India - Kerala - Fort Cochin - Kochi - South India - Indian food - Cochin - West Bengal - women - food - Siliguri - Chandigarh - kids - SHG - microcredit - people - children - Deep Colony - Punjab - Alleppey - aloo tikka - street food - Mumbai - agriculture - tea estate -
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We came across this adorable little girl all done up in charcoal make-up at the Alleppey bus station. Her parents were also dressed up, but we never did figure out the occasion. She just gazed at us with wide-eyed wonderment as we waited for our bus.Read more about our visit to India.
Women from Deep Colony village (outside Siliguri, India) work in the women's self-help group's nursery. They grow the seedlings for several months and then sell them to a larger nursery for profit. Thirteen women work together on this nursery project, earning about $350 profit for the group in the year and getting paid for their labor. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
An experienced tea picker takes a break. They earn $1.25 per day for picking 10 kilos of fresh tea leaves. Most of the workers are uneducated and don't have other options for employment in the area. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
Audrey gets a lesson in street food cooking at this aloo tikka stand at Assi Ghat in Varanasi. What started out as a quick lesson turned into a 20 minute job, as the stand got busy and everyone worked together to get everyone fed quickly. Audrey got thumbs up from the customers for the tomato-potato mixture she was stirring. She was paid with some stuffed puris (small, puffed fried bread). Watch the video.
Women pick tea leaves at a tea estate outside of Siliguri, India. Pickers earn $1.25 per day for 10 kilos of fresh tea leaves. It's not easy work. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
Our bus journey from Mumbai Central Station to the city limits lasted over two hours and took us from grand colonial buildings to shanty town villages and every manner of living in between. Read more about our bus trip from Mumbai to Udaipur.
A friendly vendor at a flower market on the outskirts of Madurai. People buy flowers here in bulk and then string them together for sale as offerings at the city's various temples.Because of the heavy rains the night before, the flower market was in large part a swamp. Though it was murky and mucky, we comforted ourselves with the fact that the sludge was mainly composed of decomposing flowers.Read more about our visit to India.
A young member of the Deep Colony village (outside Siliguri, India) women's self-help group helps in the group's nursery. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
In case you end up at Mumbai's Gateway of India and you've forgotten where you are.Read more about our bus trip from Mumbai to Udaipur.
A visual tour of our first two days in the southern Indian state of Kerala.Read more about our visit to Kerala.
We accidentally interrupted a game of street cricket in one the side streets in Fort Cochin. The kids tried to teach Dan how to play - he didn't do too bad, hitting the ball into the next yard a few times. Walking the streets in Fort Cochin takes you through Jain, Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities. The street (or compound, as it was labeled) was a Muslim community.Read more about our visit to Kerala.
Women in Alleppey (Kerala, India) examine some bright leaves before purchasing. Read more about our visit to India.
Another fantastic meal, this one home-cooked by our friends' Nepalese cook in Chandigarh. We were still full from breakfast, but couldn't resist these dishes when they were placed before us and accompanied by hot, buttered chapatis. Our friends are spoiled.© www.uncorneredmarket.com
This little girl greets us in one of Fort Cochin's back streets. Read more about our visit to Kerala.
A Kathakali dancer in full costume performing at the Kerala Kathakali Center in Fort Cochin. A educational demonstration prior to the performance explains how Kathakali dancers use their eyes, facial movements and a series of hand gestures (almost like sign language) to act out religious stories.Traditionally, these plays would go on for six hours. Although the performance was interesting, we were relieved that it only lasted 90 minutes.Read more about our visit to Kerala.
A kathakali dancer waits patiently as bits of formed paper are secured to his face with rice glue. The make-up session can take up to two hours. The vibrant colors come from rubbing natural stones and minerals together with coconut oil. Read more about our visit to Kerala.
One of the many statues made out of collected garbage at Chandigarh's famous Rock Garden. Nek Chand started creating structures out of garbage he recycled for art in the 1960s. It was discovered by chance in 1975 and turned into a park in 1976, only to be expanded and added on to in recent years. It's peaceful, unique and fun. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
We stepped into a small courtyard off of a street in Fort Cochin and found lots of colorful life. Here, a proud father shows off his daughter.Read more about our visit to Kerala.
One of the leaders of a self-help group in the village of Gairkata shows us her snack and telephone shop. She built and set up the shops with around $350 in loans. With the income she earns, she's been able to send her son to school and contribute to the family. Now she's planning to send her son for higher education - he wants to be a doctor. © www.uncorneredmarket.com
Head chef Rajan Sharma watches his chapati master give us a lesson in how to make chapatis at the Dera Restaurant , Taj Hotel Chandigarh (India). © www.uncorneredmarket.com
In order to better suit the richness of the meat, the spices used to marinate lamb chops are appropriately stronger than those used with chicken.The charred bits were especially tasty. The bones were licked clean. Exquisite!© www.uncorneredmarket.com
We walked by an elementary school in Fort Cochin just as the kids were getting out. Quite a lively bunch. Read more about our visit to Kerala.
We lucked out with a fairly luxurious suite at a 150-year-old haveli right on the shores of Lake Pichola and a balcony overlooking the Lake Palace and City Palace. A nice place to recover from our seemingly never-ending overnight bus journey from Mumbai.Read more about our bus trip from Mumbai to Udaipur.
Just one of many varieties of Indian sweets at Sai Sweets in Chandigarh. One would need months to try and make their way through them all! © www.uncorneredmarket.com
Stir and mash queen of the aloo tikka and puri stand at Varanasi's Assi Ghat. This was hard work - she had a blister on her finger after only 20 minutes! © www.uncorneredmarket.com
