treasures

Well I’m back home in Evanston but there are some things I never managed to post, so I will continue for a bit. It’s chilly and rainy and a bit too quiet for me here. I am missing my second home – Bangalore. Ashwin said to me, ‘ Aren’t we lucky Mummy? We have two homes.’ and indeed we do – and we are.

Leaf bug

This guy presented himself to us one morning and just look what he can do!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA He flattens himself out and draws his front legs together in front to look like a leaf and stem. We found him in the living room and it looked like a leaf had just stuck to the wall. I spent my morning taking some pictures of the ground floor apartment where my in-laws live. I want to capture some of these vignettes of home before they change. When I think back to my first visit to India in 2002, so much has changed and is now lost.

Plant shelf opposite the side door

Turned wooden container with lid

A shelf in Saras Auntie’s room

Canes and brooms in the corner

Gopal’s Ganesha

Plates and vessels drying outside

The wood room is a place on the terrace where Ashwin’s Tata (grandfather) keeps his building materials and some treasures. It seems he is always pulling some beautiful old piece out of a corner or cabinet. The following shows a part of the world within the woodshed walls. I am channeling my friend and colleague, Chris Conniff O’Shea, who always has such a sophisticated eye for grouping beautiful and interesting things. The monochromatic selection is quite the opposite of the previous posting of my brightly colored book. I also felt if I didn’t record these photos, they would soon go away. They are in a moldy and decaying stack on a shelf. Venkatesh wants to save them and have them restored, but they may be beyond that already. Enjoy!

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