Thursday, May 25, 2006,8:04 PM
RUDALI
Well ! these are RudalisWhat are Rudalis ?Don't know much, They are PROFESSIONAL MOURNERSProfessional mourners ? what kind of a profession is that ? Have you gone mad ?How do you know ?how do you know what ?that I have gone mad ?Seriously, these ladies are professional mourners, they always wear black. When some one dies in the family in Rajasthan, these ladies are hired to mourn.What is the nature of their job ?They have to sit and cry, they make a scene, crying out loud, beating the ground beating themselves (they don't beat each other) screaming and crying, I mean real crying they are professional tear shedders. They get the details of the dead person, his or her near and dear ones.'o god why why why ? you have left behind your children your grandchildren you left behind your husband why why ?' they cry beating themselves. Very dramatic.they are so good I am told, that seeing them crying loud and real, others who come for the funeral start crying and people who have been happy over the death like sons in law start crying too.this is not a joke, seriously.Don't know anything else about them.
These are the first raindrops of last year in Wynad Kerala, I am leaving today chasing the rain, hoping to get myself soaked, have to attend a wedding in Gurvayur, Please see Daylight Again. After that I am free to chase the rain, No specific plans, I'll go where ever rain takes me I'll be back on 4th June. love you allDaylight Again.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006,10:25 PM
RAJASTHAN - Jewellery and attire.
Been very lazy, I am sorry, too hot, I don't complain about heat, I end up ruining my day. Too many pictures to choose from, difficult, want to post all of them, Rajasthan itself is enough for one whole year of blogging, there's so much diversity. If you buy a book on India, half the pictures will be on Rajhasthan, rest will be on Kerala, very little will be on rest of India.So its better to buy books on each state, each has its own charm.Please click on the pictures, all are full screen size.
Its very hot here in Chennai, south of India, and it gets boiling hot in Rajasthan, fuming hot burning hot. Please avoid summer months. The climate decides the attire. In chennai people normally wear white, or very mild colours to beat the heat. Different style in Rajasthan, they go for saturated colours. Your camera gets invaded with vibrant colours, you just can't resist.So please carry an extra card for Rajasthan alone. You need not worry too much about the card as there are studios in every street where you can transfer the pictures to a CD for 60 rupees (abt 1.5 dollars?) Every thing is cheap here.
These people are not dressed for any occasion or a festival. This is normal wear. All very very poor people, but still they love to decorate themselves with exotic colours and jewellery.
Young ladies cover their faces, this is called 'ghoonghat' or cover their heads, first to protect themselves from heat and dust, but the idea is to respect the elders, mostly married ladies cover their faces when appearing before the elderly male members of their in laws. Lot of muslims as well, Pakistan border is very close. Muslim women follow the same fashion.
Hi sweety, lovely smile through your ghoonghat, But her mother in law down here doesn't seem to like the idea of smiling for a maniac like me.
No gold and diamonds, plastic is fine, as long as the jewllery makes them cheerful. They have their own worries, they walk miles to get one pot of water fully decorated, and when their drunk husbands kick and beat them, they receive all the kicks and beatings fully decorated.
Next day they are happy, walk 2 miles and fetch one pot of water, cook, take care of the children, clean up, wash clothes, ready to get kicked by their husbands again. . If you interfere and try to save the wife, you'll end up getting kicked by her, the wife or the other ladies. Its a way of life. Next morning they are happy again.
this lady is selling bangles and arm rings, plastic glass or metal.
she is happy selling jwellery, she said buy some thing for your wife or daughter. i said i have no wife, she started pulling my legs, making fun of me some other ladies joined her in pulling my legs as well. I bought dresses for my niece from jodhpur and Jaipur. I am not good at this but you have to bargain a lot. When the shop keeper says 100 you have to offer 10, you go up a little he comes down a little, somewhere near 30 we meet. please don't feel shy to bargain. some times we feel we are offending the shop keeper by offering one tenth. they like it. They like it even more when they manage to cheat you. so please don't hesitate to bargain, offer the lowest. they never get angry. In south like Chennai the shop keeper gets very angry.
December January it gets pretty cold, and less people on the streets and you will not find vibrant colours. 
Daylight AgainWake up call blog
Tuesday, May 09, 2006,8:15 PM
SMILE
I was walking through the romantic streets of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, I saw this sweet girl, turned my camera towards her, her mom was sitting inside, started screaming, shut the door ... shut the door, because I look like a maniac, a terrorist, a kidnapper, and escaped convict all put together,
but before she closed the door she gave one sweet smile for the camera.These are the streets of Jaisalmer. All pictures are full screen size, please click on the pictures for a full screen view.
Daylight Again
Wednesday, May 03, 2006,6:02 PM
Shepherd and his flock of sheep
State of Karnataka has two extremes, extreme high tech and extreme poverty. You find people deprived of basic rights. No access to clean drinking water.This picture was taken on the way to Hosur, which is on Tamilnadu border, Electronic city falls in Karnataka.Had my lunch in the town. I wanted to wash my hands. I had to cross a long corridor. What ? I eat in Tamil nadu and you make me wash my hands in Karnataka ?Daylight Again
