A new year in India

All my wishes of happiness for the new year ! 2010 - another decade... I still remember this competition 25 years ago for which I made a drawing for a child magazine on how I was imagining 2000... It seemed so distant and so big for me!

So, finally what is new about this 2010?? Well, as my blog has (not) shown, I am still in India...

The first surprise of the year that India had kept for me was unexpected new friends on my balcony... I took it as an auspicous blessing, or at least as a welcome back message, that Hyderabad and India was sending me.

my new friends:

Another (awesome!) news for this year is that I have now broken the 1000 km distance

driving record with my motorbike... proof is here

Otherwise... more seriously, for those who do not know yet (is there anyone? all my apologies, if so, you can post a complaint on this blog), 2010 will be a very special year for me... I promise I will post some photos of my wedding with Pawan on this blog.

That's all for today's new year's news... oh yes, and I was forgetting... as a new year's resolution I decided to update my blog more regularly...

Waiting for Ganesha Festival

Many people have asked me how it was to drive in Hyderabad and if it was common to see cows or other animals on the road. To say the truth, I haven't met any cows since I have been riding my bike.

But, recently, on the way to the office, I have met thousands of elephants. They don't disturb too much the traffic as they sit quietly on the side of the road. One day I took my courage with 2 hands* and decided to stop on the road to capture them with my camera.

* French expression - but I am sure you will know what I mean

I was quite surprised to observe a child, walking by all these elephants, showing no sign of fear or anxiety...

It is true that when you have a closer look, they look quite sympathic...

oooooh... but they are not real elephants...

They are statues of Lord Ganesh...

Incredible. I was probably driving too fast to notice...

Thousands and thousands of statues, made of plaster of Paris... it looks like something big is going to happen soon... And yes, Hyderabad holds the second biggest (in terms of numbers of statues) Ganesha festival in all India after Mumbai. Last year, 15,000 statues were installed on decored platforms and under tents all over the city...

Lord Ganesh is the God of prosperity, wisdom, and good fortune and is a popular god in India. The statues are worshipped during the time of the festival (around 10 days) but the last day of the festival marks the biggest celebration. The 15,000 statues are immerged in water bodies, including the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad city centre.

What do the fish do when they meet the elephants??

(drawing from Johann Sfar)

Un petit vent de paresse... Some laziness in the air?

Avant que je ne rentre en France pour des vacances bien meritees, quelques instantanes des deux derniers mois de ma vie en Inde dans le desordre...

Time flies - a snapshot of what I have done for the last 2 months - when I was not writing the blog....

Cooking rotis at home ...

First try Another try, 2 months after

Inviting my lovely neighbours Raju and Ammu for a French/Spanish/Italian dinner...

Ammu and I - laughing at Raju

Ammu and Raju (who tries to make the "bad boy")

Trying a sari for the first time...

with Mukesh in Basra (the village where I work in Haryana) (left)

And photographing bhabhi in Basra... I love this picture!

Phool Vatti in India

Namaste ji!

I am back from 10 days spent in the village of Basra, in Haryana, just 2 km from Rajasthan in Northwest India.

Views of the fields and village

I had a fantastic time. I was staying in the house of the family of Pawan, who was our local contact and guide in the village - and sometimes interpreter when it was too difficult for Kaifi, my interpreter, to understand bagri (local dialect of Rajasthani).
From left to right: Kaifi, Pawan, Vinod, Pawan's uncle, and Pawan's mother in the fields

I learnt how to cook roti (a kind of round flat bread) with Bhabbi, Pawan's sister-in-law. She was very patient with me, never complaining about the strange shapes of my rotis...

Bhabbi prepared some scrumptious special dishes when I was here: halwa, khir and bajra roti (roti made from pearl millet flour)...

There was also Mukesh, who was living next door and was teaching me Hindi with a children's book. The word to learn the vowel U was Ullu (an owl). If one day you go to India and want to make people laugh, say Ullu for a try... or is it just me who has a funny face when I say Ullu?? Anyway, Ullu quickly became my favorite hindi word...

Mukesh also taught me a Hindi song (fortunately, the lyrics did not mention any owl). There were also some great inter-musical exchanges with Nirmala, Pawan's niece. I learnt a Rajasthani song. And Nirmala now can sing "Frere Jacques"...

(drawing from Uderzo)

After work, we had a lot of fun in the fields:

Our favourite game... 1,2,3...run!

I did the same game on the back of a camel

Last day, after a big meal in the house of Rajkumar, our sympathic local driver, we went altogether for a trip to Agroha Dham, one of the largest temple I ever visited. In this temple, you can drop a coin to animate some singing deities (a bit like in the Galeries Lafayettes/Fenwick during Christmas), get lost and scare your friends in an artificial cave of several floors, it is much more fun than to visit a church...

Going to the temple...

From left to right: Nirmala, me, Kaifi, Radj Kumar, our taxi driver, and Surender, a friend of Pawan

Next episode to come soon!

In the meantime, visit Agroha Dham temple: http://www.agroha.com/temple.html

And prepare Indian dishes at home:
Halwa: http://www.indianetzone.com/2/sweet_halwa.htm,
khir: http://www.koausa.org/Cookbook/165.html
Bajra roti: http://www.tarladalal.com/recipe.asp?id=3892

Merry Holi festival!

I could not go to bed tonight without publishing something about Holi. Holi is the festival of colours, it is one of the most ancient festivals celebrated in India which announces the venue of spring. Curious readers can go on http://www.holifestival.org/ for more information.


This morning, I noticed a few unusual stalls on the way... like this one.


At first, I thought it was a toys stand, with all these bright colours.


But getting closer, I saw that what this guy was selling was a mysterious coloured powder. This afternoon I understood what the powder was for...



Some days, there is a merry ambiance at IWMI office...

Why my flat is (almost) perfect

1. It is beautiful. Yes. Come and see.

2. It is located in the heart of Hyderabad city centre – an unique opportunity to discover this fantastic city. Plus it is just next to the MMTS (local train like Paris RER) station. A great experience during peak time.

3. It is quiet – every day you can “do the fat morning” if you like (French expression to say you sleep till very late)

4. For my English friends and other beer amateurs, a famous pub (with incredible beer hmmm hmmm) is just downstairs. Ban Viet nam oi, o pub nay co karaoke, den day di de hat nhe!

5. It is close to multiple small shops (Francophones, see previous post “Une invitation au voyage”), to Hyderabad Central shopping mall, and the very popular Big Bazaar. More seriously, it is 5 mn auto from the great and unique Hyderabad film club!

6. All my neighbours are Indian – you will be completely immerged in Indian culture.

7. I guarantee NO MOSQUITOES. Even at night with lights on and windows opened.

8. Believe it or not, in this flat, there is a nice guide who can bring you breakfeast in the morning (extra charge for service in bed) and try to entertain you during your stay

Ok, I admit. There is one thing missing.
The swimming pool of ICRISAT...

(but swimming-addicted, there are nevertheless two swimming pools nearby)

come into my flat...

The nacelle and the muggulu

And here you are... Welcome !!!!