Do you recognize these Sikhs? We are coming out of the Gurudwara in Delhi with our Sikh driver whose name is ... Lovely! Yes, I know, it's a lovely name, and it is in fact his nickname. Indians often give nicknames to their children He must have been a beautiful baby. Of the numerous religions practiced here in India, Sikhism is one of the most interesting and at least men and women seem to be moderately equal. Anyway, they Sikhs I've met have all been friendly, generous and welcoming.

The wedding season is almost finished here, but this is what women do on one of the evenings of the several days that a wedding lasts. It takes quite a long time for the henna to be applied in such intricate designs and you mustn't wash your hands for the first several hours, but the painting lasts three weeks and it always surprises Indians to see us with painted hands.

Hello! If anyone needs a haircut, this place is rather inexpensive and you can get an al fresco cut. To make up for my laziness, I'll try to post more often, but the countdown has begun: only 3 weeks left in India.

Yesterday afternoon I heard scratchings and scrapings outside my bedroom window and lo and behold, there were seven peacocks on the garage roof, about six feet from my window. They gave me a cold look and continued their business. It's very chilly right now in Rajasthan, except for the few hours in the afternoon when the sun is strong. In the mornings and at night, the temperatures are very low, the lowest being -6° C.
Another two weeks and spring will be around the corner.

Happy 2012 to everyone; make it bring beauty, harmony and joy to all.

And if ever you decide to visit India, you can give the TAJ MAHAL a pass, unless you enjoy visiting with about 15,000 other people at the same time, and waiting in lines in several different places. Much better to look at pictures in a book. Besides, it's India's major rip-off: 750 rupees for foreign tourists! 750 rupees to wait in queues! For me, it was a major disappointment. I far preferred Akbar's tomb which you will see very soon. So I hope the year has got off to a good start for all of you and that your resolutions can be kept! Bonne Année!
 

Christmas in Pushkar!

Sorry to have been out of touch. I had been travelling, then getting back to work which always takes an adjustment. But Christmas was original, to say the least. We ended up at a hotel full of nouveaux-hippies, smoking pot. But they were a friendly lot and it didn't bother them a bit when we drank our sauterne and ate our foie gras on the roof. There were even fireworks. Not the cleanest hotel I've ever been in, but we had a nice walk around the lake and then climbed up to the top of a mountain to visit the Saraviti temple. Then traveled to Jaipur on Christmas Day for a nicer hotel and a hot shower. Oh the simple joys of life! And my New Year's advice as well as my own personal resolution: avoid the "whine" shops!
Happy New Year everyone!

The tradition in Rajasthan, as far as we understand it, is for a wedding party to march through the town, on the first day, the bridegroom on a horse, followed by his friends (mostly if not exclusively male) and on the second day, the women and children march through the town, both followed by loud music and drums.
Sometime in between, they go to the temple, then the big wedding celebration is usually on the third day. But it's still a bit confusing for me because there is at least one wedding every day here in Fatehpur. In fact, there is a wedding season, not dictated by the climate, but by the astrologers who play a role in many important decisions here in India. This group of people were actually walking straight past our haveli and when they saw us on the steps, they made a detour and turned left in order to pass right in front of us. Most of the young people came up and touched us on the arms and hands. I don't know whether it was to see if we were real or made of plastic, or just to have good luck, like in the famous rat temple in Desnoke where if you happen to see the white rat, you will be lucky for the rest of your days. I felt very much like the white rat today!