Indian journey
“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”
So we are journeying to Rajasthan from Bangalore on route to the family's farm for the Diwali holidays and we stop at a coffee shop. This painting by Radha Krishna is hanging on the wall - Lord Krishna as baby. My first thought is: wow, that's amazing! So intricately painted, yet hanging amongst the other oh-so tacky pictures on the wall. The coffee doesn’t come, and the waiters are taking so long chatting in the back that we decide to give it a miss and continue with our journey. Flight from Bangalore to Delhi, taxi to my brother in-law’s, lunch, and then the travelling really commences at rip-roaring speed: Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan - we travel for 7 more hours. We reach the village farmhouse, taking in the view of the acres and acres of kinnow trees along the way. We are dusty and tired, but then the next phase of the journey begins - and the rest is captured in pictures.
Painting of lord Krishna as a baby
Detail of Krishna
Detail of Krishna
Farmers with straw haystacks used for packing kinnows ready to export
Local village worker on the tractor with his grandchild
On the farm
Old farm door
Water transporter tank
Pesticide spraying machine
Diesel tank
Pesticide machine
Water harvesting tank
Well used straw bed
Pilkhan tree (fig white) on the farm grounds
Walking by the kinnow orchard at sunset
Landowners looking across the land
The old railway track crossing the farmlands
Wild plants just randomly pop up everywhere
Someone loves you ❤️️ graffiti drawn on the local village school wall
Sticks used to fire the clay tandoor to cook rotis for the family's lunch and dinner
A cook preparing the tandoor ready to make the evening rotis
Homemade white butter
Man pondering life under a pilkhan tree (fig white) on the farm grounds
A Rajasthani cowshed on the neighbouring farm grounds
A Rajasthani tile randomly placed on part of a farm wall
A cow fodder machine
A customised stool
A customised stool
Decoration found on the courtyard floor painted 70 years ago
Distressed window grills with turquoise accents found on neighbouring farm
Distressed window grills with faded turquoise accents found on neighbouring farm
Dry land on the fields
Dry weed amongst the dry eucalyptus leaves.
Paint bucket
Steel buckets
Wild flowers growing near mud bricks stacked up for drying
Tiny baby robins nest
Tiny baby robins nest
In the city, locals getting ready for Diwali celebrations
Sri Ganganagar Market preparing for the festive season of Diwali 💥💥
Fake bright colored 🌸 flowers 🌺
MannequinsIn colourful suits displayed
Choice of fabric colours for suits
Modern lingerie displayed on mannequins
Modern lingerie displayed on mannequins, with a "peeping Tom" in the background...lol:)
Purchased firecrackers for the big night
Bollywood stars pictured on firecracker boxes
Fake gun and bullets
Poppers filled with gunpowder
Bollywood stars pictured on firecracker boxes
The aftermath of some used crackers
Back on the farm, the house is being lit with diyas everywhere ready for the huge fireworks
Diya light for the start of the Diwali fireworks:)
Fireworks on the farm grounds
Fireworks on the farm grounds
The ground
Fireworks on the farm grounds