Dez in India

J & I are celebrating the Kentucky Derby with juleps on the balcony in B’lore. [Thank gawd for duty free Maker’s.]. J is (hypothetically) betting on Vicar’s in Trouble and, in honour of my time in India, I’m going for Samraat. Run for those Roses!

Ok, THIS is hands down the best summary of the Indian Election. Ever. Brought to you by a Brit (sorry, Jon Stewart) making fun of American media .

For the record, to clarify the point made at 6:08, here’s the leopard I spotted in India (not leaping from a roof, but you get the idea…).

I only have one criticism about John Oliver’s otherwise comprehensive coverage (although I do not mean to contradict the findings of “Foxificaiton”). The comment about the “Billion Votes” graphic at 7:28 misses another point of interest: Whilst they may only be 814 million voters, there could still be a billion votes. It’s possible that this isn’t inaccurate…. (See similar allegations during the 2000 & 2012 US presidential elections and relative to the 146% voter turn out for the 2011 Russian parliamentary elections. Just saying!)

It is pretty amazing, seeing what it takes to accommodate 800+ million eligible voters. Voting occurs over several weeks: today is voting day in Delhi & 13 other states across the country, next week it’s voting day in Bangalore, etc. Which means there is no one night staying up to see who wins — exit polls roll in over the course of a fortnight. Such suspense! Secure voting machines have been deployed by truck, camel, yak and elephant (seriously!). Once a person votes, a special ink is used to mark an appx 1cm stripe on his/her finger, from the top knuckle to the nail — it’s reportedly indelible, so that voters cannot scrub it off and vote a second time. (A local told me that when he was in his early 20s, the ink used could be removed with a chemical akin to nail polish remover — a trick he and his buddies gleefully used to vote half dozen times for their favourite candidates. The ink has improved since then, or so I am told.) Most companies close to encourage employees to vote. Lastly, voting days in any given location are “dry” the day before and of the election. The explanations I’ve been given include that this (1) encourages people to go vote, rather than waste the day sitting around getting drunk and (2) prevents politicians from buying votes with drinks & bottles. Honestly, I need a drink just to get thru the 1-day US elections, polls & results…

But the rate of participation is truly amazing — voter turn out is in the 70%-85%, depending in the state. The US should take note! >

Photo from the Hindustan Times of a voter’s finger with special ink.
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I arrived for a business trip and there is no fog, no smog and pleasant temperatures. It’s actually better weather here than the Bangalore: 30C (mid 80F) vs 36C (pushing 100F) back “home”. Since I posted about the fog here over the winter, I figured I’d show you what it’s like in the sun, from roughly the same view:

For cocktail hour on Dad & G’s last night in India, we had an impromptu mehndi party. “A” came over after work to say goodbye to her new adoptive parents (a debate rages as to who’s adopted whom). My neighbour’s niece is an amazing henna artist (who is so humble about what she considers to be just a hobby) and she just happened to be free. So we all got “inked”.

G got a traditional lacy flowers print all over her hand, front & back. Dad got an eye inside his palm, A got a paisley on her wrist and I got a Ganesh/ohm on my wrist.

(Of course I couldn’t sit still and smudged mine a little — but in my defence I was topping off people’s drinks.)

The mehndi is made from a paste of henna leaf. It stains the skin, so the pattern wears off with time. It normally lasts about 10 days, depending on how hard you scrub at it.

It’s traditionally used on brides for wedding ceremonies (among other celebrations). Hence, are lots of old wives tales & superstitions about it: the darker the mehndi on a bride, the more deeply her future husband will love her (also a motivation for brides to sit still and let the pattern dry completely). It’s sometimes said that a new bride should not be expected to do housework until her wedding mehndi has worn off. G is going work that angle 😉
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Home made mango lassi from fresh local mangoes = perfect breakfast

A&J and I took a road trip to Coorg, west of Bangalore up in the mountains. The area is known for coffee plantations, cardamom, and honey… There isn’t much sightseeing to be done, just hiking, reading and relaxing. Perfect.

Daytime hike with J:

The view from the lobby with A:

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The restaurants:

The “indoor” pool:

The outdoor pool (day & night) with A:

Sunrise/Moonset hike with A&J:

Bubbles:

Antique daybed with A:

The fireplace in my room:

Poolside with A, on a swinging daybed after our spa treatments. Coorg is lovely. I will post photos from this morning’s nature hike later, but right now just need to chill….

This is what the swinging daybed looks like:

A monkey stole G’s glass of wine off the porch of our cottage in Kabini national forest, ran about 20 feet away and drank it (very primly) from the glass whilst staring directly at G. Then she proceeded to lick each long monkey-finger, getting whatever wine sloshed over the rim during her escape. Bitchy monkey, bitchy.

At least G has a monkey story to take back to snowy NY. And we have plenty more wine. No harm, no foul.

Monkey, I’m naming you “Ramona Singer” (even though it was Sauv Blanc, not Pinot Grigio).

The parental units have arrived! Dad & G are ready to start their vacation in balmy South India.
PS They are in remarkably high spirits considering the long journey. Photo taken at about 5AM local time, although cocktail hour back in the US. You can draw your own conclusions about what’s in the glasses 😉