Sarees and dothis (I)

Splendid, elegant, fresh, delightful, top-fashion. Saree is a full dress and dhoti is a well colour combined ensamble of two pieces: long shirt and wide pants. All photos have been shooted in streets or bus stations of small villages of Southern India in normal days and normal hours. All they are working class women wearing clothes plenty of style and charm. On the ther hand, all men in India wear ugly shorts and horrible trousers. Why so much difference???

The Blue Mountains

From 0 m. at Belur to 2.500 m. above sea level travelling in a toy train that seems to be brougth out from a fairy tale. After 6 hours of a slow motion trip all the way up, one reaches another India (in fact this part of the country is konwn as the Indian Switzerland) with chilly nigths, rainy days and misty landscapes with waterfalls, deep gorges, conyphera forest and some lost tribes hidden from civilization. The Blue Mountains. A world apart in my way to Kerala to see one of the first goals of my trip: elephants

Kamasutra stone tales

It seems that in the last 10 centuries Indian society, in terms of sexuality, has moved backwards. In Xth c., sex was a mere part of life and so it that was teached and presented in temples and schools. But 1000 years later you can not kiss your girlfriend in the street, even hold her around the hip, and in Bollywood films is strictly forbidden to show even a simple kiss between actors. And not to tell about sexual scenes. Better before.

Belur and Halybee. More Details

Astronauts one millenium before Gagarin???? Telescopes 500 years before Galileo????Hands with its lines, rings and rosaries. Beautiful microdancers.

Astonishing sculptures

Temple in Belur. XI (eleven!!!!) century. 10.000 stone sculptures. All different. Among them, 644 small elephants, (see size of pendrive rigth below) . All diff. More than 500 lions. All diff. Dancers. Images of dieties with astonishing microdetails. Fingernails. Chains with links where you can pass a needle through. Lizzads with scales chasing insects. Rings, brazlets with skilly filigree. Sculpters now recognize they are not able to reach te level of their ancestor's masterpieces, 900 years ago.

Bats for thousands

Coming to Belur (Southern Karnataka) to see sculptures. Get the hotel. Nice room. Get out and hear a scandalous uproar above. Look up... and see thousands of 1 meter wide bats flying around searching a place in treetops for siesta... Afortunately they only eat fruit.

Barefoot's Paradise

Is what I like most of India. Everywhere (but the street) barefoot . At home, at restaurant, at hotel, at temple, at school, at cinema, at shops, at market, visiting monuments, at the office... Everybody. Teachers, servers, childs, students, parents, barmen, typers... Barefoot's paradise. Mola

New proverb (to be translated) Tienes menos porvenir que un limpiabotas en India.

Inside Mysore Palace

See text in entry 12. Pictures inside the palace ara prohibited. These have been taken from postcard with a Nokia N-93 device.

Majaraha's lifestyle

Compared with Majaraha's lifestyle, Western Kings were a simple middle class burgueses. I have visited many palaces in the world: Alhambra in Granada, Versalles, Windsor Castle, Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Kremlin and some others, but nothing like the Majarahas of India. Marble and red granite recepcion hall able to held 3000 invitees; 10 m. high crystal doomed ballroom with blue lotus columns around; wooden, silver and golden carved doors; forniture from France; 30 m. galleries with big wall mirrors from England; lamps from Venice transported crystal by crystal and assambled here. Ivory. Diamons and golden thrones. Pearls. Esmeraldas and gems that use for weigth like vegetables. Backyards and stables for armies of elephants, pureblood horses, camels and buffalos. Private game reserves as big as Belgium. 5 stories temples. Pavillions. Thousands of servants, secretaries, assistants and guards. Inmaculate harems and whatever the word luxury could mean. And all that coming from the work of their millions of vassals working on their lands delivering 3/4 of the harvest in exhange of the protection?? of his Lord and just to keep a house of mud and the small amount of rice for living. An old Asian injustice.

Umbrella boats

The question is: what was first, umbrellas or umbrella boat? For generations the people of Northern Karnataka has been crossing currents, rives and lakes with this simple but resistant boats. So simple like to put an umbrella upsidedown and then, row. Chasis made of branches and palms of raffia, crossed one upon the other and bounded in a circle way. Then they add the strong skin of buffalo atthe botton, tied it up.. et "le voila" a boat.. Genial... able to support 20 or more people, a cow or even motobykes... and probably to cross seas...