May 2008
7 posts
The Dhobi Ghat
(cross-posted to the untitled india project)
On Monday we went to the dhobi ghat on Lazar Road. A dhobi ghat is a place where washermen, known as dhobi wallas, wash other people’s clothes by hand. Ravichandran, one of the dhobi we spoke to, said that he picks up clothes from the surrounding neighborhood, charging three rupees to wash a shirt or pants, a little more for a blanket or a bed...
Ranjana and Preetham, and a new box.
Ranjana and Preetham, Bangalore, 2008.
Ranjana (at right, obviously) is one of the people on this crazy trip. She’s also kind of our den mother, keeping us out of trouble and showing us our way. Preetham (on the left, also the only other one in the picture) has been the kindest person ever; he invited us to his estate, took us around town and had us to his apartment here. He’s also...
an understanding
Writing now at 39,000 feet, it feels like 8 PM. When we land in five hours it will be 6:15 in the morning. Two planes from now, when we finally touch down in Bangalore, it will be 7:00 Wednesday morning. The sun’s set once on our journey, and it will set again before we find our destination; there are times in the darkness when I’m not sure if we’re running from the evening light...
What Happens Next
There’s a note to myself in the little Moleskin notebook I carry. “May 9: Need to start transitioning blog to what happens next.” I have a little bit of a confession to make: all the posturing and the politics that have consumed some of my posts lately? I know that stuff doesn’t really matter all that much. The bigness of the problems we face far outstrip the capacity of...
A story of the Eagle Pass tornado, and the...