It's a common sight here

We have guests amidst traffic. Some even know the rules, but not these, probably. I'm sure you know what I mean to say on this picture.

I know if that were here there would be trouble. Thanks for sharing and I will have to show my husband. We are ranchers and he always says that there are some cows he had rather have in the house than some of the people he knows!

Dinu

Lovely image! In this region we have areas where cattle, ponies and for part of the year pigs and sheep roaming freely in and out of the villages too. Not on a main road areas though but the dog and I regularly walk through herds of large animals on our daily walk :)

Dinu, is he driving on the wrong side of the road? I don't suppose there is a helmet law there.
Andy P

I'll try to get some shots like these in the time to come. Sometimes, they even sit and chew the cud very peacefully as traffic goes around them! This shot is when the signal light was not on for this side of the road and hence just one scooterist. Yes, the helmet law is getting into force - actually from the 16th of this month. They enforce it and when the new govt. comes, it removes it - so it is an on and off affair. There are thousands of two-wheelers here. Since most of us go on short trips and stop by in many places, the helmet is quite a cumbersome luggage, though it saves the heads. But in city traffic, the speed is usually around 30-40kph and in my opinion, rarely do people fall from their own mistakes. I'm sorry to say that the helmet law is for the govt. lobby where lots of money is made by the govt and the manufacturers..... I have my old helmet to use when I use my scooter.

No, he his not on the wrong side. Here we keep left and all cars etc., have right hand steering wheels - quite the opposite to that in USA.

Sitting so relaxed, chatting away so leisurely, is a common sight. Here, these two villagers are waiting for their bus which stops right in front of our gates. They are carrying something in the containers. Some of them smoke while squatting and getting themselves warm in the morning sun. But today it was neither sunny nor they were smokers. This posture is so relaxing! So much better than standing. Some sit on the kerbs.

I guess we are spoiled here. We get benches at every bus stop.

Bus shelters are put up at permanent places. But this one I guess is a temporary place. The authorities have even nailed a board on the tree as you can see on the left top corner that it is a 'bus stop'. I'm planning to take this matter to the authorities as it often is a hindrance when a couple of buses stand right in front of my gates, what with waiting commuters standing one beside the other -- no queues. There was a heritage bench with a cement shelter at the corner of the road to the right, but when the road got widened, they mercilessly thrashed it beyond re-use. IT was so strong and smoothly built.

Is it true that cows are not killed and eaten in India? Am really curious about this. Thanks for any info. you can give me.

In Arizona cows have the right to roamm free....

If I "sat" like those guys do they would have to get a block and tackle to get me back up!! Jo

You tell them Dinu, how rude to just put a bus stop in front of your gate. Maybe you should take advantage of the situation and set up a concession stand in your front yard.

Thanks. What's a concession stand?

Actually the original bus stop was at the corner of the road. When the signal lights were installed and roads widened to make way for increasing traffic, automatically, the people began waiting in front of our house as they also could get some shade from the sun under the 2-3 trees (from my yard as well as my neighbour's). So in the last one year or so it has moved here, much to our disliking.

Cows... yes, they roam about free, but there is an illegal trade to sell beef and they say that clandestine slaughter houses exist.

A concession stand is where a person sets up a table and sells merchandise...coffee, sodas..like a store kind of.

Oh, there are a few out of this picture, just to the left, though not close to my compound wall. There is a sugarcane juice vendor, a tea-cart, a snack cart, a cigarette seller.

What ? No Starbuck's there (coffee) ? McDonalds ?

Nope. Not at least in Mysore. But we have lots of other lovely locals! We can see here a beautiful blend of rural and urban requirements. The market goes according to that. If a McDonalds outlet is opened, there is no market as much as that in Bangalore, our state capital which actually has KentuckyFC... The way people earn, save and spend is a bit different. We have our own popular brands that will suit the palates. We have Pizza Huts that are quite popular, but the intestines will be suffering!! The climate plays a role plus the basic food habits.

Pizza & McDonalds is the basic food here (lol) and pizza happens to be my favorite in any climate. So what do you eat there, if you don't mind me asking?

Idli, Dosa, Upma, Chapati, Poori, Roti, Vada, Cooked rice, Rasam, Sambar, Vegetable dishes..... Spices accompany most preparations, but we keep the 'hotness' to a certain limit.

Okay, I understood the rice and vegetables but that was all. So are the others fish, chicken, or what ?

Yes, for non-veggies you get fish, chicken, meat, eggs.... There is a separate meat market. Some prepare NV (as many call) on a weekly basis and never on certain days of the week.

Oh, my gosh, Dinu, you just listed a lot of my favorite Indian foods! I had an Indian friend back in Pennsylvania, who taught me to make (among other things) roti. I went home and practiced (many times), and one day called her and said, "Poonam, congratulate me!". She replied, "Congratulations - what did you do?" I told her that I had, that very day probably attained the expertise in the kitchen of the average 8-year-old Indian girl. I had finally made a roti that puffed evenly, and wasn't shaped like an amoeba. It is NOT as easy as it looks, LOL. Even the goofy-looking ones tasted good, though, so practicing was no great hardship. They are a wonderful accompaniment to spicy things. She was from the North, but she made idli/sambar every once in a while and it was so good. Thanks for the window on your part of the world!

Bonnie

Dinu
Take care

Different worlds but its our worlds!

Nanu means "I". (In Kannada, our language) So you are a 'bunny'? LOL! Well, rolling out rotis is an art that comes by practice. It's a good excercise too. So next time it is prepared at home (not by me!) I'll catch a pic of the triangles and rounds. Shapes are for the eye but tastes are for the soul! So if the dough is right, it will taste good. I used to roll out neat rounds as a 5 year old and my grandmother used to appreciate me. But the kitchen never fascinated me as I grew up. Here it is a frequent dish (roti or chapati or poori -- poori is deep fried) in our home though not everyday. Say weekly twice or so. In the north, it is a regular. Ah, you must taste the Idli sambar or chutney in our home!

Hey, Charlie.... Thanks! Indeed yes.

Dinu, that's funny - "I", huh? Our great-granddaughter called me "Nanu Bunny" since Bonnie, my name sounded like "Bunny" to her when she was a baby. This child has so many of her grandparents and great grandparents around that with all the "Grannies" and "Grammies", I thought that "Nonna" which is Italian for "Grandma" would be a good start, since I figured "Bisnonna" (great grandma) would be too much. Well, Nonna Bonnie became "Nanu Bunny". I'll have to tell my family that "I am a bunny", LOL!

I would appreciate some pictures of the shapes very much. I would also LOVE to taste the Idli sambar or chutney there. India is one of those places that I have always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, Southwest Airlines "Ding" program doesn't include flights to India. I am going to have to try again, to make roti.

Bonnie

That's an interesting little story about 'nicknames'. That's funny, Bonnie-bunny! Neenu means 'you'.

Check if there are flights to Singapore (which is also a fine place to visit) and Singapore is quite close to India!

Dinu

This is yesterday's breakfast. Chapatis.

Fascinating, thank you for sharing, Dinu! I've read a few of your threads now, and I appreciate being reminded there are other places and other ways. :-) It gives me ideas.

I've only become acquainted with Indian food in the last few years, but love what I think is called Burani (spelling?) or a spinach curry, especially with lamb. I've experimented to figure out how to make something that passes my limited experiences, but do you happen to make such a curry?

:-)

Hi 4paws. You're speaking about a dish pronounced as B-I-R-Y-A-A-N-I. Being veggies, we have not much idea about it. But they make a veg-biriyani too with lots of spices, some vegetables and all. Being the one on the other side of the kitchen, I cannot put forth a recipe to you - may be I can get it from the lady in the kitchen, if you wish!

Oh, that's it, Dinu - I haven't seen it written often - but that's it. A vegetable recipe would be perfectly fine, and I'd appreciate it, absolutely!


Could you show more photos of your kitchen, if it's not rude to ask.
Thank you.
:-)


This message was edited Dec 26, 2006 10:45 AM

Dinu, it's great to learn so much from each other. One of our favorite restaurants is Indian. It has the most extensive menu of any restaurant I can think of. Many fish, lamb, chicken and shrimp items. A long list of different types of bread. And a long list of vegetable dishes. It's hard to make a decision!

The husband and wife who own the restaurant are the very nicest people. They cannot work hard enough to make their guests happy. They must say "please" and "thank you" 100's of times during the night. He is so sweet. He will ask "Are you happy?" How could you be a better host than to simply ask if your guest is happy? We enjoy being there very much.

I saw a documentary on television about cows that featured some living in India. It showed how they were honored at Hindu celebrations. It also showed many living in the inner city among millions of humans. These cows literally were in the traffic medians and ate garbage - sometimes even paper if there isn't anything else. They didn't have access to grassy areas. One day a year they were allowed to eat all the fruit and vegetables from the open market they wanted. I can't recall the name of the holiday. That was a surprise to me. Do kind-hearted people tend to feed them? It's hard to imagine they can survive on garbage.

Thanks for sharing so many of your photos with us. Debra