Golden Temple Pictures

In lieu of a more substantial post, I'll share some pictures of the Golden Temple.

As I learned in Delhi, the Nishan Sahib is quite large. ^__^

The langar hall, a free kitchen that is open 24/7. It is a place where people of all faiths and classes are invited to share a meal together.

The Harmandir Sahib (that is, the Golden Temple itself), in the center of Amrit Sarovar.

Pilgrims and travelers circling the sarovar. I'm tucked away in a shady area. I spent nearly three days sitting in various places like this around the temple complex, sitting and watching and resting and listening.

Another image from my anterior/interior position. ^__^

Famous Amritsari Pictures!

I actually have several very nice pictures of the Golden Temple. Unfortunately, this internet is very slow at uploading pictures. (Not to mention that it won't let me rotate them, and I would hate to show you a bunch of upside-down pictures.)

So I'll just give you one, to prove that I am still alive an' kicking.

I have been very surprised at the number of people (usually young girls) who want to take their picture with me. In Lal Bagh, at Mysore Palace, and now here. I suppose my face will be gracing countless university hostel-room bulletin boards. At any rate, here I am, surrounded by admirers. ^__^

(Note to my hosts in Bangalore: yes, that is the salwar you gifted me. The tailoring turned out great!)

Pictures of Mysore!

I'm not a synesthe, but I do attach colors to things. Hyderabad is kind of a dull orange, Bangalore is green.

When I rode the auto from the train station into Mysore, it felt pink, like Paris. But it soon became clear that Mysore is a very lovely yellow.

I don't have a lot of pictures of Mysore because every time I entered a place that looked like it wanted to be photographed, my camera was confiscated. So... no pictures of any palaces or anything interesting like that.

But I do have two pictures I took on Chamundi Hill. The first is of Chamundi Temple from a distance, before I had to put away my camera. Note the rows of stalls outside.

The second is the view of Mysore from the top of Chamundi Hill. When the auto driver noticed that I was trying to take a picture while he was driving, he kindly stopped the auto and let me get a better shot.


Then, however, my auto driver asked if I wanted to take a short trip to see "one more temple." He promised it would be short, and worth my while. It turned out to be a half-hour excursion which added Rs 100 to the meter and led to a tiny, nondescript temple in the middle of nowhere.

"Really, it's important!" he said, seeing my irritated face. "Inside is a very important god!"

Yeah, I thought. The God of Raising Auto Drivers' Meters.

Oh, well.

Pretty New Glasses!

If you happen to be in Mysore looking for a good glasses shop, I thoroughly and completely recommend Ismail Opticals.

Not only did they give me 24-hour turnaround (when I explained that I was only staying in Mysore for two days and couldn't take a week to get the glasses back), but they hand-delivered them to my hotel (at 10 p.m.), and fitted them for me outside of the reception desk.

At no extra charge.

I am loving these glasses. Not only because they are oh-so-cute, but also because my world has suddenly popped into high-def. The ophthalmologist who wrote my prescription said that it was only a small change from my old pair, but... it is a very big improvement to me. Not having to squint at things is huge.

Here's the picture!

Kiss Kiss Beat-Me-To-It!

I promised a post comparing the "real" Bangalore to the one depicted on The Simpsons episode "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore."

However, Bangalore Monkey (whom, I hope, is wearing clothing) has already beaten me to it.

Click here for B-Monkey's pics and analysis. ^__^

(My analysis? Groening and his staff didn't draw half enough trees. The dominant color in Bangalore is green, as opposed to Hyderabad, which is... dust color.)

Images from Lal Bagh

Nothing's cuter than a monkey wearing clothing. Especially one who tells me where to put my trash and helps me find drinking water. There were also "trash-can statues" of rabbits and frogs and rams throughout the park, but only the monkey statue got to wear clothing. Why?

Corporate sponsorship is never far away. Also -- is that dwarf in the back picking his nose?

I just liked the combination of colors on this one. Plus the horizontal line of the walkway cutting through the verticals of the trees.

This is the "money shot;" the picture of the Glass House. When I got up close, I found it was the extremely dirty Glass House. A bit of water and some Windex would have made it much more impressive.

More fun with angles and lines. I liked the curvy branches of the... um... "curvy branch tree."

This is for the people who laugh when I tell them India reminds me of California. ^__^

More Fabulous Deals!

Here are the other two things I purchased today (well, the two I can show you... mumble mumble Christmas mumble).

This lovely bottle of "exotic" attar, at Rs 30 (down from 70). Having two old perfume salesmen argue over which attar suited me best was great fun. I just googled "Rajnigandha" to find out what it meant, and turned up "night fragrance." Was hoping it would be more specific, as the internets have yet to add a "smell" application and so I can't share this attar with you. Which is too bad, because it smells enchanting.


And this charming "night suit" (asking for pajamas, of course, meant that they showed me pants). I haven't had a new pair of pajamas since my undergrad roommate (who's also done a research project in India, coincidentally enough) gave me some as a present. Normally I wouldn't care, but if I'm going to be traveling and visiting people I thought it might suit to have something that isn't threadbare. Went to six different shops and finally found one that would sell them to me for Rs 135 (the going rate was Rs 250). And they're adorable.


That's all for now. I was at Charminar most of the day today but didn't take any pictures (although I had my camera) because... well, because it felt strange to be taking pictures of all of these people who were out doing their daily shopping. I really wanted to take a picture of the Hyderabadi biryani I had for lunch, but no one else was pulling their camera out in the middle of the restaurant, so... you'll just have to imagine it with me.

A Tempest of Pictures

The chorus of Ariels sink a ship. Totally did not steal this idea from Peter Brook. Not one iota.

Miranda and Ferdinand make censor-safe love (no kissing!) while Prospero and an Ariel watch.

Trinculo and Caliban. I love this shot.

The magical banquet, and moveable feast.

Group photo. Obviously. ^__^

Pictures of Hyderabad

I spent all of yesterday in the city, and took my camera with the full intention of taking lots of pictures.

But I was having so much fun that I forgot, and only took two. They were all taken while I was waiting to meet a friend, and suddenly remembered that I had a camera.

The first picture is simply the view from where I was standing. We're very near where the Panjagutta flyover collapsed.

The second is me, with my sunburned nose. I've been wearing sunscreen, but it needs some more SPF or something. It was one of those cloudy-day sunburns that comes as a surprise and hurts extra hard. Oh, well.

Gamera! (aka "Pictures!")

After who knows how many tries, I have a working camera. It's been almost seven weeks, if you're counting.

The camera is still only "semi-working;" that is, I can still only get about five pictures off of it before the batteries die. This I found out when I was testing the camera, in my hostel room.

At any rate, please enjoy.

Here's me in my room, with my laundry.



I got a better blanket, finally. Shame I didn't have the camera when I had the one with the holes in it.


The view from my window.


If it's Thursday, must be brinjal curry. ^__^


More pictures to come soon. Right now am very busy working on Tempest.