Tag: India
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GULMARG
When we first made our plans to go to India last April, we decided we would leave Ammamma with family in the south while Padma, Joe, Xander and I did a bit of exploring in the north. I had been dreaming of Kashmir for 37 odd years so that was my first choice. But it would be winter there and therefore we couldn’t do any trekking. After a bit of research I discovered that Gulmarg, a hill station a couple of hours away from Srinagar is regarded as one of Asia’s…
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THE TAJ MAHAL
PHOTOBOMBING AT THE TAJ We arose early to begin a painful long journey by road to Agra and the Taj Mahal. Our travel plan called for us travelling along a modern expressway to Agra. A trip which would have been an easy three hours. But the expressway was closed due to fog as there were just too many collisions. So we went on the old road – four long hours through monochromatic dirty countryside of beeping and weaving in and out of traffic. The Taj Mahal has been photographed millions of…
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SEVA JYOTI LEPROSY REHABILITATION CENTRE
After Christmas lunch, cousin Joshua asked if we’d like to join him on a visit to a leper colony. I thought at first I was losing something in translation but indeed Joshua worked with lepers and had a scheduled visit. We drove for an hour through little villages and finally arrived at a Seva Jyoti Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre in the Nellore District. I was the first out of the car and was immediately swarmed by people who wanted to shake my hand. I shook a bunch of hands but then one…
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LOST IN TRANSLATION IN GUDUR
After the Christmas service I walked around in the courtyard and in the street and watched the people emerge. Some children saw me with the camera and asked for a photo so I took them and soon there was a queue of children all wanting photos. As soon as I would point the camera at them the children would freeze up and stand in a rigid pose. A woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked for a photo. I obliged and showed her the image in the camera monitor. She…
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NO WHITES IN NELLOR
Today we made an ill-fated trip to Nellor to try to do some shopping. I say ill-fated because the Christmas Eve crowds were so bad we just couldn’t get anything done. We went into a clothes store and this manikin proved to be the closest I had come to seeing a white person in 10 days since leaving the Hyderabad airport. This area of India simply doesn’t attract tourists or hardly any people of other countries. In fact we haven’t even seen Chinese or other Asians here. This is about as…
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SANTA COMES TO GUDUR
Padma and I were at cousin Joshua’s house when Xander ran up and told us to come along to see Santa Claus. We all piled into a minibus and drove through the streets of Gudur till we reach a dark and poor neighbourhood. We got out of the car not knowing what to expect. A vehicle approached with blaring speakers and passed us. I watched it pass and saw Santa sitting in the back. It turned into a street and I went running after Santa. I caught up to Santa and…
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THE GIRL ON THE BIKE
It was dusk and Christmas Eve so I went out of the house for a stroll in the street. I was standing at a wall watching some boys play cricket in the fading light. A man and his granddaughter were also watching and I greeted him. After a while it was too dark for cricket so he put his granddaughter on the front of his bicycle and both he and I were thinking of how cute she looked. I asked to take a picture and he happily agreed. After I shot…
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THE SEAMSTRESS OF GUDUR
Our Indian relatives have a strong tradition of giving gifts of clothes to visitors. As a result we have all received wonderful gifts we can wear. They didn’t quite get the size right for Padma however. No problem as just down the road lived a seamstress. We entered a dark alley lined with tiny closet-sized homes and found the home of the seamstress. She and her two children, and I assume a husband, lived in a room no bigger than some of the wardrobes we’ve seen in American homes. She took…
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KAVALI TO GUDUR
Joseph got some first hand experience with the dangers of travel in India when we travelled from Kavali to Gudur. We were running late and Joseph needed to be back to Gudur by 4.30 for his sitar lesson. Cousin Joshua was riding in a separate car and was about to leave so Joe grabbed a ride with him to get back earlier. The rest of us took the mini bus. An hour into the journey we saw Joshua’s car on the side of the highway surrounded by a bunch of people.…
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