Good-bye India

After 28 days I have left India. I am now back home in California.

In the background of this photo is the Gate of India--all a blur to me now. I think what I will remember best is the people of India.

[Amy, do you like my use of forced flash here. The people walking by are in crisp focus while the standing structure behind them is blurred. Pretty spiffy huh?]

My visit to Elephana Island

On my last day in India I took a ferry to Elephanta Island just of the coast of Mumbai to visit the famed Elephanta Caves. Unfortunately, my guide and I found out after we got to the island that the caves were closed on Mondays. So I didn't get to see the caves but I did get these niffy photos and a guide book about the caves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephanta_Caves

The Art and Soul Gallery fundraiser

On a beautiful Mumbai Sunday I visited an event to raise funds to address breast cancer at the Art and Soul gallery.

http://www.galleryartnsoul.com/about.htm

The National Sports Club in Mumbai

While in Mumbai I stayed at the National Sports Club. It is one of a number of private clubs the British vacated when they left India in 1947. Today connected Indian families belong to these clubs.

A visit to the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai

Dial Gidwani took me to the club for a drink. This is my guest pass.

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower at night

A little more than a year ago the Taj Mahal Hotel picture here was took the main brunt of a series of synchronized terrorist attacks throughout Mumbai. About 200 people were killed and more than 300 injured. The hotel was bombed and severely damaged. The hotel is again up and running but parts of it are still under construction and new security measures have been added--such as the barriers you see here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal_Palace_&_Tower

The Gate of India at night

The Tao space next door

Next door to the Tao Gallery main space is an exhibition space in the lobby of a commercial high rise. I saw an exhibition there by the artist Sanjay Kumar.

http://www.taoartgallery.com/gallerydisplay.aspx?id=19&name=SANJAY%20KUMAR&pid=38

Painting by Seema Kohli

The above painting I saw at Tao Gallery is by Seema Kahli.

http://www.seemakohli.com/index.html

Tao Gallery

My first stop in Mumbai was the Tao Gallery. I was told that Tao is the best gallery in Mumbai; it is an impressive space. I got to see a group exhibition in the main gallery space. The painting being held above is by Kalpana Shah. She is a self-taught artist and owner and founder of the Tao Gallery and the Tao Foundation.

Onward to Mumbai

At the end of my trip I flew to Mumbai for a three day visist. Along the ocean front there is walkway and concrete barrier just like they have in Miami. In fact, Mumbai very much reminded me of Miami. You have to cross a bridge to get there and it is a long strip of a city set against the sea. Unlike Dehli there are lots of expensive and exotic cars in Mumbai, and while most of the women in Delhi wear tradition Hindu clothing, in Mumbai most of the women dress in Western contemporary clothing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai

Visiting Chanadana Chattacharjee's studio

Before I left for Mumbai I visited Chandana Bhattacharjee's studio and home. Her and her husband Bhubed were very gracious hosts. She is a painter and she has been moving back and forth from figurative to abstract work.

Traffic in Delhi

Traffic in Delhi is terrible. It can take you a half hour or more just to drive a few kilometers. Drivers in Delhi are contently honking thier horns. But it is different from the U.S. In the U.S. when someone honks their horn it means, "screw you," or "how could you do that to me" or in New York:
"Hey, I'm drive'n here'h." But in Delhi it more like, "I am here 'brother', let us us work together to avoid an accident."

My last night in Delhi

On my last night in Delhi. Arnab and his friends and family put together a dinner for me at Arnab's home.

Cows everywhere

Cows are everywhere in New Delhi. They roam the streets walking amongst the people, cars, and rickshaws.

Dinner at the Tiapan restaurant at the Obeori Hotel in New Delhi

Here we are having dinner at the Tiapan restaurant. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants in India but Tiapan is generally considered the best places to get Chinese food in New Delhi. Indian Chinese food has a bit more spice in it then the kind of Indian food you find in China or the U.S.

Picture to Ram Jethmalani's left is Jalabala Vaidya and to my right is Gopal Sharman. He is a play write and she is an actress. They own Akshara Theatre in New Delhi. They are generally credited with the revival of English speaking theatre in India. The also do documentary films and they are planning to do a documentary on Jethmalani. http://www.pranaygupte.com/article.php?index=137

Devi Foundation

I visited the Devi Foundation. It is in Gurgaon a suburb of New Delhi. Gurgaon is a new planned city. A lot of multinational corporations have opened large high rise facilities there. There is little residential or non-corporate life there. But there are big residential complexes planned. The Devi Foundation was started by Anupam Poddar and his mother Lekha. They have been collecting and supporting contemporary art in India for decades. The foundation is supported by funding from their company Devi Resorts. The exhibition I saw there was an exhibition of contemporary Pakistani artists. This was by far the most contemporary space I saw in India. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/arts/design/26collect.html?pagewanted=1

http://www.deviartfoundation.org/page.asp