India – Page 2 – David Kotz

Ultrapot

A new cooking opportunity!

A couple of years ago we bought one of these newfangled multi-function cooking pots – specifically, a Müeller Ultra Pot. But it was just a couple of months ago that I realized the incredible potential of this device, when I discovered this new cookbook from Urvashi Pitre, Indian Instant Pot. As many of you know, I love Indian food and have refined my ability to make a very small number of Indian dishes… but with this cookbook, and this cook pot, I could do a lot more. Read on to see what I’ve tried so far!

Retroblog – Monkey bars

They’re very savvy.

When we lived in Bangalore we would occasionally encounter the resident band of monkeys – actually Bonnet Macaques – as they passed through the neighborhood, seeking any possible way to sneak into apartments and steal food. At least once, one pushed open the front door and came traipsing across the living room floor. We heard from others that these savvy critters knew how to find and open refrigerators. Check out this a pair of blog posts (and associated photo galleries) from November 2008!

Bonnet Macaques raid the rooftop and atrium of our apartment building at IISc.

Retroblog – Dasara

Dasara is the most important festival in Mysore.

As I mentioned recently, I will occasionally post some flashbacks to some favorite old trips and events. In 2008-09 we lived in Bangalore, India, and traveled extensively.

Today I’m remembering an incredible day in Mysore, a small city a few hours west of Bangalore, which we visited for the major Dasara festival. The parade was an incredible sensory experience, including elephants, bands, dancers, and more. Check it out!

A second group of elephants. Dasara parade in Mysore.

Honorable mention

One of my favorite photos.

From time to time I like to enter a few photos in a photo contest. Today one of my photos, below, received honorable mention in the “People” category, at the annual “Elden Murray photo contest” hosted by the Hanover library. Here’s a link to the photo on their site, where you can also explore the winning photos.

I chose to enter this photo because I enjoyed the colorful action of this elderly Rajasthani vendor while he was making chai (tea).

Chai wallah in Shahpura, Rajasthan, India.

The photo is from our 2017 tour of India; read the blog post.

Retroblog –

Looking back at some photos and video from our IISc campus home.

As I mentioned recently, I will occasionally post some flashbacks to some favorite old trips and events. I’ll start with our sabbatical in India: we lived in Bangalore from August 2008 through May 2009, at the Indian Institute of Science.

We lived on the beautiful campus of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in a quiet neighborhood of two-story apartments housing professors’ families. The Electrical and Communications Engineering (ECE) building, shown below, and where I had an office, was just a block away.

The ECE building at IISc has a manicured garden out front.

Retroblog – Indian FRO

Direct experience with Indian bureaucracy.

One of the early challenges was to register with the Foreigners’ Registration Office (FRO). This is a long blog post, but one that people still mention to me even a decade later! Wow.

The office of the Commissioner of Police, in Bangalore.

Retroblog – first day in India

A flashback to our sabbatical in India.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I will occasionally post some flashbacks to some favorite old trips and events. I’ll start with our sabbatical in India: we lived in Bangalore from August 2008 through May 2009, at the Indian Institute of Science. Our first day was full of logistics, and great anticipation – and a good background for the retroblogs to come.

Retroblog

it’s time for some flashbacks!

I began blogging in 2008 when we moved to India for a year-long sabbatical at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). In 2012 I had to switch platforms from Apple MobileMe to WordPress, leaving the old MobileMe postings available … but in a clunky form. In the past month I have slowly migrated the early blog posts, through May 2009, to WordPress. Since I don’t expect to be traveling any time soon, I think I’ll post occasional flashbacks – retroblogs – to that year in India.

We had an elephant ride in the hills of Kerala, December 2008. David, Mara, Andy, John, Pam.

Stay tuned!

Hampi, India

An exploration of the ruins of historic Vijayanagara civilization, once one of the largest and richest cities in the world.

On my very first visit to India in 2007 I learned about an amazing historic site called Hampi. Although we lived in Bangalore for much of the following year, and Hampi is in the same state, we never managed to find the time for a visit. (Even today, with a new four-lane highway almost completed, it is a 6-8 hour drive from Bangalore to Hampi.) So I’ve kept it on my mental to-do list. And now, it seems, the New York Times has listed it as #2 on its list of “52 places to go in 2019”.

Last week I was in Bangalore to speak at a conference, and next week I need to be in Hong Kong to visit a university, so I had this weekend free. I finally had my chance to visit Hampi! I spent two and a half days exploring this incredible place. Read on, and check out the photo gallery. Continue reading “Hampi, India”

Back to Bangalore

A return to Bangalore and my discovery of what has changed over four years.

Brigade Road - always a bustling place in the evening. Every time I return to Bangalore it feels a little like returning home. My family and I lived at IISc in Bangalore for a year, back in 2008-09, and I came to think of its streets and sounds and smells as my home. I had the good fortune to return every January for six years (2010 through 2015), but hadn’t been back for four years. Although my visit was short – not quite three days – it was fun to walk the streets of the city and the paths of the campus and see what’s new. Read on. Continue reading “Back to Bangalore”