Saturday Outing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.