Meanwhile in India: I was initially a bit annoyed by the reluctance of business forums, media and other entities to acknowledge that the crisis was also suffocating India. It took me a while to open my eyes. Now I see that while Europe is wobbling like a punch-drunk boxer, Indian operators are nimbly moving about the field and happily chomping off sizable slices of the markets.

What a bounce-back ability, what extraordinary agility in the face of adversity! Meanwhile Europe seems ageing and clumsy, an ex-champion staring in disbelief as the contender inevitably becomes the champion.

The same, as for India, seems evident elsewhere in Asia as well. Malesia, Singapore, China, all are thriving. Of course at the same time it should be noted that e.g. China has single companies that leave a larger carbon footprint than some major industrial nations in Europe. But there you go, as Asia takes the center stage in industrial development, so must they take responsibility that comes with it too. Hope they take it on better than we did.

Asia is busy as an ant hill - this picture from jungle of cranes and high rises in Singapore.

Moving away from big picture, there seems to be no fast lift in the condition of "everyman" in India. Half still can't read, politics and national budgets are sad charades that promise no improvement. Well, no, scratch that: they promise but do not deliver. And talking with local peers I find that nobody expects a delivery either.

Looking over the compound wall,  the construction sites are filled with little children carrying earth, tottlers crawling in dust while their mothers work, fathers hanging from hights without safety ropes.

Construction site "daycare" in Bengaluru - here we will have 10 stories in a year.

India, as a nation, through it's business champions, is beating the crap out of western competition, one foot safely in home markets. Meanwhile the people manning the bottom echelons of that market toil in grime and dust. Everything in scales, I guess. Or maybe I'm just a sore loser from the old world.

Ooty is a manageable drive away from Bangalore and after Mysore the scenery was interesting. The roads were not very good, especially on Karnataka side, but rural life was again exotic enough to city dweller's eyes. Before the climb up to the mountains the road winds through Bandipur National Park, where deer were grazing on the roadside in abundance. It's also a tiger reserve, and though we didn't really expect to see any of those magnificent beasts anywhere, our heads kept turning in anticipation. But we had to be content with wild deer and monkeys. The only elephant we saw was labouring as a forrestry machine, but kids appreciated it all the same.

Frequent "cross-tarffic" caused enjoyable pauses along the way.

Forest was in bloom in places. And these are indeed flowers, not withering autumn leaves.

These guys were so numerous that even I could not miss them all with my camera.

A good place to stay in Ooty is Taj Savoy, oldest part built in 1829, if I recall correctly. Based on very limited experience of course. Some of the more heritage-oriented rooms were heated only by open fire place, which gave the night time some extra atmosphere.

Savoy at dinner time from behind the front lawn.

Now the negative part. Ooty was packed. Half the Bangalore was there and for instance the much talked about peak of Doddabetta (highest peak of the sierra) was so full of people, cars, stalls, noice and trash that it was excruciating. There were even paddle boats (!) lined up where you could take your picture in. Why on earth was that? The surrounding scenery seemed to be the only thing not properly exploited, hardly visible behind the massing families. Even the benches were facing toward the centre, not the view. We got away soon as possible.

"Om" to you too...

Coming back we decided to stop along the way and take a walk off the tourist brochures We hiked up a slope, through eucalyptys forest, along the mud fields and ended up in village on a slanting hillside. People were friendly, as always, seemed at peace with the simple life they were leading. It was a good detour. 

The botanical gardens were worth a visit too, as well as the colorful back alleys of the Ooty proper.

Another day we visited Coonoor, not too far from Ooty, a pleasent car or train ride away. As a town it is not that different from Ooty, but the tea plantations around it are something else.
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Roadside view near Coonoor.

Tea fields east of Coonoor. No wonder the leaves are picked on foot.

Dolphin's Nose offered magnificent views of the valleys and peaks around, as well as the 250 ft water falls. Come early and you can evade the crowds that are probably already on their way.

Catherine Water Falls. Someone told me they are named after a woman who committed suicide there.

Another view from Dolphin's Nose. Monkeys obviously have a good head for heights.

Visited a tea factory too, and got a nice unhurried tour with a knowledgeable guide, just for us. The place was Swamy&Swamy at High Land Estates.

Ladies feeding the selected leaves to cutting machine one floor below.

All in all it was a nice trip. Perhaps next time we'd rather get a cottage away from the major towns, where hiking is a bit more accessible. Anyway the country side is breath taking and the climate is superb during the season.

Coming back to the heat in Bangalore felt a bit oppressive. It's back to life under AC.

So coming back to India was no hardship. Arrived at midnight to pleasant 24 degrees. Locals were wearing woolly hats and winter coats, but I could not help enjoying the noice, haggling, colours, lights and the glorious warmth!

I bet this view hasn't changed much during the past millenia. Allepey backwaters, Kerala

...or this for that matter. Arabian Sea, off Kerala

Veggie explosion. Russel market, Bengaluru

Ceremony is in progress. I think.

The northern end of the beach is a different story altogether. Almost all people are westerners. It came as a bit of of surprise, walking right into it. But a quick visit to the top of the cliff behind the beach sort of explains it. There is a commercial alley which is all geared for tourists, with its coffee shops, knick-knack stalls and mobile merchants. Actually it was still rather nice and in no way agressive. Everybody seemed to be unusually respectful of your right not to buy stuff.

Picture from the cliff toward south end of Varkala Beach.

And to the north.

Coming back to the beach, we noticed that there is a high proportion of obvious old hippies with their minds a bit off somewhere, dancing under the sun to a music inaudible for the rest of us mortals. And an almost equal proportion of new aspirants into the hippie world, young, long haired, bearded and inked. There must have been about two "mainstream families" in all. Whatever the composition, the atmosphere was very pleasant and easy-going.

We've only been here a few days and I feel that I've had Bangalore detoxed out my veins and cerebellum.

Green, green, green

Last 2 hours of daylight.

Sunset over Arabian Sea

It's been on the news for a few days. Alcohol was recovered on location. Alcohol, my god! The youth has really gone to the dark side. No drugs have been found nor nothing that would hint to their existence. Just alcohol. This is a grave sin, made worse by the fact that there was no license to sell the stuff. Knowing the bureaucracy, the highly indecent incident would have been stopped if only they would have applied for the license. Because they would still be lining up at the counters with the paperwork in one hand and bribes in the other.

Now OK, parties get stopped all over the world. However, these kids were thrown into a nice indian jail. Most of them spent several nights in there, some of them are still in. They spent a day without drink and food. There were no toilets, so let's hope they didn't have beer, but something less of a diuretic hard liquor. And anyway there were adjacent cells where they could relieve themselves between metal bars of their own abode.

One girl has an asthma. She was unconscious for most of her experience and was eventually wheeled out to an ambulance.  I guess she made the bail...

The bail, incidentally, was set to 3000 rupees. On top of that there was 2000 rupee legal fee. 5000 rupees is a lot of money for average youth in India. But coughing up the money didn't help very fast, since the next day happened to be a holiday and no officials needed for release were at work.

What a complete muff-up.

But be that as it may, I must ask if the reportedly understaffed authorities are really focusing on the important things in today's India? There are communal clashes, terrorism, corruption, you name it. Instead of aiming their focus on those, they decided to stop hundred kids dancing to a loud music somewhere miles from nearest recidential area. Hmm...

As  for the alcohol, it is not even denied that during the ongoing central government election campaign votes are bought and sold with liquor. But I guess that's OK, since it's part of established democratic process.

Then there is the devotion that seems deeper than anywhere I've seen before. Poverty that fails to drown those under it. The life in the lines on the faces passing on the dirt roads leading to other dirt roads.

Man at the temple yard, rural Bengaluru

Slumkids in northern Bengaluru

Fisherman sorting the nets in Puducherry, Bay of Bengal

Gentlemen enjoying idle time at Sarjapur Circle

Cauliflower man at Madivala market, Bengaluru

The colours of India are mind-blowing in their variety and splendour.  The sareed women, bindis, freshly painted temple ornaments, market places with their vendor stands. Hand-decorated lorries! Twilight hues, vegetation in the countryside, skies so blue they make you dizzy.

There's much more to love than to dislike. But things you love make you fall silent in wonder. Things you hate make you stand up and shout. So there's going to be some noice, obviously...