India : the People

I realize in my little account of my visit to India, I forgot to tell you about the most moving and interesting aspect ; the people. This is because I was often to shy to take pictures of people, and more interested in listening to them.

In his book "Un'idea dell'India", Italian writer Alberto Moravia has said something like : "India is not a beautiful country, as Italy can be for example, or a "typical" country like Japan ; India is a continent whose major interest is the human factor". Well, I agree.

And as I cannot show it to you, here is a link to a wonderful website by professional photographer Claude Renault : http://mesimagesdinde.blogspot.com/

(In case you wonder the picture above is me trapped into giving money to a school in Mamallapuram, a town hit by the Tsunami. The little boy on the right, was bilingual though only 8 or 9, and a natural charmer).

April BJP

"April in Paris"

Due to my little trip in India, I've had to do my March page in April and my April page in May, which I have found a little bit unsettling.

In April I was mostly in Paris. Well, April in Paris is supposed to be special and it is. However coming back from exuberant India, this month I had the impression that my country was washed out. No blunt colours, no strong smells, no noise, no constant sollicitation. In April I felt between two worlds. In April, I slowly managed to unwind and appreciate the subtleties of my home country. In April goes the French saying, "Ne te découvre pas d'un fil" (don't take even a thread off), meaning that the weather is very unstable, and it has been this year. In April, I've had great pain in the solar plexus region as well as various physical discomforts. Oh well, that's life...

The central motif is adapted from a kolam design, traditionnally drawn by South Indian women in front of their houses every morning to bring good luck on the family.

March BJP

"You go there"

Remembering my trip to India.

I edited this post after a few days, however I am putting back the links to the Theyyam ceremony to which the page is partly a reference :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theyyam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ygo98X-fUM&feature=related