Shadow Shot Sunday/ Jaipur/India

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Since it hasn't been very sunny here lately, two photos

of Jaipur, India, taken in March. The first was taken in

Jantar Mantar,the Observatory, built in 1728,  which has building that 

resemble strange sculptures --and cast pretty cool shadows.

Here a family tour the battlements of the Tiger Fort

set high above the city with distant views of the lake.

Today's Flowers/India

Today's flowers is hosted by Luiz Santilli Jr.

Talking with Paz the other day, I realized that I had hundreds

 of photos from India that I had never posted and probably 

never would. Since it has been raining for the past two days

and I have no New York photos, here are some from March.

We went to a wonderful garden in Udaipur where there were fountains

and pools and curiously English-looking herbaceous borders.

Here a cinneraria.

Here petals of bourgenvillia  fall into the water.

Some are swept up with palm tree fronds.

(This last photo should be enlarged to see the details...)

Elephants, Tigers a Camel

Friends came over to hear about our trip to India. Oh boy, holiday snapshots!

Show and tell. At least you can put the photos on the computer as a slide show

with the Ken Burns effect --minus the mopey music

and chat through the whole thing.

Oddly, we didn't buy too much in India but were charmed

 by the wooden elephant and tiger above.

Their heads and tails bob up and down when you circle a little wooden ball.

Four year old twins of our acquaintance here they come.

Do not let Danny-Patty (little brother) eat them as the paint is sure to be toxic.

This painting is even smaller than shown here and shows a pretty typical family

both in elephant and real worlds.  Parents locked together

 in affection or combat --or both. One child hanging out with Mom and Dad

the other off in search of adventure.....

Obviously, I am a complete sucker for images elephants. 

These nice pink ones run round on soft light cotton.

 

These green ones trot round the corner of an enormous piece of fabric

 which could be a table cloth or even a bedspread.

 

Elephant silk scarf sent to daughter -- but the little camel is lovely too.

Last India Post

 A sort of round-up and mixture of things I will remember about India.

Needless to say, there are about a zillion more snaps which I won't bore you with.

We travelled about 2,000 miles,  so quite a lot of memories are to do with the road.

Here a family wait for the train to pass by.

Note how crisp and white the men's shirts are.

This is the bar of an enormous palace in Kota

 which was built in 1905 and designed by the fellow whose photo sits above the fireplace. 

Our bedroom had 20ft ceilings and was bigger than our whole apartment in New York. 

There were very few other guests though the food was wonderful. 

The billiard room was full of the heads of animals 

carelessly killed in the earlier part of the last century.

A petrol station and the Toyota we travelled round in. 

The upper fort in Jaipur -- above the Golden Fort. It dominates the hilltop.

Ramesh was particularly keen to see the fort which had the biggest gun in the world. 

Elephants would bring water from the lake to the left.

My memories will contain forts and palaces....

...but most of all people. Here families relax behind the Taj Mahal...

 ... or recline on the cool, white marble.

Yes, we did see the Taj Mahal and it was wonderful. 

See how it dwarfs the ant people in its majesty.

 I liked the quiet gaze of the little boy on the bus too.

More Animals and Birds/India

Dogs are everywhere.

As are monkeys.

The first elephant  we saw was a hardworking character.

The second more decorative.

The third wore a splendid pink robe.

 Lots of decorative fowl near Pushkar.

Including a splendid rooster.

The only tiger I saw lived in a glass case and had a very chewed up ear.

Real ones live in a nature preserve nearer Delhi.

This character made the mistake of sleeping under a car. 

His lower teeth are in quite  the wrong place. 

Despite this, he manages to charm people with his yellow

 eyes and looks quite well fed.

Hint: he likes brioche.

 

Ahhhhh...........

A camel vying with the traffic.

A decorated bullock cart ready to take us for a ride.

Shadow Shot Sunday/India

Dear HeyHarriet and friends, I'm rejoining you at last. 

Please click here for other ShadowShotters!

Leaves reflected on a wall. Mandawa.

Tourists a the pink palace at Bikaner. 

Historical note: The Maharajah of Bikaner was one of the people who signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. THere are two portraits of him in the National Portrait gallery in London.

Pink shadows in the same.

Looking up in an interior courtyard in Jaiselmer.

Morning shadows on the breakfast table in Jodhpur.

Those of you interested in India must go 

to Rauf's blog which has outstanding pictures and is very moving.

Details/Rajasthan/India

The textures and bright colors remind me in some ways of Morocco.

Rather a change from austere New York.

Subtle shabby-chic...

Please notice the little bird trying his best to blend in.

Ice cream anyone?

Waiting for the bus.

Riding on an elephant.

The chair by the door. Mandawa.

Wall. Mandawa.

Shopkeeper.

Such an unusual color combination.

Curiosities/India

The legacy of the British in India is evident almost everywhere. No more so than in Jaipur where the big museum -- the Albert Hall -- has portraits of Queen Victoria and her son Edward VII and an antique turnstile made in London. 

It also has this pig god who looks pretty cheerful.

In the billiard room at Kota, tigers roar for ever.

And this lioness looks a little moth-eaten and sad.

When there has been wedding in the family, the wall is decorated with Lord Ganesha.

 Note the little mouse who has been invited to the feast.

The photos got muddled in this post. 

This is a painting from the museum in Jaipur. 

These people look very calm --a lot calmer than I'd be if I was being swallowed by a monstrous fish. 

A coat of arms from the same museum. Note the lion's luxuriant mustache. He must be an Indian lion. I like the elephant and particularly Indian cow.

A warrior in the museum in Jaipur. Dioramas are very popular.

This fine fellow is seated in a room full of men each of whom has his his own little table. 

The women ate in another room.  From the fort at Jaipur.

This metal decoration was part of the window of the diorama above.