Tuesday, November 20, 2012

The India of hope

There is the India of the old, the mighty;
the India of gold, and the villages; 
the castes, and the rich; 
of temples, and the looting.

The India on fire, and of resolve;
of non-cooperation and violence;
of unity and partition;
of love, and oppression.

The India of war, and of progress;
of math, and of disease;
of songs and of mourning;
of freedom and of terror.

There is the India of celebration;
of pollution and festival;
the India of the internet, and lack of water;
of the cities, and of potholes.

The India of organization, of confusion;
of economics and corruption;
of reservation, and secularism;
the India of fear, and free speech.

There is the India of hope.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Neighborhood watch - Old San Juan, San Juan, PR

The cobbled stone is light blue in colour, may be that's what makes the pictures ever so fairy talesque. Brightly painted houses, narrow sloping streets, the ocean in the background, light music (or is it just the language?), tourists all over, pedestrians, bikes, cars, all scrambling for right of way. Turn a corner and you encounter a typically European square, turn another and there is a hole-in-the-wall crafts shop. Take in the Spanish, gobble up the mofongo, sip on the mojito while you talk to the American restaurant owner. Think of asking him why he moved from New Jersey to San Juan; think again while looking at the sea right ahead; don't ask.