Dez in India

Apparently, NYE fireworks & bottle rockets start at 11:00pm….

The house next door is blasting pre-recorded Sinhalese music (their DJ skills could be more polished, but they got the base thumping) and the One World Foundation, on the other side of our hotel, has some live drummers playing & singing. It’s party central on this “sleepy” island!!!

Walking along the beach in Sri Lanka this evening, I came across about 40 men pulling a fishing net from the beach. It was like watching tug of war with the sea. They invited me to help. It was sort of like rowing: everyone had to pull together. They sing songs to keep time. The catch was mostly small silver sardines and some larger sunfish. It seemed like a rather small haul to share among 40 people, but I imagine many are from the same house hold. Coiling up the ropes & nets took almost as much time (and care) as pulling in the net. They are stored in tidy piles with thatched covers. Here are some photos:
This is quite different from my last Sri Lankan fishing expedition ;)

N & I are at the Maison Nil Manel (house of the blue lotus, the national flower of Sri Lanka). It’s a small (6 room) antique-filled oasis with posh linens, a four post bed (with mosquito netting, actually a necessity here — not just for show), a huge tub, a good size swimming pool, incredible gardens and a sea facing balcony. The beach is about 500 yards from the main building, but it’s so charming, we don’t mind the short stroll. Here are some photos:

It’s pleasantly warm and from our balcony, the pool looked too good to pass up. It was delish! Floated around to the sounds of chirping crickets, croaking frogs and crashing surf. Alas, there were no stars visible in the cloudy night sky, but otherwise it was practically perfect.

The view from the plantation chair of my balcony… If only you could hear the crashing waves of Laccadive Sea/Indian Ocean.

Today we explored Colombo Sri Lanka. Strolling the Galle Face Green, to the historic Dutch Hospital, old houses of Parliament, the Independence Memorial, posh Cinnamon Garden neighbourhood, etc. We spent a good amount of time at the Gangaramaya Temple, an important Buddhist temple, museum and education center. (Buddhism is the most common religion in Sr Lanka, with Hinduism, Christianity and Islam being visible minority religions.)

It’s quite a sprawling complex, despite the misleading small facade. The museum features gifts from devotees, everything from cooking utensils to jewerly to a Rolls Royce. It’s a pretty surreal display — housed in many rooms — of material things given the Buddha’s anti materialistic nature. Here’s N with his fave Buddhist artifact:

The worshippers circled the bodhi tree — the one here was taken as a sapling from Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka’s holiest city, whose bodhi tree was reportedly a sapling from THE actual tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment. ) As requested, we refrained from photographing the worshippers, but here are some general photos of the temple

A few weeks ago, I had business in Pune, in the western part of India, in the general vicinity of Mumbai/Bombay. My coworker, K, told me about this signature food of Pune: the Batata-Vada. Potato, onion, herbs mixed and rolled in flour then fried. Like the offspring of a somosa (filling) and pakora (fry & overall appearance) — but with a unique taste and oh so good. When served on a roll, it’s Batata-Vata Pav (aka an Indian Burger). Garnished with green chili peppers/onion and green chutney. Totally yum.

Since I expressed an interest, K took me to THE place to have it: a very particular push cart on East Street near the Parsi Temple. Unlike any other push cart I’ve seen in Indian, this was quite an operation. People crowded around it in the street, of course. But it has car-side service! Cars pull over anywhere along the road and “boys” run over to take your order, run to collect the food from the cart and delivery to your car window. What service!

Fun urban legend: Apparently IT (the local version of the US IRS), was suspicious of the apparent stellar push-cart business versus its tax payments. So they raided the push cart! Well, as you can imagine, there are no receipts. According to the story, the IT agents overturned the trash barrels along the street & counted the paper wrappers from the Batata-Vata Pav (each is sold with 1 wrapper) and IT assessed a tax penalty based on their rubbish-count calculation. The infamous push cart owner reportedly accepted the fine, paid it and continues to sever his never ending clientele, uninterrupted….

Sorry no photos ;(

Last Saturday I meet my friend A in her home town of Delhi. We visited the Dilli Haat, which was showcasing textiles. Needless to say, I’m now the proud owner if 3 new large scarves (“dupatta”) of various fabrics. But I resisted the beautiful patchwork & embroidered Kantha sari, like the one on this mannequin…. I already have a Kantha dupatta, which I know I’ll wear much more often than a sari (but that sari was hard to resist!)

Despite the fog, we tried to see the famous Lodi Garden, but ended up having Bloody Marys & conversation at the restaurant over looking the garden. (That still counts as sight seeing, right? Like visiting the Boathouse in Central Park!)

Thanks for a great day, A!

“Dim dawn behind the tamarisks—the sky is saffron-yellow—
As the women in the village grind the corn,
And the parrots seek the river-side, each calling to his fellow
That the Day, the staring Eastern Day is born.
Oh the white dust on the highway!
Oh the stenches in the byway!
Oh the clammy fog that hovers over earth!
And at Home they ’re making merry ’neath the white and scarlet berry—
What part have India’s exiles in their mirth?” –Kipling, Christmas in India (excerpt)

We’re about to make some mirth over here! Poor Rudyard was rather depressed about Christmas in India, but we’re excited for it!!! Indeed, he nailed the dust, (sometimes) stench and parrots. But with brooms, fresh fragrant jasmine & tuberose and parrots safe & secure in my neighbour’s aviary perhaps our holiday is not quite what Kipling had in mind. Bangalore is fog-free (alas, Delhi remains blanketed in fog) and perfectly pleasant weather — Kipling should have spent Xmas here!

We’re off to Christmas brunch at Bangalore’s oldest hotel, the Taj West End — N loves the British Raj history there and it was his first pick for an (ahem) “proper” holiday meal.

PS — The photo is indeed our Christmas tree, a Norfolk Island Pine that doubles as a regular house plant when it’s not decorated with garlands of hand-made glass beads and a sorry string of fairy lights that I’m pretty sure UL didn’t approve… It looks very Dr. Suess-esque and I love it. No Charlie Brown Xmas tree comments, please.

N & I visited Russell Market today to get some flowers. Since Russell Market is located on the same block as St Mary’s Basilica (the oldest church and only Basilica in the state), we figured we could also check out the local last minute Christmas shopping scene. (There is also a Mosque and a Hindu Temple on the same block — great representation of religious tolerance!)

There were many booths in what normally is a lane of traffic, selling everything from foil-tinsel garlands, to fairy lights, to hand made nativity characters (none with Indian features).

Inside what’s normally a Market hallway, vendors were selling western style cakes (albeit sometimes with images of Bollywood heroes), fruit cakes and Christmas puddings

The Basilica was all decked out for Christmas mass, much like any Catholic church back home.

And the Christmas tree in the courtyard to the church, with it’s (creepy) life size Santa was a big draw for kids. (Like the nativity characters, this Santa was white as North Pole snow. I expected an Indian Santa for some reason… I mean, there are Indian Barbies, so why not?)