Popagandhi / 654 posts / 5,845 comments / feed / comments feed / flickr feed
Desi Caught Cheating/I Am Malayali/Mallu Hotstepper
Two hilarious audio clips, in honour of this country. Click the play button if you don’t want to download it. Desi Husband Caught Cheating bootycall I Am Malayali can you see my pink lungi Mallu Hotstepper na na na na na Thanks to Scherezade S. (for the last two clips, and for the roof over my head :P )
The Western Lines
Churchgate station, Bombay, according to Sebastiao Salgado (from “Migrations”). Salgado is my hero. I was here today. For more Salgado. I’ve moved to the ‘burbs, where it’s easier to breathe, there are no firingi (foreigners), and nobody to ask me if I want to buy a map of India or a pashmina shawl while I’m crossing [...]
Talk To A Woman
Too much train travel can fragment thoughts. The best thing I’ve heard all trip was from an Indiamiker in Puri. He said: “When threatened, talk to a local woman”. You have no idea how right he is until you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place: i.e. a drunk man in the upper berth who [...]
It’s a Love Hate Thing
Puri, Orissa. I have a train to catch from Bhubaneswar, an hour from Puri. The East Coast Express leaves Bhubaneswar at 7.40pm, and at 7.25pm Bhubaneswar is nowhere in sight. This rickety bus set off from Puri at 5.30pm, was supposed to take an hour, but ambled along in the rain, stopping at each and [...]
The Thronging Millions
Survived a congregation of a million people over a 3km stretch of road, and a considerable number of cows. Danced with Hare Krishnas. Battered and broke many parts of my camera, but it still works. Saw a 60 year old Caucasian Hindu convert in a sari bitchslap a policewoman who wouldn’t let her touch Jagannath’s [...]
The Latest from South Asia
Last update before The Day: I don’t know why Indian media thinks that coverage of an event = taking pictures of a working journalist taking pictures. What is possibly interesting about that? Pictures of me taking pictures may soon appear on national TV and Oriya newspapers. I’m glad I didn’t try to sneak into Jagannath Mandir like [...]
Performance Anxiety and Indian Bureaucracy
I don’t know that I’m tough enough, especially when this country is tougher than me. I love it, I love my bharat mata, but she really doesn’t make it easy. I don’t know that I’m good enough for this. This is the single hardest thing I have done in my life, and yet I chose [...]
Bom Shankar
I spent the morning with some folks who were making a Shivalingam by the beach in Puri. The Shivaite connection means there’s plenty of ganja around (note to mum and dad: don’t worry! I’m just documenting!)—and here the former bodyguard to the king of Puri demonstrates “Bom Shankar”: the Shivaite ganja anthem. The language spoken [...]
Staying in Touch
I’ve frequently been asked what I use to stay in touch with my family and loved one(s) while I’m on the road, which is much of April to August each year. I never ever use international roaming—I don’t want to come home with a gigantic $2000 bill (which I know will happen if I used [...]
Welcome to Orissa
Uploaded with Skitch! (Who wants a Skitch invite?) Today: Bhubaneswar Tomorrow: Puri I think I prefer my maps blank. There’s something about Orissa. It feels a world apart from the India I know; sure, Hindi is spoken and the local language, Oriya, shares many similarities with the only South Asian language I have an OK grasp of, Bengali. But [...]