A walk in the hills.



Graham and I dragged ourselves out at 4:30 am so that we could start our trek before sun up. Anticipating blue skies, sunshine and heat we were dressed in t-shirts and shorts - to encounter a cold, stiff breeze. You can see the resulting mist being swept over the ridge we walked along and taken about twenty minutes into our walk.

The photo's below are taken in the village down in the valley at the end of this ridge. We then headed left and back up to the top behind us.

Schoolboy.



Right at the base of the hill we found this chap playing cricket in the school playground waiting for classes to start with a few of his friends. After I took the picture they all dashed over and had a good laugh at the image on the preview screen. He then decided to show off a bit, jumped on a bicycle three times too large for him and promptly fell over. It seemed to be a bit of a communal toy - just like everywhere else in the world.

Village restaurant.



Graham and I decided to stop for a cup of chai in the village at the bottom of the hill. This restaurant sits beside the village 'square' where people congregate to hitch lifts, have their milk picked up to be taken to the dairy, socialise a bit or pop into the temple.

As soon as you pick your camera up everyone stands to attention for the photograph and its very difficult to get them to relax, smile and carry on as normal. I tried my best below.

Village girl in a truck.



We saw this girl in the back of a truck whilst we had tea and struck up a converstaion with her. She comes from a village at the head of the valley we were in and is very tucked away. Nevertheless her English is impeccable. She was on her way to work on a food stall at Sinhagad Fort - a nearby 'beauty spot' where flocks of Punekar day trippers roost on their days off.

Homework.



On our way out of a village we came across this chap doing his homework on the side of the road outside the shack that he and his family live in and in the early morning sunlight. He was doing maths. Neither Graham nor myself could be of any assistance - not that he needed it.

You can see colouring in on some of the pages. His much younger brother scuttled off into the shack when he saw us coming.

Goan beach traders



I quickly bought something from these two and then pointed to Graham and told them that he really wanted to buy something too. Graham's a bit tight being from Lanacashire so I had plenty of time to sit back and snap a few shots whilst they concentrated on him.

A very amusing encounter which was repeated several times over the next few days.

I've included a couple more shots below - I think the colours are just fantastic.

I'd love to know what brand of toothpaste they use.

Maharashtra road blocks.


This is taken in a very rural arae near the border with Goa. On the first day of Diwali the young ladies in this village dress up in their finest, stand across the road and won't let you past until you've handed over some cash. Not an unpleasnat mugging.

As you can see in the distance there are more road blocks to be negotiated.

Navratri Bull.

As usual my blog is back to front. See below for the explanation of this delightful festival.




Today we left copies of these photo's for the owner (holding the bull) at the famous railway crossing which is about 500m further along the road.

A distinguished profile.

I just love the combination of the yellow and the red.

Now the monsoon IS over the first harvest is being gathered - which is marked by the festival of Navratri. It's not just paint your wagon but the cow too. Here is a lovely mustard yellow one that I saw on the way to work.

Monsoon watch
Today you can see that it's quite a bit sunnier here (that's about one third of the way down the west coast and in a little bit) but that there is a nasty little cyclonic system forming out in the Gulf of Kutch to our north west.

You can watch this develop and probably water my garden a bit over the next few days by following the 'Monsoon and sunny weather watch' link. That's in the links section. Obviously.

Return of the Monsoon


Not only has the monsoon tried to make return - it has pretty much succeeded. The last week has seen overcast days, scattered showers - some pretty heavy - and quite a bit of thunder which is unusual. Out in the Ghats life goes on and the marigolds, planted a few weeks back, have begun to flower. I snapped this one on a very humid Thursday. These will be picked, which is going on at the moment, and sold in the local towns for garlands.

Monsoon finale.

The monsoon has been trying to have the last word over the past few days. Here is an electric storm that I photographed from my roof terrace last night.

Ganapathi Immersion.
The five pictures below show the last day of our Ganesh festival. Look at them from the first slide at the bottom and then upwards.



And then, gone.

Then swum out into a fast moving stream - swollen by the recent monsoon and very, very tempting on a hot day.

(You wouldn't begin to believe how seriously tempting this was after trudging about in the hills all morning.)

Carefully carried down the slippery bank, he is dunked a few times before the final act.

He is brought to the river accompanied by much fanfare and throwing of red powder. Final offerings are made.

Ganesh, a much loved deity, has his own ten day festival in September. Everybody buys an idol for their house. At the end of the festival comes the immersion - a bittersweet day as they say goodbye for the year and one for all the family.

The chap on the right with the pink sandals and headband is a swimmer. For a small fee he'll 'do the needful' and save you the swim.