In Bangalore

Saturday morning, and Mark and Matt took Kobi for a walk in the neighborhood around the Villa Pottipati Hotel. First they stopped to watch pick-up games in the local park -- mostly cricket but some basketball too. Kobi chatted with some boys sitting on the side.


Kobi talked bluestreak and these kids couldn't get a word in edgewise. Wonder where he gets that from?



Typical street scene in this neighborhood, with shops crowding up against a local temple.


Here's a closeup of the same temple, with Ganesh on the entrance wall. Ganesh is always at the front of a Hindu temple even if he is not the main god, because -- the story goes -- he was promised that he would always be worshipped first. Ganesh is pictured in many different positions, each with a name and story associated (and a reason why you'd pray to that particular image) but they all have certain similarities...his shortened trunk, his one tusk, his pot belly, his rat, etc.


The friendly greeting of the cart owner....and the skepticism of the customer!


And finally, they saw this sign on a neighborhood wall. We know it is a warning for someone, but due to either a punctuation or a spelling malfunction, we're not sure who.

Meanwhile the kids had a treat and got to spend a few hours at the Forum Mall, hanging out at the Landmark Books. A few graphic novels, James Michener for Tenzin, Ursula LeGuin for Maggie and Book 2 of Harry Potter for Karma, Dr. Seuss for Kobi (they are out in paperback in UK and here!), a new book on the miracle of modern India by Edward Luce called "In Spite of the Gods" for Mark, some new charcoal pencils for Maggie, and a copy of William Dalrymple's new book as a gift for Sajeev. Then the kids make their first visit to an Indian McDonald's....and only order fries.


McCurry or a McVeggieBurger anyone?

In the evening, Mark, Jen, Matt and Tenzin go in search of hip, hi-tech Bangalore, and wind up at a sleek modern restaurant named Sunny's, where bats swoop just over our heads while we eat excellent Italian food. We are surprised to find Baklavah on the menu, which we take home to Maggie, since she announced yesterday that she was craving some. The evening was delightful, especially the lively discussion on the merits of the online game, the World of Warcraft, which Matt loves...and Tenzin would love to be allowed to play.


Tenzin and Matt work on the argument of how playing World of Warcraft would be "Good For Tenzin's Development".

And finally, we are able to get a decent shot of one of the more prominent phenomena in New India....the mega gas station.



Throughout India we have been flabergasted at the spectacularly clean and spify gas stations that sit cheek-by-jowl with entrenched filth and medieval infrastructure. This one, so clean that you could eat off the white concrete surfacing -- was surrounded by a pipe grate to stop neighborhood livestock from wandering in.