Belur

Belur from Danielle on Vimeo.

So all those children you see? I probably shook hands with 2/3 of them. They were sweethearts.

Mysore

Two hours from Bangalore, Mysore is the old capitol of Karnataka state. I went to Mysore twice while I was in India, but I don't think we should pay any attention to the second trip as it was basically awful. I got sick en route and spent the day trying to sleep in the van while everyone else went to the zoo. The first time, though, was great.

{Nanjundeshwara Temple built in the 9th century. Dedicated to Lord Shiva who is also called Sri Nanjundeshwara or "the god who drank poison." If you are a Hindu god, you get lots of names and avatars.}

I took a bus and it was the first time on the trip that I was able to see some of rural India. Rice paddies, draft animals pulling carts filled with day laborers or firewood, small tarp tent communities, shacks - covered in ads for Sprite or Airtel - selling chips and candy, and families of four crowded onto motor bikes. Just like in the city, every vehicle on the road honked incessantly and traffic lanes were acknowledged at each individual's convenience.

It was a long day, packed with local landmarks including several temples and two palaces. I became very talented at being barefoot (no shoes allowed!). I forgot to put the memory card back into my digital camera, so all the pictures I took that day were with my instax mini. I'm so glad I brought it.

{Mysore Palace is the home of the Wodeyars who ruled the area from 1399 until Indian independence from the British. This palace was finished in 1912.}

{One of twelve temples in the palace complex. This one is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, I think.}

I bribed a guard at the palace. I hadn't realized I was supposed to check my camera near the entrance gate and the guard pulled me aside after they saw it in my bag. At first, I did not understand what he was trying to tell me. He had come right out and explain that if I gave him a little money and didn't take any pictures inside the building he wouldn't make me walk all the way out to the camera check. "Ok," I said, "How much?" Because I'd really never done this before. "Whatever," he said. I gave him ten rupees and he asked if I had any U.S. dollars. I didn't.

{Giraffe at the Shri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, or, you know, the zoo. They had a fantastic number of animals}

In many of the places we stopped, I was the only foreigner and the only white person. So, I got stared at lots and children and adults came up to me to ask "What country are you?" A small crowd of of 12 year old girls ran up beside me at the zoo, all jingling with bangles and anklets. They all smiled huge smiles and asked me where I came from. "Great!" they said, a little breathlessly, after I answered and smiled back. Then they ran right away again. Essentially, this same thing happened a couple dozen more times throughout the day. Sometimes they would take my picture. It was endearing and made me feel a little famous, which I am totally not.

{Chamundeshwari Temple is dedicated to Durga, a fierce demon killing embodiment of shakti (the female creative force). She is also a form of Parvati the wife of Shiva.}

{Cow and her calf in one the temple markets. The cows may wander as they please.}

Way cooler than a liger

Do you need a new favorite animal?

From wiki commons

This is a makara. It shows up a lot on south Indian temples. A makara is essentially the perfect animal. See, it has the paws of a lion so that it can tread silently on its clawed and padded feet, the body of a pig allows it to eat any food, an elephant trunk for strength, the jaw of a crocodile which never releases prey from its sharp teeth, sharp monkey eyes, and alert cow ears. But, that is not all. It also has a peacock's tail. For beauty, obviously.

All the coolest kids have one.

An unfortunate circumstance

Oh dear. I am so sick. Tomorrow is my last day here and I spent yesterday and, particularly, today feeling just plain bad. It is unfortunate because there are a few things left that I wanted/want to do - lying in bed with body aches and fever not among them.

I cannot tell you the last time I got sick like this. But, I do not like it. I want vegetable noodle soup, smoothies, and someone to hold my hand.

On a brighter note, I have had an amazing time. Lot's of stories and pictures to come.

Another bright note: Christmas. Did you know that's happening soon?

Man oh man, I hope I sleep tonight. And please I would not like to spend twenty sick hours on an airplane, thank you.

On location

Finally, after two nights in a row of sleep lasting longer than four hours, I am starting to feel energetic and settled and a little bit in love with India. Actually, I felt in love even when I wasn't sleeping, but now I can enjoy it.

We arrived at around one in the morning on Sunday after 20 hours of flight time. Isn't that a hugely huge number? It strangely didn't feel that long, though. Taking care of a two year old made the time pass remarkably fast - what with meals, naps, playtime, and general preoccupation with someone else's needs. She (let's call her Mooshi, since I often do anyway) was great on the plane and managed all the upsets to her everyday life really well. The family had bought three first class tickets and two coach. Three first class seats because Mooshi's mom is pregnant and various logistical issues required two more. The original plan was that I would just sit in economy with whichever grandparent didn't sit up front with mom and baby. But then! But then, just before we took off Mooshi's grandma came and found me in the back of the plane to say that she thought we should switch seats, that I might be more helpful up front and she would just sit back here with her husband.

Guys. This means I totally flew first class on an international flight. Two flights. 20ish hours. It was almost as wonderful as I thought it would be. The seats really do lie almost flat! Meals come in courses! On tablecloths! Flight attendants are nice to you! Life list goal accomplished!

Flying home will be so ... so ... pedestrian. And way more crowded.

And now, after all that. We are here. Here being a colony of three houses on the same property with room for two more and some gardens and outbuildings. The whole property is Mooshi's great grandmother's inheritance from her father. A lot of the family lives here. It is really lovely to have everyone going back and forth between the houses.

 This is the front of the main house.

The small garden house/outbuilding. 

One of the garden shrines.

This is the house where I am staying.

All most all of my time has been spent in the colony, so far. Playing with Mooshi, trying to sleep, and eating. Oh the eating. There is a novel somewhere in all that eating, but whether or not I will be able to write it with snacks and drinks in each hand is questionable. And I'm not even trying to fill my day/plate with food. But you can only say no thank you so many times! Especially since everyone, truly everyone, is always trying to get you to eat or drink something. I do not think I have ever been so well fed and watered in the entirety of my life.

Anyway, now that the jetlag is receding, the touristing brainstorming begins ...

Far far away

Guess what?

Tomorrow night I am getting on a plane and flying to Bangalore, India. In, you know, India. The family I sit for invited me to come along with them while they visit family and do a little work. I'll be there for three weeks. And I am so excited. And not really packed at all, even though we leave for New York (from whence our plane departs) this afternoon ...

I will have an internet connection the whole time, so after spending a silly number of hours on the plane I will come say hi.

From Wiki Commons

It is going to be amazing.