Snow Comes to Landour

Snow came to Landour on Saturday, and the initial beauty far outweighed the inconvenience that came along with it. Moving about it became challenging (impossible on the motorbike), and we were without electricity for more than 72 hours. The absence of power has made it difficult to share what we enjoyed. Here at last is a slideshow that shows a little of the beauty we enjoyed on Saturday evening and on Sunday.

Mothers are Beautiful!

 

It doesn't matter where one travels in the world, people are beautiful. This is obvious when it comes to the people of Garhwal, the part of the northern Indian state of Uttartakhand, where we are spending our winter. 

One of my most delightful experiences while helping out at GEMS has been the opportunity to support a special project by classes 5, 6, and 7. Each learner in these classes has interviewed his or her mother and written about her. This has been an extremely engaging assignment for the children, and they have done some amazing work. Eventually, the stories will be woven together to create a book that will be published. 

My small part in the "Mothers Project" has been to visit villages where the children live, and to photograph some of their mothers. In  the slideshow below, I've shared just a few images of some very beautiful people. The final slide is a striking image of Kunwar Chauhan and his mother. Kunwar, along with his wife Lori, founded GEMS a little over four years ago.

[If you are an email subscriber to this blog, and you can't see the slide show in your email, you need to click on the link that takes you to the actual blog. This is really just an email notification that we've put up another post.]

Colors and Flavors of New Delhi's Bhogal Market

 

We've just returned to Mussoorie after spending almost a week in Delhi. Once again, we stayed at the incomparable Hotel Kabli. In addition to its old world charm, great service and reasonable price (Rs. 999/night or US$15.99), Kabli's is situated in a corner of South Delhi that lies well off the beaten path followed by most foreign tourists. 

Kabli is on the edge of the Bhogal Market, a place where life is lived on the street, meaning that it offers a veritable feast for the senses. There's a wonderful cross section of India's diverse people groups in Bhogal. We saw Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, a Sikhi gurudwara, and a Christian church. Adding to Bhogal's character is a significant number of people who have been displaced from Afghanistan. We were also impressed by the warmth and friendliness that we encountered everywhere in Bhogal Market.

Here's a slideshow that offers a peak into life on the streets of Bhogal. 

Every Tuesday evening, Bhogal hosts a night market, when the normally busy streets fill to overflowing. The regular shops and street vendors continue as usual, but countless additional sidewalk stalls and stands are set up for the occasion. Here's a short video clip that gives some sense of the throngs of people that turn out to take advantage of the night market.