One of my favourite things to do while living in India is to head off outside our quiet, calm, clean, organised gated community and venture out into the local village. It doesn't really matter which community you live in, just outside the gate is a whole new world. As you leave the peaceful, manicured lawns and gardens of our home you are hit with an assault on ALL senses.
There are people bustling everywhere, motorbikes and scooters whizzing by, tuk tuks squawking their horns, and dogs barking at each other and often you !! The 'call to prayer' from the local mosque and the children running to get their jobs done before school, all make up the cacophony of sounds that are 'Bangalore'. The dust and dirt is whipped up with the breeze and that grit is the true ‘taste’ of India. Even without eating the chilli that is used for cooking roadside breakfasts, you can taste it in the air and it is difficult to remove the taste for some time. The brilliant colours of the ladies sari's, the vibrant fruit and vegetable carts, trucks with streamers and tinsel decorating them, and the beautiful temples in each village are a feast for the eyes.
As you stumble along the non-existent sidewalks, get jostled by the locals, and feel the heat on your back, you get a true feeling of the life in India. Finally, there are the smells !! Oh, the smells…….. I don't think there are enough words to describe some of the things that I smell in a day, all day every day and everywhere you go. Not all are bad, the flowers, incense and cooking are wonderful. However, the not-so-nice smells far out weigh the good. These are from random and frequent 'steaming piles' from humans, dogs and cows, uncollected garbage strewn on the sidewalks, all kinds of body odour, stagnant water and the ever so common raw sewerage !!! You name it, I smell it !
Enjoy a morning walking with me outside our community via the following photos……...
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| Gotta love the footpaths in my neighbourhood ! |
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| morning capers outside the temple :) |
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| if only there was a way for you to 'smell' this picture………eeek |
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| just a bit of a hazard on my footpath |
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| these poor things - how can this end well ? |
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| morning hustle and bustle over the back fence |
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| it always amazes me how many children just wander the streets alone |
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| I wonder what will be on this for selling today - no wonder they cause traffic jams when they are in use - check out those wheels !! |
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| He is quite the sweetie minding the shop :) |
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