July 15th, 2007 | by popagandhi | published in general
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 [...]
July 13th, 2007 | by popagandhi | published in dispatch
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 [...]
July 12th, 2007 | by popagandhi | published in dispatch
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 [...]
July 11th, 2007 | by popagandhi | published in dispatch, tech
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 [...]
July 10th, 2007 | by popagandhi | published in dispatch
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 [...]
