Saturday, January 18, 2014

Handy-dandy meals

Eating meals with your hands is the norm in India. But despite this being my 4th visit here, I still haven't fully embraced this method of food consumption, opting more instead to eat my rice-and-curry with spoon-and-fork.

Our kids, on the other hand (no pun intended), do not share their daddy's preferences....

Friday, January 17, 2014

Signs that make you go....

....eh?

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Seen at a nearby restaurant....

Somehow, it surprises me little to see a restaurant named "Floating Tongues" be a Chinese restuarant....

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Let's Go Fly A Kite!

Today was a kite-flying holiday all over India, celebrating the harvest and the first festival of the new year. Although not typically done among Indian Christians, we decided to indulge a bit in this experience ourselves with the help of some friends....

Seconds after the last photo was taken, a neighbor's kite swooped from behind and cut "A"'s string, sending her kite floating aimlessly to be somebody's new-found prize. Needless to say, "A" was quite distraught by this. However, this "kite-fighting" activity (known as "patang") is a totally expected and welcomed part of these festivals. Dozens of kites dotted the sky in our neighborhood, many flown from housetops by young and old, all vying to bring each other down using a special glass-covered string. "Cut" kites would litter the roads, yards, treetops, power lines, etc. This YouTube video and the earlier video captures what's involved in this annual festivity better than any video/photo I took on my own.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Obligatory photos of roadside cattle

And what India travel blog would be complete without a photo of roadside cattle?

This cow appears to be someone's pet....

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Wood scaffolding

It looks quite precarious, but scaffolding using wooden poles lashed together with rope is common in India and other parts of the world. Don't think I'll ever see myself step out on one, much less work on one. Like Thatha and Amamma, several next-door neighbors are adding stories to their homes, using this type of scaffolding to accomplish it....