Fancy Neckwear

While were on the subject of school kids, I got this shot from the car window this morning. This guy is waiting for the bus with his father (in the skirt). I was caught by his great neckwear! A brightly colored kerchief that might be pinned to his shirt or on a string around his neck.
I'm not sure if I'm jealous of his sartorial statement, or the functionality of always having a napkin at the ready, especially if you sneeze unexpectedly or drip soup!

Gratuitous Kid Shots

The jobsite is located on the grounds of an old girls' academy, or finishing school. It must have been quite the place in its day with three academic buildings, 2 olympic swimming pools, horse stables and riding rings, gymnasia, squash courts, endless dining halls and dormitories.
Part of the purchase required that they keep in operation a school on the site.

It's a decent school. Has won some recognition and merits.

Every once in a while I have to go over to the school, though we designed the logistics to keep as much space between the kids and the construction as possible. Every time I do I get a lot of quizzical looks, and some downright open mouthed stares from the littlest ones.

I haven't decided if they think I'm a white devil, a white god, or just some strange looking guy in a bowtie - the way most New Yorkers do.

Break time

Things are a little dull at the jobsite. Most of the contractors have been sent away while the client team in Mumbai decides to rethink and redesign and completely defile the master plan already in place and mostly designed and contracted.
So a couple of the guys have started exploring the neighborhood on the Saturdays when they're still required to put in a half day, even though they don't in Mumbai and there's really nothing for them to do.

A couple of them discovered this coconut farm not far from the jobsite and were exclaming about tender coconut water.
We may think of coconut milk, but that doesn't show up unil later in the process. When the fruit is still young enough so that the meat is only a thin gelatinous coating on the inside, the 'milk' is mostly clear, not terribly sweet, and supposedly very, very good for you. So much so that there are frequently cocnut sellers outside hospitals. Of course in Chennai there are sellers everywhere.

So the kid whacks at the coconut until he removes the top, and then they poured it into a stainless cup and handed it to me. I politely waited for everyone to get a cup, until I realized that the farmer didn't have four cups to go around.

Gratuitous Critter Shot

I received a lot of comments on the monkey-on-the-tower photos. So being a whore for praise, I decided to include one of the latest monkey shots, just for gratuity. This guy was playing in the tree over our head while Kaushik and I sipped our morning elachi chai (tea with cardamon - yum!) He didn't get any though and scampered off to torment his mom.

080808 - Garuda Jayanti

All over the temples are these cool figures of angles - guys with wings. Frequently they have hooked noses for some reason. But I like them mostly for the variety of character they have, fat, thin, jolly. Turns out these are not angels, but eagles. A very specific eagle named Garuda.

Anyway Garuda's birthday, or Garuda Jayanti, is August Eighth, and this year of course is 08.08.08. It would seem to me to be very auspicious?!

Back in High School I played in an annual trivia quiz with friends. The final question was the Super Garuda. Kind of like a Jayanti Garuda, except Kaushik tells me I can't say it that way.

Yoga - Scorpion

One of the frustrating things about India is finding things. They are not were you look for them. Like you'd think there'd be Yoga centers everywhere.
One of the really great things about India is how afordable services are. So if you can't find a center with convenient classes, you simply hire the yogi to come to you.
This is Sarvanan, my first yogi. Of course you have to get over a kid half your age and WAY more flexible telling you that you do pretty well for a guy your age. (I pay him for this?)
He's performing a variation of the scorpion. He's about to touch his head with his feet. Now I'm nowhere near this advanced in my scorpion - which is why I don't include it here.

BTW - my new yogi, Kumaressan, who replaced Sarvanan, is a wicked sadist who makes me do hard things that hurt. (So much for finding centering and peace - LOL)

Lunch Time

I have a favorite tree at the jobsite, right at the edge of the construction. There was a little stream passing by it, which has dissapeared in the simmer heat. When I was flying over from Mumbai, it was the only place on site that I got signal on that phone and I would SMS to New York in the morning and not feel so far away.

Well other peple like my tree, whether the stream is there or not. These folks were having their lunch, and got all excited when I pulled out my camera.

They're laborers for one of the building contractors on the job and they seem to be related to one another. There may be some kids in the group, but I don't think any are under the age of 16. (There are some child labor issues in India)

REPTILE WARNING!!

We're not building a lot at the Palace garden site, but we've hired a bunch of guys from the Irula tribe who have a fondness for snakes.
They are actually working for a wildlife conservation group and through the state and...it's way too complicated for a stupid foreigner

Anyway 21 nags bagged the other day and with a little cajoling they let me see a couple and actually pulled a couple out for me. Lord Shiva's my idol!

Have a coke and a smile

Flying back to India (yes, I'm still just catching up) I went through Belgium. For those who have no exposure to the Waloon or the Flemish, in Brussels there is an old fountain which has become a symbol of the city and of the country. It's a statue of a little boy peeing.
It makes for a very interesting marketing campaign on the coke machines in the airport.
Or it's a political statement on the imperialistic global corporations and at least one of their products. I'm uncertain which.
Feel free to discuss.

Now I'm gonna relax, I think everybody should...

They have a bunch of good ideas here.
Most of their rules are not among them. They can be incredibly aggressive, jumping lights, turning in fromt of traffic, jockeying for position.
But I liked the messge with the traffic light very much.
I think it could alternate with Namaste in green.