Shutter Happy

This pic is a good example of how Kamal and John experienced India. (At least, while we were traveling.) Hardly a moment went by when they were not behind their cameras. When they got home and downloaded their pictures they could finally see India! 

Tipu's Palace

This is Kamal on one of the balconies in Tipu's Palace in Bangalore. Tipu was a sultan who commissioned this palace construction in 1791 as his summer home. It's made almost entirely of teak wood, and Tipu called it "Tashk-e-Jannat" meaning "the envy of heaven". One interesting thing about this sultan is that he used to record and analyze his dreams. He took his dreams very seriously, even to the extent that they predicted his success in future battles. For instance, on one occasion Tipu dreamt of a strange animal that looks like a cow, but was striped like a tiger and devoid of any hind legs. He attributes a symbolic significance to each component. The British are cows, appearing to be tigers. They would attempt to fight, but the absence of hind legs implied that they would not get any support on the ground. They would thus be defeated. 

Chandana's Team

This is a pic of Chandana (in the glasses) with her outsourced team of developers working on her project in Bangalore. It was very impressive to see how many people are working for her! They were all very honored to see her in person. 

Stay Positive

I took this photo out of the window of our vehicle during one of the many times we were stuck in traffic. While this was taken in Bangalore, which had the most organized traffic of anyplace we went, you can get the sense of how vehicles move forward wherever they fit in. Anyway, I liked the message on the back of this motorcyclist's jacket. 

Giant Shiva

This is largest icon we saw in India. I don't remember what the name of the temple is, but it's in Bangalore and we had to walk through a department store to get there(!). We also walked through a tunnel in back of the Shiva where we learned about the phallic "lingas" stones which supposedly just "appear" in various places. 

Internet Access at Last!

You may have noticed that I have not posted anything to this blog for quite some time. This is because we have not had Internet access at home for this long! It was quite irritating not to be able to get online from home - surprisingly so! I'm amazed at how dependent I've become. Fortunately, the fast is over and I can now post pictures again.