a real mini-mart

Paan shops as they are called, are the ultimate mini-marts. You can buy a single cigarette, a soda, candy, chewing tobacco, or a paan amongst other things. Paan is basically betel leaves wrapped around fine betel nuts and other ingredients picked by the person ordering. You can get a sweet paan, or one with tobacco. Many people in rural India start their days with a paan, and worry about tea later. But paan is something that is appreciated as much by the rich as it is by the poor. Sweet paan is one of my favorite indian delicacies. BoingBoing.net had a pretty good post on paan recently.


Random paan shop in Visakhapatnam, a coastal city in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Indian Railways

Indian Railways, owned by the government, is one of the largest railway systems under a single management. Transporting an estimated 11 million passengers daily over almost 70,000km of track, the railway system is plagued with an average of 300 accidents per year. The worst accident in history happened in 1981 when a cyclone blew a train travelling in the state of Bihar off the tracks into a river killing more than 800 passengers. Although the train system has always been criticised for its poor safety record, much of the network still relies on a very outdated manually operated signalling system, I've always loved travelling on the trains. Statistically, the number of deaths as a result of train accidents is pretty low compared to the number of deaths that occur on the roads in India.


Leave your troubles behind, take a break, go see the unknown.


Darkness calls out...


View from top of the Vijayawada railway station.


Cargo or "goods" compartments.


Waiting...

checking out Hyderabad

It had been six years since my last visit to the city where I was born and spent a significant amount of my childhood. Already a melting pot of forever clashing religious groups, it seemed as though the city was unware of its own rapid transformation into a metropolis. But, after taking more time to explore the city and its recent history, the nuances made more sense. The transformation was actually the direct result of a visionary state governor's passionate attempt to make Hyderabad (capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh) a technological oasis. He administered the state more like a CEO, rather than a politician. Attracting companies like Microsoft and Oracle using whatever means were at his disposal, he put Hyderabad on the global map. Technical call-centers for Dell and other large technical companies account for a significantly large number of new jobs in the city. The transformation is not yet complete and is far from slowing down.

But I think I mostly enjoyed the food in the city. The restaurant business boomed in the last couple of years; the fierce competion increased the quality of the cuisine to heavenly standards!


You find great fruit all year long everywhere on the streets.


I rode around the city in style!


Smoke break.

A lot more cars in the city now, but the two-wheelers still rule the streets. They ride like they don't fear death. Weaving in and out of traffic like they are all alone on the road.


Idiot knocks down a couple of parked two-wheelers.


Buildings are getting taller and bigger everywhere.


Happy Hours indeed.


Jackie Chan is GOD in Hyderabad.

three weeks in India

I spent the first three weeks of January in India.


Dulles Airport, VA: The beginning.


Getting ready to board!


Layover in Dubai, UAE: Technical difficulties?


Crashed at a relative's house for the first couple of days in Hyderabad, India.

battle night

Got dragged out to an Internet PC cafe to play some Starcraft a little while back. The game came out in 1996, but is still very popular. One of the best RTS games ever made but it is getting a little old now.


My filthy keyboard.


Can't play without jack.

cup-sized fantasy

Friend of mine just got married and I am damn sure this was a wedding gift. A very nice gift.

reflection

The reflection of an overhead ceiling lamp in a clear glass half-filled with warm coke.

I was recently reading an article where the author was describing how the idea of "self" is not just contained in ones self, but also in the world around them. Our perecption of the world around us and our interaction with it affects who we are. We see our reflection in the eyes of others surrounding our self. Is it foolish to say that there is no such thing as objective perception? How do you objectively percieve yourself? Or the world around you? We ourselves are merely reflections of what surrounds us. The idea of self when gathered from our own perception of ourselves is far from what is reflected around us.


The lamp itself.

chill out

The holidays are great. Especially when you are spending them with your loved ones. That's why I've been spending mine with bottles of fine liqour and glasses filled with lots of ice.


Just finished a double Johnny Walker Black on these rocks...


Waiting to be filled up again!

murdered by nicotine

I don't remember how many shots (Johnny Walker Black and Captain Morgans) later I took these pictures, but it should suffice to say that I was stoned out of my mind. But I do remember jonzin for a damn tripod!


Can't say cigarettes are my favorite addiction anymore though...


I can't wait to quit smoking again!

can't hold it

I was holding it for a loooong time...and when I finally found relief, this was my heaven.