Mangoes

The mangoes have arrived in Bangalore. I saw the first vendor yesterday, and another today. This guy had at least 4 varieties to sell. They're not all completely ripe, but they've arrived. It seems early this year, which I attribute to the early warm weather. I've also read that the crop is seriously smaller this year.

We've also been having some serious weather in the last week or so. It was truly coming down in buckets. It thought I might get a nice picture of everyone hiding from the downpour, but since it was getting late in the day, the flash went off and all I got was the reflection.

As you can see, there's a lot of it coming down. We had hail that day so much I had to terminate a phone call because neither of us could understand the other(I was in the car and it was LOUD).

I also spotted this in a goods carrier (delivery truck) on the way to work. I liked all his 'danglies'.

Home Sweet Home

We spent almost 2 weeks in California. It was hard to be home, knowing we would leave again soon. The house was available for us to use, but not furnished much-- Cindy had gotten a few items out of storage, but not much.

Best part was the garden being in bloom. The roses were just starting.



And the apple tree was really going strong.



The children had fun playing in the yard. The other fruit trees were already past blooming.

Fortunately the day of Smitty's funeral (the reason for our quick visit back) was beautiful and sunny. We were able to have everyone over for a get together in the yard after the event. It was good to see everyone, even if briefly, and now it's good to be back in Bangalore again.

Odds and Ends

So it's been a while since I've posted. I've traveled to a couple of locations, but for business, and didn't get to take many pictures.

First off I went to Finland. It was strange in a couple of ways. One, I went from a very warm Bangalore (35C) to a very cold and snowy Helsinki (-10C). So I really had to use the winter clothes, and the change was dramatic. But more than that, every other time I've been to Finland, the snow has only been a few centimeters and they really clean up the downtown area quickly, so after a couple of days, the sidewalks and streets are clean. Now there was about a half a meter of snow on the ground everywhere except the streets which still had several centimeters of snow, and it snowed every day--adding to the winter wonderland effect. It was the most snow they've had in Helsinki in several decades. In a way it was very pretty and clean. The snow didn't have a chance to get dirty as there was always new falling. All in all, I liked it a lot, but the residents were complaining how much it impacted their lives. I guess it is nice to visit the snow, but not to have to shovel it daily to get your car out etc.



More recently I traveled to China again after about a year. It was really interesting being there as I didn't feel as much of an outsider. I think I did see more foreigners in Hangzhou than before, but maybe I'm also just used to being stared at, now that I've lived in India for more than 2 years. Somehow I just didn't notice so many people looking at me. I did find I created some confusion from time to time as I would occasionally do the 'Indian head bobble', which I've become used to doing in India as a way of getting acceptance and letting people know I'm 'a local'. This of course got a very confused look back from the Chinese who don't recognize it at all. It's amazing how quickly one can pick up local culture somewhere and have it become habit.

So back to Bangalore. Haven't done much exploring around, but have been suffering the local traffic on our main road. Now they were doing a major retrofit of the road when we moved here and they finished by paving it and redoing all the sidewalks. The repaving was completed about a year ago. Then 6 months ago, they dug up the road from one end to the other to put in a new sewer pipe. Not only did they mess up the new pavement, but they left piles of dirt next to the ditch for weeks. That was finished about 4 months ago, then just in the last couple of months they started digging again (about 2 meters from the sewer ditch) for a new water line. Here we go again. The dirt is piled up on top of where the sewer pipe was put. This reminds me of the way government departments in the US don't coordinate roadwork. I guess this is the same the world over, bureaucracy cannot coordinate to do things efficiently.


I did get to go to Donna's for a dinner party yesterday evening. It was really nice to be able to just relax and talk with other people without having to be on my toes as I do at work. Had a lot of fun and took a few snaps for Donna (center here). Nice trade-good food and conversation for a few pictures...

Otherwise, it's been hot here and no sign of cooling off in the near future. Maybe the mangos will come early this year--I've already seen 'raw mangoes' (unripened) in the stores today.

And yet one more discovery. Today we ate at Cafe Noir at UB City. Food was delicious. But that wasn't the discovery... The pastry chef told us where we can get chocolate chips near Commercial St. Yeah! I know someone who will be very happy now.

Guano Sighting

This last weekend was a pretty busy one. So much so that I actually forgot to call my mom--eek! Saturday we had a grand opening of our new office space. I had to attend that and it threw my schedule all off. Fortunately Sunday I got to relax. I had gotten notification of a group going to the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, just before Mysore City. (4 km from Srirangapatna) This info was forwarded to me by my wife who is out of station at the moment. I replied and said I was interested in going along, and would they let me know of any carpooling plans etc. In the mean time I arranged for Manju to come in on Sunday and drive if necessary.

Well Sunday came along, and I hadn't heard back, despite a followup. So, I thought, well, I'll just go to the park and be there at the time they plan to meet. If I recognize them, I'll join in, otherwise, I'll just see what comes. Well as it happens, I was there just about 15 mins early, and I waited for about 1/2 hour, checking out the map of the park, putting on sunscreen, adjusting the settings on my camera, etc. I didn't see anyone come in that I recognized. So I took off, and wandered the park by myself, well sort of.

The accessible part of the park basically runs along the river for maybe a little more than a Kilometer. I first took the path to the left (not sure if this is down or up river as the current was truly undetectable), and down past the islands where most of the birds nest. There was a nice raised viewing platform along the way, unfortunately the bamboo had grown across in front of it so the view from the ground was better. There were a lot of people there, obviously one group was a well prepared bunch of photograpers. They had serious lenses, tripods etc. There were also many families and couples just out for a nice picnic and afternoon in nature. I even saw something scandalous, there was one couple who were kissing behind the bamboo along the river.

Then I took the boat tour. Now these boats are all row boats, and can hold about 20 people. I was lucky being an only traveler, I got the bench behind the oarsman, well really in front, but we were all looking backwards. So I had lots of ability to turn around and focus my camera wherever I wanted without hitting someone, or having to dodge someone's head. We spent a leisurely 30 minutes on the water going around three islands, which had different birds on them, plus some other animals like crocodiles, and bats. It is also possible to rent private boats, like this well prepared gentleman did. I didn't feel the need, but might do so if I had a small group, or really wanted to do some serious photography as he did.

After the boat tour, I had a simple lunch. I had brought sandwiches, so I sat along the river and just enjoyed the location, weather, and quiet time. Then I went home. Manju did say he had seen a couple of expat drivers he knows, but I don't know if that was the group I was supposed to join. Their loss, if it was. I had fun anyways.





More pictures.

Back in the routine

Well, we've been back in Bangalore for 3 weeks now. It's been pretty quiet, especially with Cindy staying back in CA for her mom. I must say it has been hard to be here when she is there having to deal with a sick parent, but life has to go on too.

Weekends haven't been very exciting. Last weekend I did get out for a walk. This weekend I just stayed home and managed to finish one book about Julius Caesar. Now I'm on to the third one in the series. Yesterday our housekeeper brought her little 3 year old girl with her. The preschool was closed. I had a lot of fun playing with her, reading to her, and watching her imitate her mother. When Lalitha was cooking, her daughter had to get up and make chapatis too. It was really cute.

On another note, I have been seeing this sight for a few months now. I think it is really ironic where this restaurant is built. The Stayfit place was there first and before it was a grocery store above, but then this fall MacDonalds opened up above. Stayfit sells exercise equipment. I find it ironic every time I drive by (which is daily, as it is on the main road here).

Out Walking

I decided it was such a lovely day today I had to get out for a walk. It must have been about 30c--that's 86F for those of you in the US. It was a bit warm in the sun, but in the shade, just balmy and lovely. I chose to go to the same park where I had been before with Isha, but took a slightly different route. This time I went a bit more through the neighborhoods as opposed to on the main roads. On the way there, I got a number of stares. Obviously people weren't entirely comfortable with my being there. I also got a lot of smiles from people when I smiled at them and did the head bobble thing.

Once in the park, I sat and enjoyed the warm weather from a shady bench. What struck me was how few people were enjoying this beautiful park in the 'middle' of Bangalore. Most of the benches were empty. There were a few couples and families that came strolling by, but not many. Maybe it was because it was still the hot part of the day, but certainly it wasn't uncomfortable. I did wander around to the more tree covered parts of the park, mostly on the north side, and found this is where there were several couples sitting on park benches in the shade. This is not a common sight in Bangalore, but it seems the parks are one place couples can get away for a bit of 'privacy'. I also saw several groups of young people where it was pretty obvious there were some interested couples who were being chaperoned by others, usually brothers or sisters I would guess by age.

On my walk through the park I said hello to one elderly gentleman, and he stopped me to ask where he was from. When I told him I was from California, he immediately started telling me about his nephew, Vivek, who was top of his class and was working in CA now. His nephew is very spiritual, and went to Iscon with him several times. When I asked what city his nephew lives in, he couldn't tell me, nor what company, but he did tell me his nephew is a Chemical engineer. I almost felt like he thougth I should know his nephew. Then he proceeded to tell me that his nephew's brother, vikram, also was in California for a temporary assignment. After all of this he bid me a good day, telling me he would remember me often.

Then as I walked back through the neighborhood, I wondered if I would get a different reaction from people if I took of my sunglasses. So I did. I got a more pleasant reaction from most, and I presume it was that and not because it was my second walk down the same roads. Could have been the latter though I guess. Then I was stopped by an Auto driver. I was concerned he was going to hassle me to take a ride, but he just asked where I was from--California, USA-- and then he introduced himself and his friend, asked where I lived and when I pointed over the drainage ditch and in the neighborhood, he bid me farewell.

So I had two more very friendly and pleasant interactions with total strangers today, something I would never expect to happen in Silicon Valley.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness

For those of you with a tarnished Aura, this place may be able to help you. It can be found in Mountain View near 85...