My nephew isn’t a little baby anymore! In a couple of weeks, he’ll be 10 months old. He’s already so strong and active, and can’t wait to get moving properly. He has a little chair with wheels that he sits in and scoots around on. Once he starts crawling though, there will be no stopping him! He also loves dancing. And he has two cute little teeth.
I spent yesterday evening and afternoon at my in-laws’ place. It was one of those great family days where everyone gets together. My husband’s family is so big, this equals a flat full of people and chaos. It’s a lot of fun though, because everyone is always doing something.
My mother-in-law cooked up a feast as usual — fish curry, fish fry, and mutton curry. We all love her food.
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family,
relaxation time
My recent run in with a Marathi newspaper, which digitally edited and used a personal photo of mine without my permission, sadly served to confirm my poor view of the Indian media. That is, the Indian media is concerned more with sensationalism than objective news reporting. Rather than report truthfully and accurately, it prefers to arouse strong interest through the inclusion of exaggerated details and incorrect stories. A perfect approach to take with the majority of the Indian public, who are prone to readily becoming emotionally worked up over things.
I first started becoming really disturbed by the Indian media after the terrorist attack in Mumbai. Whole newspapers were consumed by photos of death and destruction, and lurid details. It was relentless, going on for weeks, and seemingly uncensored. Never have I seen so many published photos of dead and maimed people. It reached the point where I started feeling so mentally disturbed, that I had to stop reading the papers.
When the swine flu came to town provided the Indian media with another fabulous feeding frenzy. It simply thrived off the situation. Day after day, newspapers focused on death and illness. “Another person dead from swine flu”, the headlines screamed. Hysteria mounted. Shopping centres and cinemas were closed down. People were afraid to leave their houses, and if they did, they wore cheap paper masks and handkerchiefs over their mouths.
Did the media give people any reassurance at all? Of course not. Did it try and educate people about swine flu facts? Of course not. [click to continue…]
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news & views
The alarm went off at 5.15 a.m. The Uttarakhand winter was freezing cold and dark outside. I felt like turning over and going back to sleep but it wasn’t an option. We needed photos of an elephant ride for the advertising shoot. And, we were told, the cheapest way of getting them was to go on a jungle safari in Corbett National Park. There we would find some tame elephants. And if we were lucky, we’d be able to bribe the keeper for a quick ride. Otherwise, we’d have to pay thousands of rupees each to a private operator.
Jungle safaris involve big money in India. Especially where foreigners are concerned. It’s amazing what people will pay just for the opportunity to try their luck at seeing the big cat — India’s Bengal tiger — in the wild.
I was dismayed to find that, from January 1, 2010, the entrance fees for Corbett National Park had increased substantially. Foreigners who want to enter the park’s deepest Dhikala zone must now pay 950 rupees each, compared to 450 rupees previously. This is more than the entrance fee for the Taj Mahal! In comparison, the new entrance fee for Indians is 200 rupees.
My Indian travelling companions, who had never encountered this situation before, were shocked. Do other countries have such dramatically different prices for domestic and foreign tourists, they asked? [click to continue…]
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snapshots of uttarakhand
Following on from my 3 days as a foreign model in Kerala last year, I recently spent five days on an advertising shoot in Uttarakhand. It was for the same company — Mahindra Homestays. And with the same fabulous photographer — R Prasanna.
Knowing more about what to expect this time, I mentally prepared myself for exhausting days of early rises and long hours of work. However, some things eventuated that we just weren’t prepared for.
It started before we had even left Delhi. The flight that the photographer, his assistant, and the coordinator from Mahindra were booked on from Chennai was delayed by two and a half hours. As a result, we couldn’t all meet in the evening to discuss the trip as planned. However, a 5 a.m. departure from Delhi the next morning was agreed on. The aim was to arrive at our destination, The Homestead near Corbett National Park, by 9 a.m. for breakfast. In fact, we arrived at 1 p.m. for lunch.
The morning dawned. Our driver, a young Punjabi Sikh with short hair and no turban (but with four girlfriends in Delhi), arrived 20 minutes late. There were five of us. However, despite arranging an eight-seater car, it soon became apparent that not everyone and their luggage would fit. The photographer and his equipment were occupying more room than all of us put together. Another smaller car had to be procured, driven by the Punjabi’s younger brother, to take the luggage and the photographer’s assistant. [click to continue…]
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snapshots of uttarakhand
I just received an email from my friend Mahendra, saying that my picture was in a widely read national Marathi newspaper. He sent a link, which I excitedly opened. Only to find that the photo of me driving an auto rickshaw in Mumbai had been digitally edited to make it look like I was Katrina Kaif!
I’m dismayed, and don’t know whether to be flattered or offended by the deceptive media. It’s quite outrageous really.
Me: the original photo
Katrina: the edited photo.
I believe that the newspaper article talks about Katrina Kaif and Salman Khan’s rickshaw driving exploits in Mumbai. Whatever, I’m happy to challenge Katrina to an auto rickshaw race any day! Here’s the content of the article in Marathi.
मुंबई – कॅटरिना कैफने आपला एके काळचा मित्र सलमान खानच्या पावलावर पाऊल ठेवून ऑटोरिक्षातून नुकताच प्रवास केला. त्याचे झाले असे, की “इश्किया’ चित्रपट पाहण्यासाठी कॅटरिना अंधेरीत एका “मल्टिप्लेक्स’मध्ये आली होती. चित्रपट संपल्यानंतर रात्री साडेदहाच्या सुमारास ती “मल्टिप्लेक्स’बाहेर आपल्या कारची वाट पाहत उभी होती. रविवारचा दिवस असल्याने वाहनांच्या गर्दीचा अडथळा व तिची कार “बेसमेंट’ला असल्याने तिने आपल्या चालकाला वारंवार केलेले “कॉल’ “रेंज’ मिळत नसल्याने पोचू शकत नव्हते. दरम्यान, तिला पाहून तिच्याभोवती गर्दी जमू लागली. ते पाहताच कॅटरिना आपल्या व्यवस्थापकासह पटकन रस्त्यावर गेली व त्यांनी एक रिक्षा थांबवली व त्यात बसून तिने गर्दीपासून आपली सुटका करून घेतली. तिच्या पाठोपाठ तिचे सुरक्षारक्षक दुसऱ्या रिक्षातून निघाले. तिने अंधेरीपासून बांद्रापर्यंतचा रिक्षाप्रवास चांगलाच “एन्जॉय’ केला. सलमान व तिच्यात सध्या सलोखा नसला तरी सलमानने तिला दिलेले धडे ती गिरवत आहे. कारण यापूर्वी सलमाननेही असाच रिक्षाप्रवास केला होता.
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news & views
I took this photo in Uttar Pradesh, where the advertisement for “Pimp Kill” pimple cream appeared prominently a number of times.
I’m guessing that the advertiser doesn’t know that a “Pimp” is actually an agent for prostitutes, who lives off their earnings.
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funny India photos
I was passing through Delhi Airport late Wednesday afternoon on my way to Uttarakhand (more about that later). As I was about to step out of the airport, a huge crowd started surging forward.
Knowing that my blog isn’t THAT popular, I wondered who could possibly be behind me. Shah Rukh Khan? The Big B?
Any guesses as to who is being mobbed by the crowd? [click to continue…]
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Travel in India
Tailor made kurti -- the desi touch.
It’s taken me years, but I’ve finally ventured another step closer to being Indian. I’ve had some clothes stitched by a tailor.
Now that I’ve done it, I wonder why I’ve wasted so much time and money buying ready-made clothes that don’t fit me! It’s the curse of my foreign heritage I guess. Back home, only the really rich can afford to get their clothes tailor-made. It’s kind of like having a maid! Plus, I considered it to be all too much hassle.
However, seeing some beautiful and inexpensive salwaar kameez dress fabric convinced me to take the plunge. Then, my sister in law gave me some more fabric to make simple kurtis (tops).
Since I didn’t know where the tailor was in this new neighbourhood, my friend’s mum took me there — to a small shop near Hiranandani Hospital.
I’m so glad she accompanied me, because as expected, I got horribly confused. So many designs to choose from! It wasn’t just a simple matter of having my measurements taken. I was presented with two books full of pictures of different cuts, necklines, backs, and lengths. And sleeves or no sleeves? Soon, everyone was as confused as I was. It was obviously going to take me a while to make any decisions, so my friend’s mother left me with the tailor and went to have her upper lip threaded.
Finally, I settled on two salwaar kameez designs with short sleeves, one with a V-neck and one with a square neck. One kurti with short sleeves and a V-neck, and one without sleeves and a diagonal neck.
The stitching cost came to 1,000 rupees (350 rupees for each salwaar kameez, with lining) and 150 for each kurti. I picked the clothes up three days later, and wow, they fitted me so well! Now, I have another new project to overhaul my wardrobe.
Here’s me wearing one of the simple kurtis and jeans — dressed up with a few desi accessories (bindi, nose ring, Bengali style gold earrings, and mangal sutra)! Unfortunately, I didn’t think about wearing my red glass bangles until later.
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adjusting to India
While I was visiting home in Australia late last year, I decided that I’d take some seeds back to India with me to grow some of the rarer herbs and vegetables here. My mum has an abundant vegetable garden. So it can’t be all THAT difficult, I thought.
The reality has been somewhat different! I’ve had a 50% success rate so far. Out of the four punnets I planted, only two are producing anything. The first punnet (on the left) has remained barren. The second punnet did start to grow a couple of seedlings, but they’ve since died. The third punnet is flourishing. The fourth punnet has one seedling.
I wanted a surprise, so I failed to label any of the punnets. It’s obvious that flourishing one is the garlic chives though. That means the other one is either lettuce or a variety of basil. The seedling is quiet tall, so I assume it must be the basil.
I’m feeling a little deterred by the lack of success, so I think I’ll focus my attention on the rooftop garden! I’m also very glad to have discovered a Natures Basket store nearby that sells fresh herbs.
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cooking
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