Aussies

The first of December is already upon us. Two weeks from Tuesday will be the last day of school at Indus before winter break. We are heading out to Australia on 21-December and not returning until 3-January.

Especially in light of recent events here in India, we are looking forward to some R&R there. Some of the things we are looking most forward to are the things we cannot get, see or do here in India. I am sure it will be amazing to see the kangaroos and koalas, and places we've seen so many times in photos like Darling Harbour, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Sydney's New Years celebration will be spectacular, of course. How about a McDonald's cheeseburger?? But I am honestly most looking forward to simply being out and about as a family. Grabbing a cup of coffee (oh, how we miss the coffee) and strolling around in public is something we take for granted back home and is one of the things you just cannot do here. Oh, and did I mention a McDonald's cheeseburger?

A little bit of spice...

One time, back in Saratoga, we ordered Chinese food over the phone and asked for a dish "not hot", which they misunderstood as "hot, hot"! Our eyes are still watering from that one, but I can see how it might happen.

It is a completely diferent story here. Never, ever, ask, "is it spicy"?, because the answer will always be, "no", but the reality will always be yes. This is not a misunderstanding, or a product of the language barrier. In India, they have pallets that have grown so accustomed to the sometimes insanely spicy food, that are nearly immune to all but the highest levels of heat! As a result, in order for food to taste at all interesting, it must be ladden with spice. Simple.

I am proud of how far we have come down the path toward being broadminded with respect to a variety of food tastes. Even Taylor, the last hold out, has inched along!

There is virtually no food here in India which is free of spice. At least a little bit of spice. They even throw some heat into, brace yourself, CHOCOLATE!!!

Goat Keeper

Did you know that goat meat is called chevron? Of course, we all know that they provide milk. Their hides are also a valuable asset. Best of all, they are one of the easiest livestock to feed as they are not at all fussy eaters.

They are super fertile too! They begin reproducing ("kidding") at less than one year old and their gestation is just 5 months long. Each female goat produces, on average, 2 kids per year! Baby goats average just 7 pounds.

Can you imagine that more goats live here in the state of Karnataka, than their are people in Los Angeles, the most populous state in America (about 4 million)!

Goat keepers usually are not land owners, so they simply roam along roadsides through the day with their herds, grazing on roadsides and fallow land.

It is a simple business, with low overhead! The goats' milk is sold, and, inevitably, the goat itself is sold for it's hide and chevron.

Comments and Christmas Cards

Entering our 6 month already (can you imagine?), and only 2 people have left a comment on our blog!! It might not be obvious how to leave a comment, but it is quite simple and I love it because I get an e-mail notification on my Blackberry when it happens, very exciting! You will see a little 0 Comments text next to the post time at the bottom of each post. If you click on it, it will allow you to leave a comment. Please do, we really enjoy it!

Remember... all mail (cards and correspondence only... no packages) sent to our Saratoga address gets forwarded to us weekly here in India. So please, please, please send those holiday cards! We look forward to seeing them!

Patnodes are safe and sound.

Just a quick post to let everyone know that the Patnodes are all safe and sound here in India. It is a scary situation in Mumbai, which is about 500 miles from us here in Bangalore. Pat was actually in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) most of last week on business! Wow, India was such a peaceful place until the Patnodes arrived. More to come on this, but just wanted all to know we are just fine.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Playmates

Andrew and his friend, Nehal, playing a pickup cricket game in front of our house on Sunday morning. A very common site here in Bangalore… if you are short a few players, it’s all hands on deck. Drivers, maids, gardeners anyone will do.

How about a couple of on duty security guards?

Looks like they are enjoying the diversion!

Challu, having been to a weekend wedding, arrived at our house with her hand covered in henna tattoo.

The henna tattoo is extremely common in India. It is called mehndi It is custom for the bride (and sometimes groom) to have elaborate tattoos applied prior to the wedding. Each female guest also gets the treatment!! Many times scores of tattoo artists are brought in to apply the henna for big weddings. It is also popular for celebrating a new baby, birthday gatherings as well as other festivals here. The henna stains the skin cells and never fades. It disappears only when each layer of stained skin has been exfoliated. It can last weeks or even months!

Lauren was enamoured by it and the next day Challu brought some henna for Lauren's hand as well.

Road Work

Always watch where you are walking in India. Words to live by. The many animals (and humans) taking care of their business right on the roads is the least of it, really.

In addition, there are just some things that you would just have to see to believe... A full grown tree smack dab in the middle of the road, why not??

25 square feet of missing sidewalk, no sight of any workers, caution tape, not even an orange cone!

Perfectly suited...

Pat, with his new aerodynamic frame, was in desperate need of some new clothes. Harish would hear none of our talk of off the rack clothes for Pat. He knows a great tailor down on commercial street. So away we went.

Harish went to jockey for a parking spot, and sent us down this alley...





A small man in a purple shirt appeared and sat Pat down in a folding chair with a pile of brochures from suit manufacturers (Hugo Boss, Brooks Brothers...etc...).

Check out Lauren, sitting on a metal stool, with a naked electrical wire hanging inches from her... also see the jagged broken glass in the display cabinet on the right!! Even in the jaws of peril, she is successfully doing what??? Let's take a closer look...

Yes, she has become a pickpocket!!

After selecting a style, it was time to measure up... Lauren has been moved inside to a safer location. The tailors assistant thinks she is too cute!

Measurements in hand, he instructed us, "mere pichhe aye"... hindi for "follow me". So off we went, following his purple shirt through the streets for 6 city blocks. We lost him a few times,

But finally arrived at a Muslim fabric shop, where we picked out the suit fabric...

As well as fabric for his kurtas!


All eyes were on the tallying of the bill!!

Harish made sure they had each others mobile number...and that was that. Send your driver in 3 days time and your goods will be finished!!! We will definitely be making more visits to Commercial Street!

If you need your saree polished...

Raghu Dry Cleaners! Notice "Saree polish done here"... well, there you have it. If I need my saree polished and with 24 hours delivery, I should look up Raghu.

This must be Raghu... looking very busy...

Boy with cricket bat...

Andrew spotted this boy wandering down a village side street, toting around his cricket bat. It's one of my favorite snapshots so far. It is already hanging on our living room wall!

Odd Jobs

You might think, while checking out our blog, that I spend lots of time searching for these obscure photo ops! The truth is, this is what life is like here in India, aside from the highly segregated communities like ours (and there are very, very few of them), the streets are peppered with people going about their business of the day. Nothing at all you see surprises you after a while. So many things are heart breaking and heart warming at the same time. If this place can't change your outlook on life, I am not sure what can. Here are just a few Bangaloreans hard at work...

This guy pushes his cart up and down airport road all day selling what? Who knows!

One of my favorites, what could this guy be doing??

He sells buckets which locals use to collect drinking water. Over 100 buckets on a bicycle!!! They sell for 40 rupees each (about 50 cents USD) and if you trade in recyclables, he will give you a credit.

How about 2 barefoot guys on a horse drawn cart, making a delivery!

Wrapping paper or greeting cards anyone??
What do you think the number 12 on the chalkboard means?? How many coconuts he has sold today or the time he will take his lunch break?

Maybe it's the number of kilos this backpack weighs...

OK, drum roll, please... my very favorite!!! 100 dozen eggs, a motorcycle and heavy traffic on a weekend afternoon. No problem!!

Just out for a Sunday ride...

I inadvertently took some video with our camera last week when we were on Commercial Street having a suit made for Pat (separate blog to come on that!)and I realized that sometimes video says so much more than a still shot. Today I took this video from the window of the truck on our way into the city. Bear with it, we slow way down about 10 seconds into the video and you can get a feel for the street life here.

We headed to the Forum Mall. The last time Pat had the kids at Forum, it was after he took them to see the India/Australia Test Cricket Match and Taylor promptly tossed her cookies all over the McDonald's dining room! Into our 5th month here, and we finally made a street vendor food purchase! This guy was selling some yummy snack for 10 rupees, about 20 cents USD, (ok, I admit it, I did not actually try it, but Pat and the kids say it was yummy)...

We did go to McDonald's, and thankfully, nobody threw up.

Have you seen those huge lollipops in the windows of candy stores? Who actually buys those?? I mean, what kind of parent cares so little about the oral hygiene of their precious children??

The kind of parent that needs to keep 3 kids occupied for half an hour while her husband is shopping in the Apple store!! Just for the record, the kids only got through about 10 percent of these before they willingly tossed them in the trash!

Funeral Procession....

I am sure it is not called a funeral procession, but this is how the dead are honored... the corpse is carried through the streets, nearly a mile... decorated with thousands of fresh flowers and followed by friends and relatives. The body is then taken and burned to ashes. We came upon this procession on the airport road right here in Whitefield.

Sati is the practice through which widows are voluntarily or forcibly burned alive on their husband's funeral pyre. It was banned in 1829, but had to be banned again in 1956 after a resurgence. There was another revival of the practice in 1981 with another prevention ordinance passed in 1987 . The idea justifying sati is that women have worth only in relation to men. This illustrates women's lack of status as individuals in India . This still happens here, if you can imagine it. It is a small article in the India Times when it happens, very matter of fact, and always says "widow jumped into the pyre". No investigation, no charges, that's it! Wow.

Whew!! Our disk is safe and sound...

The disk containing all of the underwater photos from our vacation has arrived safely from Bandos Island!! Whew! As you can imagine, these are some pictures that would be impossible to replace... By the the way, I take credit for nearly all the pictures taken in our family, HOWEVER, I must admit that Pat was in full control of the underwater camera... mostly because I was way too scared of being eaten by a shark or drifting off to sea to be distracted by a camera! There are about 300 total reef pictures, I will spare you that, but these are some of them!

Hanuman - The Monkey God

We came upon this man, just strolling out on the city streets. For a few rupees he was all too happy to pose for me!

He is dressed as Hanuman, known as the Monkey God.

Embodiment of strength and tenacity, Hanuman, the mighty ape that aided Lord Rama in his expedition against evil forces, is one of the most popular idols in the Hindu pantheon. Believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva, Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance and devotion.

On Saturdays and Tuesdays many people keep fast in honour of Hanuman and give special offerings to him. In times of trouble, it is a common faith among Hindus to chant the name of Hanuman or sing his hymn "Hanuman Chalisa" and proclaim "Bajrangbali Ki Jai" — "victory to thy thunderbolt strength". Once every year — on the full-moon day of Chaitra (April) at sunrise — "Hanuman Jayanti" is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman. Hanuman temples are among the most common public shrines found in India.