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Langoor monkeys everywhere Fortunately in natural places, like here at the Ajanta Caves, the Langoor monkeys are not annoying or agressive. They are not shy either. They seem curious. They follow us, watch us and once when we wanted to rest surrounded us, some in the trees and some on ground. That time there were also babies so... »     Viru enters a worship cave at Ellora Ellora caves are less elaborate than the ones at Ajanta, but you couldn't tell from this one. The Buddhist caves come in two varieties, worshiping halls or Chaityas and monasteries or Viharas. The Viharas are grouping of completely unadorned cells, each about 6ft X 6ft. Some caves where practically apartment... »     Peacocks are very shy Yep, there is one there. They are very difficult to get close to and move very fast. There are many peacocks at Lonar crater and if you sit quietly at sunset you will see them. Getting a good picture of them is another story.     Hall at Mumbai CST getting used as a waiting room In the middle of the day at one of the Mumbai rail way stations people are waiting for their trains.     Susan's very first ride on a sleeper train Yep it's true, but I think I got the hang of it pretty quickly.     Pune Street Scene This is a quite street in downtown Pune in the afternoon.     Pune Street Scene2 This is a busy street in downtown Pune in the afternoon. This country is full of contrasts!     Pune Street Scene3 This is a side street in downtown Pune in the afternoon. The jumble of life and living conditions continues to amaze me. This rural setup, complete with roaming roosters is right in the middle of the modern city of Pune. It's unclear who the motorcycle belongs to. It looked like it belongs... »     Six-seater with illegal passenger Six-seaters are great modes of transportation used in Maharastra. Legally they transport six people, two benches for six behind the driver, for prices comparable to the buses. Usually if there are riders needing a ride they cram in four per bench, even getting school children to sit on any adults lap.... »     A view from our terrace at New Sanghvi New Sanghvi is a cross between a rural town and a new suburb. It is close to one of the more modern and equipped parts of Pune, Aundh and has some new construction. Houses and condominum-like apartment buildings are mostly 2-3 stories high. They are right on top of each other. When I go out on the terrace... »     Another view from the terrace at New Sanghvi This is the road in front of our first apartment. It is a slightly larger road that the one behind us. Neither are not paved. You are looking a hard packed dirt.     Snakes - many many snakes A local attraction is a snake park. After fighting the smog and congestion of the city this snake park seemed like an oasis.     Order chiroptera That's bats! In every cave and temple ruin that isn't being maintained. The smell of bat guano is an acquired aversion. It really doesn't smell that bad at first but after awhile it is terrible. And aquired distaste, I guess. The Ajanta caves got a big loan from the Japanese government and UNESCO is... »     More laborer camps One thing I will remember forever is how many people in India live their entire lives "outdoors." They live in a variety of tents or huts, these more of the tent variety. So places you'll see huts that seem to be from another age, for instance made of hay. I guess they literally are from another age.... »     Night time play This is me with Viru's nieces Aditi and Binny in Mumbai. It is not an unusual occurence for them to go to the park at night as in the day time it is very crowded.     Public bath at Lonar Tourist serendipity. We had 2 or so hours to kill before our bus was leaving so we decided to find the local "waterfall." It was intriguing partially because we couldn't see where a waterfall could be in this landscape. We followed the directions and came upon this public bath. All ages and sexes... »     Stick ladies These women are carrying firewood. Most rural and many of the lower classes in the cities depend on wood for fuel. (Heating is not needed much here!) I suspect these ladies may be gathering to sell. From the train I have seen huts in the slums that have huge piles of sticks. I postulate that some people... »     A lady bug in it's full glory Viru is a budding macro photographer. Here is a lady bug he caught a Fergueson College. We got a private tour of their botanical garden. On of my first fun India adventures. After ODing on smog and congestion we found reference to this place. Unfortunately it is not open to the public. So we asked one... »     Pashan view from our apartment This place with are at now is very unusual. There is a view of an open hill in front of us and behind us. There is a big triangular shaped piece of land between our road and the highway. You see hit here in the foreground. The rumor and hope is that it is owned by the National Defense department, then... »     A bull grazing in the garbage dump This is a common scene. Animals grazing at open dumps. I don't know what they find to eat. They don't look particularly emaciated and the people here are very frugal and throw very little away. A mystery.     Mumbai - Banglore highway This is another view from around our place at Pashan. Growth in India is chaotic and sprawling. There are open fields and many "towns" that grow together. Here you can see stadium lights on the horizon. They aren't far away. You can never see very far as the air quality is terrible.     Viru and Susan on their own private hill Well maybe that's an exaggeration. Moving to Pashan from New Sanghvi was such a joy. Hills, and hills without people on them and...lots more. This is the hill behind Viru's new apartment that has apparently be reforested by the government. At the top of one of the hills is what must be a lover's lane... »     Pashan Lake from the hill behind Viru's place Pashan has three distinct parts; the "town" - a squatterish village which is close to downtown Pune, the National Defense land and its projects on the far side of the lake, and "New Pashan" where we live. New Pashan has many new apartment buildings built on the road from Pashan (town) to Sus (village).... »     Individual dwelling just below us In between our apartment building and the own behind us is this plot of land apparently inhabited by a family. The grounds are kept very clean. The shack in the upper right hand corner is their house. I haven't seen any adults. Much to my great pleasure I saw a young girl leave in the morning wearing... »     Flying over India Well almost. Playing on the hill behind our apartment.     Burning, an Indian tradition Arghh! It seems that everyone, here a middle aged, middle class man, believes that burning weeds helps something. The lung doctors pocket book, I think. Here they seem to have built a permanent place for this type of clearance burning. The air here is terrible. Burning is constant. You smell... »     Pulse Chime This place is covered with legumes. They call them pulses when they are talking about the eatable varieties. On walks it seems like every other plant is a legume. So I collected so more stunning ones and made this mobile to decorate Viru's apartment. It is opposite a window and when the afternoon breeze... »     Laid up but not out! Convalescing in our apartment is made more bearable by access to the a computer and the internet. I've had to cancel three of the last four outings because of health problems. First a banged up big toe from playing too roughly - okay sympathy is not required. Next I had to cave in to my aching back.... »     next section » Created using Viru's program, with Susan's artistic assist