I took this on my phone so the exposure is all wrong, but I haven't seen a wandering ascetic accompanying a holy cow for ages. These two were down a little lane just over the road. Sometimes when you see cows decked out like this they have something special about them, like an extra leg sticking out of their side ... but this one looked fairly standard. Which reminds me: if you haven't seen these photos of temple cows by the Italian photographer Toni Menneguzo, take a look - they're brilliant.
I could start a new mini series called 'amusing signs' but I fear it could take over the blog ... I've never seen this one quite so big before.
Monday. Back at work. How times have changed since Day 24.
This was hanging up behind a makeshift street stall. It's the Hindu deity Murugan - Shiva's son. You mostly see pictures of him in the South, particularly Tamil Nadu (I'm pretty sure that's Tamil script in the top right hand corner). According to my book India: Belief and Ritual, The Gods and the Cosmos and Meditation and the Yogic Arts, "Murugan may have originated as a fertility god and his worship probably included some form of orgiastic dancing." So there you are.
We went to see an art exhibition in Hauz Khas Village - supposedly the coolest place in town. These are by Jamini Roy, a painter from the early 1920s with a very distinctive style. You can read more about him here. As you can see, the boys thought the exhibition was brilliant.
Matchbox #5: on the ground in Defence Colony.
I think this is bike shop #10: the mini-florist.
This is our new friend. It's an electronic mozzie zapper bat. It's the size of a small tennis racquet. You turn it on and then wave it around when you've seen a mosquito. When it hits the mosquito it makes a satisfying zap noise and sparks where the mosquito has hit it. A source of great amusement for us, but probably not for the mozzies.
There's a street in Old Delhi crammed with shops selling trims like these for saris and the edging of salwar kameez. I used to buy them and keep them but I never did anything with them ... I'm still tempted quite often though.
400 days in India today! Crazy. This is in Old Delhi - taken over the weekend. I love the neat display in this street side shop.
Our local bakery takes hot cross buns a bit more literally than supermarkets in the UK. Happy Easter!
Our lovely friends from Frome are visiting. We had a packed day today including a trip to Old Delhi where we found the bead shop which sells these little wooden animals.
This is the view from the metro station at Nehru Place where we went today to try and get our laptop fixed (and failed - it has died). The strange building in the distance is the Baha'i Temple. The Baha'i religion, as religions go, is quite interesting and inclusive as it recognises all faiths. There's more on it here for anyone interested.
...and another matchbox. Notice the new(ish) symbol for 'rupee' in the top right hand corner. There was a nationwide competition a few years ago for the design and it was won by a PhD student.
Ed took this one in the wholesale spice market in Old Delhi. These carts are used for hauling around massive sacks of spices. Even though they're not actually doing anything in this picture, I think this fits into Ed's series of cool people doing cool stuff.
Back in Delhi! I should know what the landmark is on the box but I'm not sure ... maybe the gate to the Red Fort? Not sure ... love that it says 'Mega matches'.
... and finally time to leave the UK and head back to Delhi. This is Heathrow terminal 4. Everything was normal, and then suddenly these rainbow coloured lights started moving across the ceiling. It only lasted a few minutes and then stopped. Weird.
Also back in Delhi, Louie has taken up lacrosse as an after school sport ... I have no idea how to play lacrosse.
Election day in Delhi! This is the polling station in the colony where we live. Apparently there was quite an atmosphere, with empty roads throughout the city. I was sorry to be missing it as I was still in England (photo taken by Ed). The results of the election won't be announced until around the 20th of May. It's been really interesting talking to people about their views on Narendra Modi who is tipped to win with his party the BJP. Most people think he's a corrupt crook with blood on his hands for the Gujarat atrocities in 2002 (more on this here), but others think he's no worse than any other politician and deserves a stab at the job. Almost everyone I have spoken to is sick of the Congress Party who have been in power since 2004.
Our friends from Frome are over in India. Here's Louie and Oz with Molly back at Kesroli Fort which we first visited in November last year.
April 8th was Ramnavami in India - the festival celebrating the birth of Rama. Ed took this photo of the procession through the colony where we live. The statues are of Rama (bare chested at the front), Hanuman (the blue monkey figure on the left) and Sita, Rama's wife, in the middle.
Today the IoE hosted the launch of the Global Monitoring Report for the Education for All goal set in 2000 - the general aim is that there will be quality, basic education accessible for all by 2015 ... an aim that is not going to be fulfilled. It was very interesting, with lots of statistics and data about how different countries were measuring up and discussion about why countries were falling behind. More on this here.
Look who's in the park right next to the Institute of Education! Yes, it's Mahatma Gandhi. The best thing was that every time I walked through the park, which was lots of times, someone was always taking a photo of it. I hardly ever see people taking photos of statues, but this was got a lot of well deserved attention.
And now to London, for a course at the Institute of Education: a week long intensive module in Education and Muslim Communities. It's part of the MA I'm doing in Education and International Development and was really interesting. I didn't realise how little I knew about Islam before I started the course. Fascinating.
I did make the obligatory trip to Betty's tea rooms in Harrogate with a friend. It was actually quite nice.
Another one from Ed taken in Old Delhi. I love these nuts and dried fruit shops - not quite sure what the ones in the front are ... possibly dates but not quite convinced.
Just filling in some gaps now - there are a few days in March/April without photos so far. This one was taken by Ed in Old Delhi.
