Jaisalmer

The internet connection is down at home, so I cannot continue the home tour. But here is a view of Jaipur in Rajasthan, one of the places we are visiting in two weeks. Should be great. Elephant rides are part of the agenda!

Home Tour

This week I am going to give you a tour of our home. This is our front room. Tara has done a nice job of making it well-furnished. There is a nice chandelier and we have put some nice palms in there. There is a very old gramophone in there which is about 80 years old. There's an old Indian record on it. I don't believe it works.

Today at church I met an older Indian man who has been to Charlotte. He went to visit Morningstar Ministries, brought up the name Rick Joyner. He also has been to the Billy Graham Center in Montreat, NC. He was excited to meet us. Small world....

Pictures from Saturday

When I went out to check on Aidan during his cricket match, one of the kids said, "Will you try to play cricket with us?" When I asked where he learned English like that he said, "I live in Herndon, Virginia. I am here visiting my cousins."

Now, why he was here during the school year was not explained. I think his parents might have moved him back but not told him it was for good.

Anyway, a pretty neat event....

Monkey on the playground

Well, today I was hangin' out during lunchtime in an area near the lunch area with some friends and I noticed that there was a large Indian Monkey that resembles the one above. I swear it was the size of my brother, and I was so amazed to see this because I had never seen a Monkey like that up close in my entire life!so.............WOW

PoStEd By Liam....
*ξNj0Y~L!fε*

Hinduism is being marketed

Take a look at this. We were at the super market and I bought a box of cereal that we really didn't want simply because the box had a Krishna on it.

Krishna is a Hindu god that is known for pranks. And, apparently, his ability to sell chocolate cereal! Who knew?

I could not believe that when I saw it. Too funny!



This is a picture of Hanuman, a monkey god of the Hindus. He is very often depicted as a small boy/monkey god now. A young guy that sits near to me at work has such a baby Hanuman sticker on his computer.



There is a cartoon called "My Friend Ganesha", about a boy and his friend the elephant god.



Hinduism is being marketed. It's a real surprise to me. I guess India's conversion to a modern, capitalistic state is complete!

Odd foods

Indian is known for its unique food. And with good reason - it is absolutely delicious.

There is one item that our cook makes into salty strips that taste somewhat like bacon - it is "bitter gourd". It's just one of the many foods that is both tasty and exotic here. Click on the image above and check it out.

Also, mangoes are a huge part of the diet here, and lime juice is featured in various forms (lime soda sweet, lime soda salt, sweet lime juice, fresh lime water, etc.) It's great being in India as a fan of the lime, which I definitely am.

On the other hand, I'm just not sure I have ever understood what redeeming qualities there are in a papaya. I don't see any. Many Indians do, though....

Did you know....

....that skin bleach is a huge business in India?

Not like some peripheral, niche market. It's an absolutely *huge* market. Especially in south India, where the skin hues are generally darker than in the north.

This is "Fair and Handsome", the men's version. The spokesman for this product is Shah Rukh Khan, one of the top stars in India, if not the top. He is so famous he now is known simply as SRK. In the commercials, he looks unnaturally white, almost like he is severely ill. At the end of the commercial, a group of women walk up and sing a small ditty called "hi, handsome" - hi, handsome". It's hilarious.




This is a poster for "Fair and Lovely", the women's product. It has an actual "fairness meter" which tells you how dark you are and how light the creme can make you.



In addition to the skin lightening cremes, woman wear long gloves on their arms while driving, and some women carry umbrellas during sunny days (our landlady does this). Oddly, when it's pouring down - no umbrellas.

So, all the white people sit in the sun trying to get darker, and the Indian people try to get lighter in the shade. Grass is greener, I suppose....