Some pictures

Okay, while this is a post of pictures, I realized I haven't written in a while... fear not - some writing comes soon! Since I am constantly at a computer, I am going to try and write less, more often. And if I don't....bother me! Anyway... here you go....

Don't mind the quality of some... they were taken on my camera phone.

Sultan Palya Main Road - the road parallel to K.H.B Main Road which is where my apartment is.

This is the road that connects K.H.B Main Road and Sultan Palya Main Road... this is looking towards Sultan Palya Main Road.

At the end of my road (K.H.B) this is called Dinnur Main Road. If you exit my street and make a right, you will see this sight. From here, if you go straight and make another right, that will be Sultan Palya main road. Are you making a map in your head yet?

Another sight of Dinnur Main Road. To the right of this picture is K.H.B Main Road....

Ah, K.H.B! This is my road, but not very close to my house. If you look you can see how the road ends at a T intersection... that is Dinnur Main Road. So if you were to take a right, you would see the two pictures above this one.

Another site of K.H.B, a little further back from the above one.

My first Chinese dish in India - home cooked veg noodles.

Plain Rice, Chapati (Indian flat bread) and a Palya. A palya is more or less a mix of vegetables systematically cooked with oil, onions and various spices. Spices can always vary, but the most basic ingredient (and quite healthy) is turmeric (which turns everything yellow). In this palya, I cooked cabbage and carrot.

Before moving onto the next picture, I remember a conversation I had over dinner before leaving for India. Or perhaps lunch. But the subject was life expectancy in India. All of us guessed various answers, from 35 all the way to 65. As poor as the rest of the world might think India is, (I'll argue against that in another entry, you should see the amount of money the middle and upper classes have here in Bangalore) the truth is, the life expectancy is quite high. Norman Jr. did some research, and the average life-expectancy turned out to be closer to 55-60.

What does this have to do with anything in the middle of pictures of food? Well, the big thing they tote (both in person and on the internet) about the yellow turmeric powder is it's medicinal anti-aging properties. It is said to be very good for your cells, bones, and immune system. Some warm milk with turmeric mixed in is said to be a great, easy cure for a common cold.Anyway, interpret it as you will - India will always hold strong to turmeric.

Now obviously turmeric is not the SOLE cause for a longer life, India has some great hospitals, lots of medicine available, and a wide range of doctors from traditional western doctors, to homeopathic doctors and even the traditional ayurvedic doctors. All of it together plays apart in living a longer life in India.

Ah, breakfast! Chapati, with Indian scrambled eggs (refer to Ballarshah post). Onions, turmeric, chili powder, onions, and eggs.... on top of being delicious, it wakes you up in the morning!.

Oh this is a change. This is what looks like a juice box. In fact it is a juice box... only it's adult juice. See McDowell's on the package? That's a type of whiskey. I never tried whiskey out of a juice box, but it seems to be a convenient, easy way to drink for some here.

A crowded bus... taken with my camera phone.

Ah... aloo and capsicum. In English -potato and pepper curry. See, everyone thinks Indian cooking is very complicated, confusing and hard to make. But it all starts with oil and onions. Then some spices, some vegetables. It all depends on the timing of when you put in the vegetables (since they all cook at different rates). Anyway, another delicious meal.

Besides taste, my gauge has been this - if I get heartburn, it was a good enough meal. If I get heartburn - I did something wrong....

Haha, this is great. The guys next door to us moved out. So the landlord obviously wants to rent out the apartment. And this is the sign. John had thought about moving into the bigger apartment - but being a meat eater, wasn't allowed. Only in India, right?

Tomato Gojju! Thanks to Gowri for giving me this recipe, it could also be called Tomato curry. I just forgot to add the jaggery.....

This is also great, this is the Varanashi's (Gowri and Siri's) mail box right outside their gate. Varanashi, the family name all the way to the left. The address on the next piece of metal. A box for letters. And a box for packets of milk. Instead of going out to buy milk every morning (as I do everyday) you can have the option to have a certain number of packets delivered right to your mailbox every morning.

Nothing better than the paper and a packet of milk.

The other language on the mailbox is Kannada.

Writing.... coming soon!

Ah, one more picture, as requested by the parents. They wanted to see me with my hair chopped off - sorry the picture is fuzzy, camera phone again!

I just had to add this one. Hahaha.

Myself, Aishwarya and Natasha on Natasha's birthday this past week.