act together a bit. As this is a story that is making the front page of newspapers worldwide, there are floodlights under which emergency workers are retrieving bodies. Finally the public's access has been limited, with the space cordoned off. There have been press conferences by different folks involved every once in a while, and emergency numbers are flashing on all channels (okay, well not the cricket channels, the movie channels in all languages, the shopping channels, the religious channels, nor the cartoon channels -- but there are still lots and lots of others). Eventually the authorities will hear more details about what really happened, and hopefully the public will learn about them too.

Being counted

2010-05-18T08:04:00.003+05:30

We missed participating (or being counted) by the US Census, but are being counted here in India. Two men knocked at our door and gave us a form, shown below, and informed us that they would return in a few days to pick it up.
The two men are school teachers, and this is "supplementary" duty, similar to their election service -- sometimes it seems that teachers here are performing all these other duties more than they are teaching.The form is simple -- no computer generated bubble forms.The form requests: Name, gender, date of birth, place of birth, educational qualification, relationship, occupation, marital status, names of parents, permanent address, number of years at this address, if we are members of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe (SC/ST), nationality, election card number, home/cel phone numbers, and the overall number of males and females in the household.

Comments on today's Hindu newspaper

2010-05-15T09:31:00.003+05:30

Rather than post photos right now (later I'll do that as I have lots of great shots), I thought I'd just give some quick reaction to today's edition of The Hindu (May 15, 2010). The electronic version doesn't have quite the same impact as the printed form (often the case I think, this isn't particular to this newspaper), although you can read some of the entire articles there.

Front page: Left half (from under headlines to bottom of page) is full of an add from an jewellers advertising gold. Pages 2 and 3 are all gold ads too, as is half of page 4, as tomorrow is Akshaya Tritiya, when it is an auspicious day here in Karataka to buy and wear gold jewelry to help you bring more wealth to you and your family. I look at all the heavy gold and think about how that money could be used on productive investment, but then I'm a geeky economist, and I do appreciate how for many folks here, especially those outside the formal financial system, gold serves as a great store of wealth than can be controlled by women. But still, most of the folks buying the huge amounts are not those outside the formal financial system.

The other half of the front page is pretty depressing too: a picture with the title "Thailand on the boil" highlighting the unrest in Thailand, followed by "Constable killed as terrorists strike in Hyderabad Old City" and then "Mayapuri scrap market still in danger, says Greenpeace". The Hyderabad article points at simmering problems, where the concerns about the Pakistani state should be secondary compared to concern about less official types. The scrap market article is about radioactive waste, following contamination material having killed one and injured others at Delhi University after having dismantled radioactive equipment.

The small photos as teasers for other articles (immediately below the name of the newspaper) are "Government Taken to Task", "28 Persons Electrocuted", "Ruben Wants to Go Home", and "Hussey Stars for Australia." The "Government" article is about a central government official publicly admonishing the state government for not nominating new heads of agricultural universities; "Ruben" covers the human interest story of the sole survivor of a plane crash in Libya; and "Hussey" is about cricket, the obsession here. The "28 Persons Electrocuted" is the one that drew my attention. On page 19 there was a photo and a short article explaining that they were returning from a marriage when their bus hit a high-voltage wire -- their bus had an iron box and other luggage on top, and it came in contact with the wire near Madla in Madhya Pradesh. 23 women, 3 boys, and 2 men. Very sad, but surprising that more incidents don't occur given the overloaded buses and trucks on the one hand, and dangling and low hanging wires on the other.

Page 9 has another sad story: "Two killed as lorry ploughs through several vehicles: Motorists have little elbow room thank to bus stops on either side of road" where the driver of an overloaded truck (some might argue persuasively that there are no other types here) with timber lost control and "rammed into a goods autorickshaw ferrying empty domestic gas cylinders. It then ploughed through two scooters before hitting the bus." A few things here: the two who died were on a scooter. If the cylinders had been full, the possibility for more damage might exist (although I'm sure my energy friends would say that it is safe). If the bus hadn't been there and the bus had moved into the bus stand, more would have been injured certainly. Here's more from the article: "The presence of bus stops on either side of the 80-foot Hennur Road has been causing problems for motorists. "If two buses stop on both the sides, there is hardly any space for other motorists," said S. Ekambaram, a resident of the area. Local people complained of difficulty in crossing the busy road. "We use the raised pedestrian crossing just at the slope of the flyover. But it hardly helps us as the height of crossing has reduced because of the layers of asphalt," Mr. Ekambaram said. The Banaswadi Traffic Police, how arrested driver Saleem, said his driving license had expired." So here we see issues of: placement of bus stops, lack of pedestrian crossing, and an expired driver's license, all issues that are relevant all over Bangalore.

While there are days when one is hopeful about the future here, there are times when hope is tough to find.

Volcanic ash refugees in Frankfurt

2010-05-05T21:46:00.003+05:30

We traveled through Frankfurt Airport six days after long haul flights resumed out of it, yet there were still cots and travelers stuck on them.The stores of folded up cots -- no longer needed -- were still close at hand in case they were needed again.

Back in Bangalore: Bananas

2010-05-01T22:26:00.007+05:30

To show the contrast of last week with tulips in the Netherlands and Bangalore, I'll focus today on bananas (and soon, mangoes!). Above, a banana plantation in North Bangalore, just off Bellary Road.
New shoots.
The banana flower. You can buy these in the market to cook too.
You can see the flower at the bottom of the bunch of bananas.
Sticks are placed to support the weight of the banana-laden trees.
They grow upwards, just in case you've never seen them grow.
After they harvest the bananas, they chop down the tree, and start again. At a wholesaler. Just missing a shot at a retail store (although I've shown those in earlier posts, and of us eating some yummy bananas. Below are shots of the field when done.

Some of the advantages of being here

2010-04-24T13:18:00.003+05:30

In addition to seeing the tulips and hyacinths, I got to watch two rounds of the UK election debates to see live how poorly Gordon Brown performed and the emergence of the telegenic and articulate Mr. Clegg. We have been able to have discussions with some Europeans from different countries about the prevailing malaise here, only worsened by the volcanic ash crisis and the governments' responses to it. Following my trip to the US, where things in places like Niagara Falls seem horrible while the macro economy picks up, seeing empty or closed down stores here seems familiar. Yet in the US, even in Niagara Falls, one senses an energy that is missing here.

Being stuck here meant we needed to do laundry:

Also, that Amartya got to meet his friends here, and play DS games with them.

Lots of time watching construction will be covered later.

Not such a bad place to be stuck

2010-04-24T00:38:00.003+05:30

Still here in Delft. Several sets of tickets cancelled. We were able to do work with our colleagues here at TU-Delft, and also to do some sightseeing. In between checking the internet and news obsessively to find out information about whether airports were open, flights cancelled or not, and our status. Overall though, we are lucky. We have friends, a great hotel, and have even been able to have meetings and do work. We have an amazing view from our hotel:

The volcano somehow made the weather here nicer -- abnormally warm and sunny -- and this is the first time that I've been here to see the bulbs in bloom.

It really looked like the postcards.
No flights out meant that there were even more flowers for sale at what seemed to be bargain basement prices.

We were here for a workshop, and of course Amartya attended too. So did some chickens, as the workshop was held in an art center that was outside Delft that had hens (and a rooster) than wandered in and out of the sessions.

Amartya skyped with his friend in India from the closet.

Stuck in Europe

2010-04-19T01:35:00.002+05:30

Long time without a post. Hopefully I'll have a chance to post some photos and thoughts over the next few days. I was in the US and now am stuck in Delft in the Netherlands, where I attended a workshop last week. We're still here because of the volcanic ash from Iceland -- "Europe asked for its cash back, we sent it our ash" -- and now have tickets for later this week. Amazing how the world has suddenly become bigger.

Violence in Niagara Falls - random? targeted?

2010-03-25T20:42:00.004+05:30

I was planning on writing about elections Indian style as Bangalore prepares to go to the polls on Sunday, but I just found out about some disturbing news. I had seen references to Democratic legislators' offices being vandalized in Arizona and Kansas over the weekend, but just found out that one of the additional sites was in Niagara Falls. In addition to a window being smashed, Rep. Slaughter has received threats about snipers. Her office is on Pine Avenue, near the City Market. The Buffalo News has a good article with details, while the Washington Post puts it in national context. Seems like a bunch of Dems that voted in favor of Obama's health care reform have been targeted by someone -- an Alabama Militia member -- who writes a blog and has encouraged his readers to take action.

Listening to the debate itself was distressing, as the level of vitriol was disturbing, but this is even worse. The US political system really does need a hard reboot. (Can you tell I'm hanging out with techies?)

Our garden

2010-03-21T19:33:00.007+05:30

We have had a great crop in our garden -- good lettuce, parsley, basil, mint, chives, and cherry tomatoes.

While the tomato plants have suffered from some sort of leave problem, they have continued to produce yummy tomatoes.

Hot and lazy Sunday afternoon

2010-03-21T17:33:00.008+05:30

While Washington is gearing up for the big health care vote -- please, pass it, it isn't perfect but we need to start somewhere and take what we can get while continuing to push for better -- we are coming to close of a hot and lazy Sunday afternoon. Summer is close to arriving, with its tremendous heat, even in supposedly temperate Bangalore, but also with mangos! For now though, there are trees and flowers all over the city bursting with even more color than usual -- and this is still is a garden city. A tree from Brazil with yellow flowers whose name I can't remember right not, and purple jacarandas like you see in Mexico are everywhere. Here are some shots of these flowers:

With papayas as a bonus.
Something like morning glory.
Passion fruit climbers.
More passionfruit growing over the parking area, helping it stay cool.
Combined with bouganvillea.
The yellow tree downtown by the cricket stadium.
Some other kinds of flowering tree.

Now onto more substance. Today's New York Times has a great and provocative article by Michiko Kakutani entitled "Texts Without Context" about how the internet and mash-up culture is changing how we read, and what we value. I found it disturbing, but/because it strikes at truths about how we do research, read (or skim), and seek out what to read or not.

Continuing on the depressing line, here are some shots contrasting the inside streets of our complex with the street immediately outside it.
Inside:The flowers with the solar water heater are a classic rich Bangalore shot.

How do they survive?

2010-03-14T18:15:00.010+05:30

Yesterday's Business Standard had an article entitled "Children of a Lesser God" about the low salaries that women earn in India, based on a Survey of Household Income (NSHIE) done in 2004-5 by the NCAER. It is definitely worth a read for those interested in discrimination and differences in pay between men and women, returns to education, and overall wage levels in India. It was shocking to me, even as I live here, in terms of the low levels. Yes, it was five years ago, so the wages probably have risen some, and the costs I will cite below reflect today's higher prices.

By Earning Status	Male	Female
Illiterate	33,680	12,923
Up to primary	42,129	17,151
Middle (8th)sch	43,010	19,805
Matric (10th)	60,997	31,175
Higher Second.Sch	68,068	43,590
Graduate	85,211	62,636
Post-graduate	106,728	77,683
Diploma/Vocat	104,308	102,408
Other	114,446	69,413
AVERAGE	43,885	14,994

Income in Rupees per year for salaried class.
Source: NCAER, NSHIE 2004-5

These numbers tell all kinds of interesting stories. Discrimination prevails at all levels, but seems to diminish somewhat as women get more educated. All the numbers are quite low, and the average especially so. The average for men is under US$1000, and for women less than the amount a bank account holder can withdraw in one day. In order to illustrate the numbers today, I'll talk about some of the folks at the lower scale around here.

Lakshmi, the woman who cleans for us has been sick, and her husband the vegetable man has been struggling to keep it all together -- financially because of costs of medicine, tests, and hospitalization; managerially at the vegetable stand between the money needed to buy the veggies in the a.m. as well as help at the stand that she provides; and on a family level to take care of their kids. Luckily, her parents came in from their village to help out.

Here is a picture of her, she was healthier, playing Holi with Amartya. Her husband, pictured below, works very hard, leaving at 5 a.m . to buy vegetables at the markets to bring them to the shack in our complex. He usually opens around 9, and serves the folks in our complex until 6:30 pm, and then places the veggies on a cart to take outside the complex where the construction workers buy their veggies. Then he lugs the cart back to his shed, and rides his bike back to their house (abt a mile away), where he usually arrives around 8:30 or 9, and collapses into bed. And then thing continue the next day.
Lakshmi forgets to eat, and gets headaches, and gets sick frequently. We encourage her to eat, and drink, while she is at our house -- a few hours a day -- but she often is running from place to place. She now only works here, arriving at 10 or so after getting her kids off to school and walking here -- now longer because of the path to the village getting closed off because of building -- something I wrote about a few months ago. She is here until 3 or so, when she goes back home for when the kids get home from school. She and her husband are Tamilians, from a town a few hours out of Bangalore, who have moved her because there are better educational opportunities for their kids. But she and her husband both work all the time, and he had never been to the neighborhood across the main road before he had to take her to a clinic there.

There is a government hospital in Yelahanka, that used to be a town, but now is a neighborhood of greater Bangalore, to which she goes, and to which they bring their kids when they are sick. The expensive private hospital nearby, the closest hospital (Columbia Asia Hospital -- close to medical tourism standards, the topic for another post) is very expensive by Indian standards, but was the only place with available space for exams that needed to be done in the middle of the night, so tests that cost 12,000 rupees (or 3 months of her salary) were run. Now she is in a little clinic where we is being treated with IVs for dehydration and drugs for salmonella -- I think in the 300 rupees/night range. In addition to her income of 4000 rupees a month, her husband probably clears around 10,000 rupees a month at the vegetable stand. Both can read and write Tamil and minimal English, she with an 8th grade education and he with high school. She's well above the average income for women as noted above, as is he. But they are always one sickness away from the edge.

Moving further down the earnings scale, here are some details about another Lakshmi -- the cook who comes to cook dinner for us about once a week. One and a half years ago, she charged 100 rupees, but now it is 200 rupees for a great dinner, about two hours of work. She prepares food, and cleans up as well. Her food is wonderful, although she is frustrated that we always ask for the same dishes -- yummy chicken curry, Amartya's favorite cabbage, some pumpkin dish (soup sometimes, really great). I just need to hide the chiles, and remind her that she doesn't need to add sugar, or ketchup, or too much pepper or salt. She is from Kerala, and has converted to Christianity (a Pentacostal church), where she says the singing helps her feel happy.

Her daughter still lives in Kerala, and her husband is ill and can't work -- and requires lots of medicine. She currently is having a hard time making ends meet -- she works everyday for a bachelor gentleman for whom she cooks meals (monthly 3500 rupees for 5 days a week), and cooks for a few other people like me, who probably would give her another 3000 rupees or so a month. She said her rent is 2500 a month, bus pass recently increased to 700 (but sometimes she needs to come by autorickshaw if the bus decides not to come into her neighborhood, which happens if it rains, or if there is traffic, or if the bus driver doesn't feel like it), water and electricity, medicines ..... She is hoping that she can get two regular cooking gigs at one of the fancier buildings coming up around us, where she could charge 4000/house.

More precarious still are the two Nirmalas, pictured below. They are cleaning ladies at CSTEP.
Their total compensation is probably under 4000 rupees a month (about US$87 at current exchange rates).

How do folks survive? This topic clearly deserves more energy than I can give it today, or probably ever, but I will try to return to it from time to time.

A visit to the future CSTEP campus

2010-03-13T15:54:00.005+05:30

A field trip to the land in North Bangalore where the future CSTEP campus will be built.
Assessing the land with the architect and his assistant in one of the few shady spots.
The road separating the two pieces of land. The area on the right with the euculyptus trees (or however that should be written) is the land for the guest house. Some of the land will be lost to road widening, which hopefully will happen before we start building, rather than after.
The border with the land where TIFR (The Tata Institute for Fundamental Research) will also build a new campus.
Walking over the land.
Currently, the sheep graze, as do cows from time to time. I don't know, I was surprised to see the woman watching her sheep protecting herself from the sun with an umbrella.
Someone has been stealing some of the ground for brick making, so there is a big hole in the ground near the road.
Another view of the land, looking south.

Hard to imagine what it will look like in a few years. It seems so desolate, in the middle of nowhere right now.

Soccer tournament

2010-03-13T14:58:00.004+05:30

Amartya all over the field. He misses his Tigers team in Stoddert Soccer in Washington, but playing here is fun too.

Even playing goalie sometimes.

Dribbling and scoring from 40 seconds through the end (although the goal itself and celebration is missing). Amartya scored three goals over the course of the day.

Happy Holi!

2010-03-01T20:34:00.007+05:30

Holi is perhaps the most colorful of Indian festivals, which in general rate high in terms of color. Colored water and water balloons are thrown, friends (and strangers) throw colored powders at each other, folks dance, and drink bhang (a milk-based drink with almonds, cannabis, and sugar). One of our interns said it tasted like chai. And then the worldwide obligatory run to the liquor store for more drinks. These are pictures from our housing complex. The water felt great on a hot day.

You start with relatively clean clothes, preferably white or light colored.
You greet friends with a handful of color to smear on them.
Water is thrown, squirted, and sometimes just dumped.

The unorganized nature of the celebration is hard to convey, but this video (poorly edited, sorry) has moments that capture some of it.

Back at home at the end of the day, before taking showers.

Buying an oven

2010-02-14T18:50:00.006+05:30

A trip to the mall to buy an oven gives me the chance to show some of the differences between shopping here and in other places. First of all, the choice of ring tones for your door bell:

I can't tell you what the sound is, but doorbells here ring all kinds of odd tunes, ranging from Indian chants to "Old Susannah" to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."
Ours is just a traditional "ding-dong." Thank goodness. But the doorbells were just something I saw on our way to buy an oven. Yes, for over a year I have lived without an oven. No baking, or roasting. I thought we'd be able to go, pick one out, and bring it home. Silly me. I have bought other smaller items at the E-zone, the closest appliance store, but forgotten. Plus, those times I was by myself, so needed to keep my wits about me to focus on the task at hand. This time, we all went -- complete with driver and maid -- so I could concentrate on how ridiculous the whole set-up is.

First, the salespeople show the various models. They kept emphasizing the BBQ feature. The one I really like wouldn't be available for two weeks, so instead we bought one for which there wasn't a floor model, but that they assured me could be delivered the next day. So then we proceed to check out. Despite all the computers you see below, everything is written by hand with carbon paper (of course -- remember, all the carbon paper in the world is now found in India) and eventually typed into the computer by another person. This is not unique to Ezone, it also happens at other places. I'll go take pictures at Reliance Time Out sometime, where the process is especially bad as we often buy multiple copies of individual items. But here you can see the many people at the check out counter. That doesn't mean that it goes fast with multiple lines.
There is often just a mob at the desk, and lines don't seem to work.
Once the purchase has been made, a receipt is given -- a computer print out that is initialed on all pages (off course it is multiple pages, single sided), stamped with some kind of official stamp (at least it is not a real stamp, that is reserved for land transactions), and put into an envelope. It isn't delivered with the same ceremony as would happen in Japan, but neither is it just thrown at you like in the US. In addition to the oven we also bought a vacuum cleaner, so we had a bag that we could take out.
We show the bag and receipt to the security guard, but one guy isn't enough, then the woman in the jean jacket has to okay everything too. In some stores (they have to write down the item numbers in a little notebook). Why use computers when you have them? Now yes, this does generate employment, but surely there are other things that these folks could be doing. Of course, that means that they would need to be educated to do so, but that is the topic of another post for the future.

Oh, and the oven still hasn't been delivered. Brownies will need to wait til next weekend.

My first cobra

2010-02-13T22:48:00.003+05:30

As we were driving today I noticed a snake slithering across the road in front of us. By the time I pulled out my camera, it had crossed and was entering the anthill/snake hill on the side of the road.You can see the snake on the left at the bottom, starting its ascent.
Scary to think that they are around.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

2010-01-31T14:46:00.007+05:30

Nesting season at the Bird Sanctuary.
Couples building nests.
Lots of birds in different trees, generally segregated but with some mixing.

The big surprise: crocs!

Not really my cup of tea, but Amartya loved it.

Visit to Mysore, part 1

2010-01-27T21:30:00.009+05:30

I hadn't been to Mysore since my first trip to India almost 20 years ago. Much has changed in India, and Mysore has grown, but it remains relatively sleepy and charming. It reminds me of what Bangalore was like 20 years ago. Much of Bangalore's charm has been erased by the boom-related growth and sprawl, not to mention traffic and slums, while Mysore invokes images of its regal past. The roads were built to transport the maharajah, not British military families (or Italian POWs) like Bangalore. Also, lots of the old buildings remain. Let's hope they don't suffer the same fate as the old buildings of Bangalore.

Poorly organized and behaved crowds outside the palace.

The palace remains impressive, and now there is enough electricity to keep the lights on for more time than in the old days.

Sunday at the zoo. Big crowds.

Elegantly dressed women, shabbily dressed men. Unfortunately, the rule rather than the exception.

More animal shots will come, but here's some of the signage, always interesting for me.

People watching the monkeys, and monkeys watching us.

The zoo store was quite sad. With all these great animals, and real monkeys around, the t-shirts were disappointing.

Harvest festivals

2010-01-17T19:20:00.007+05:30

Last week was full of harvest festivals, celebrated in different ways. There were some other festivals/rituals at the same time -- Feast of the Infant Jesus for Christians, something about bathing in the Ganges -- but I'll focus on three festivals that I got to participate in here in our neighborhood in Bangalore. We have neighbors from all over India, so we get to see a wide range of practices, and foods.

The Punjabi harvest festival, Lohri, is a more lively affair than the southern Sankranthi (here in Karnataka and in Andhra Pradesh) and the Tamilian Pongal. A bonfire marks the end of the cold winter and heralds to the harvest of the wheat to come. More about it can be read at lohrifestival.org.One of the things I don't like about most of the get-togethers here (except for Southern weddings) is that the men sit in one area, and the women in another, as seen below.The women:Hot topic: Orkut vs Facebook in terms of ease of use, coverage, and fun.But here you can see the mix of popcorn, peanuts, and sesame treats that you throw into the fire before you walk around the fire three times. Lots of lights, drinks, music and food. Amartya had school the next day, so we went to bed at 11, before dinner was served, and long before the dancing that lasted well into the night/early morning.
The southern versions are more subdued. Our neighbor lit his house, and did very elaborate rangoli for several days.All the women in the family, and the female servants, were part of the process.These neighbors speak Telegu and are from Andhra, and come from a rural area, so this is a serious festival. A new thing for me was the addition of cow dung, and decorated little turds at that, as part of the presentation.Sub decorated with colored chalk in front of our house for Pongal.
Pongal is celebrated by eating many types of rice, including a sweet one with sugar. The drawing here has the sugar cane at the far right, and on the left you can see the earthware pot that has a tumeric plant and sometimes ginger wrapped around it, and for this festival you are supposed to let it boil over. Funny, I do that all the time, generally as a mistake, but that is the ritual for Pongal. Sub made a few kinds of rice, and we offered the sweet pongal to neighbors. Some of them brought their sweets to us too -- in Karnataka it includes a chunk of sugar cane and some sesame/sugar mix.The cow has to be in there of course too.

One thing that is common in the south is the hanging of mango leaves. First folks string them and then hang them.I guess that now our housed is blessed.

Some Winter Olympics news

2010-01-17T18:43:00.002+05:30

I'm not sure we'll be able to see much of the upcoming Vancouver Olympics here, but I certainly will try to follow them. One piece of news the cheered me up amidst the depressing world around us is that Johnny Weir, an amazing if odd figure skater, is likely to make the US team. When he is on, there is no one who makes it look so good, and is so wonderful to watch. So, please enjoy his performance for me, as I'm not optimistic about my ability to watch it here. Watching the last summer Olympics from here was quite frustrating (and the subject of one of my first blog posts I think), as the Web coverage available on the US wasn't allowed to me because of my Indian IP address. Oh well.

Another thing that made me feel a little better was to read that so many winter athletes have exercise induced asthma, like I do. This article in the NYTimes talked about how it is probably the dry air, not the cold air, that causes the problem. I agree, it's that cold blast of dry air at the rink that causes the problem, not the moist, equally cold air outside when it's snowing -- at least for me.