Bakrid Holiday

ABOVE PHOTOS: Goats being bought and keep for sacrifice to God. Many of the goats have decorations around their necks and painted horns of green and yellow, and cost about 2000 rupees ($50).
Yesterday, Thursday Dec 20 was the religious festival celebrated by the Muslims as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Ishmael, under the order of Allah. The festivities last for two to three days depending on the country. The tradition is that those who can afford to do so sacrifice their best domestic animal usually a goat. The sacrificed animals have to meet certain age and quality standards or else the animal is considered an unacceptable sacrifice.

We finally meet

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting Belkin's Business Development Director of India: Madhu Joshi. Having exchanged many emails before meeting it was great to finally meet in Bangalore. Since arriving Madhu not only helped secure a mobile phone for me but has been like a guardian angel watching over me, making sure I'm OK. Thank you Madhu! I leave for New Delhi toady, where we will meet up again. Stay tuned....

Belkin at Staples India

Daeline: Bangalore
The first Staples store in Bangalore just opened and I went to visit per Madhu's (Belkin's India Director) suggestion. Congratulations Madhu who is responsible for getting Belkin into Staples.

The store is on the Outer Ring Road in the Garunda Mall in the center of Bangalore. The mall is targeted for teens who are choosing from a mix of American wear and traditional Indian wear. The main attraction in this mall is the movie complex which had a long line of teenagers waiting to get into the first movie of the day. There are no high-end shops in this mall.

As soon as you enter Staples you sense it's new because the merchandise has rather slim pickings and store helpers seem rather unsure about technology. Only one person I spoke to was confident about answering questions.

When walking through the store I found the Belkin Wirelesss Router which had good placement on the end of an aisle ... easy to spot.

In another aisle, on the bottom shelf, I accidentally found a Belkin laptop cooling stand. The box was in sad shape - as if it was bounced around with tears and scratch marks on it.

Overall, Staples is not the Staples we know of in the States. This is a much smaller store with limited product offerings and a young staff; but given time to grow it will be an important location for Belkin.

A woman's work is never done

Women in the slums have the toughest job in the family. It's the woman who is responsible for the children, cooking, washing and earning money for the family. You often see the poorest women, those who migrate to the cities from rural areas, doing hard labor like digging ditches alongside the men. In this photo, washing is done the old fashioned way using brute force. It's surprising that even though the slums are dirty, dusty and down right filthy, people including the children tend to look clean and neat.

You can't always get what you want...

Dateline: Dharavi, Mumbai
ABOVE PHOTO: You can't always get what you want, but you get what you need ... and in this case it's a TV.
Although the Dharavi Slum is one of the largest slums in the world where few homes have running water or toilets, it is uncommon to find a household without a TV.

Where the People Live

Dec 14-18
Dateline: Dharavi Slum
ABOVE PHOTO: A typical back alley where people live. Most people have electricity oftentimes taping off of the main grid.
All cities in India are crowed but not like the Dharavi Slum in Mumbia. The area is filled with an amazing maze of back alley lanes oftentimes too narrow for people to walk side-by-side. It's in these back alleys that most people live in a room each
about 300 to 400 square feet where typically 15 people (two families) share the space. A family earns about 1100 rupees a month (~$40 a month).

Eager Students in the Slum

Dec 14
Dateline: Dharavi Slum
Life for children in the slum is often very difficult. As soon as most children come of age they work earning money for the family. Few schools exist in the slums. The teaching is basic and oftentimes teachers fail to show up. In this photo, the students are eager to learn. The classroom, which holds 30 students in one room, has electricity for lighting, but is in need of major repairs.

Dharavi's Sanitation Problem

ABOVE PHOTO: A man refilling his water bottle in front of an open sewer. SECOND PHOTO: A little boy walks barefoot in a dark alley covered with glass, cockroaches and garbage.

Dec. 14-18
Dateline: Dharavi Slum within Mumbai
Sanitation issues are big problems for public health due to the lack of toilet facilities and raw sewage thrown into open sewers. This is further compounded by the flooding during the monsoon season. As of November 2006 there was only one toilet per 1440 residents in Dharavi. Mahim Creek, a local river, is widely used by local residents for urination and defecation leading to contagious diseases. But when some people where asked if they would leave Dharavi for a free government home (resettlement) which would have a home with its own toilet, the answer is often no. Although people lack of privacy, like when a woman squats besides the Mahim Creek, the idea of a personal flush toilet offends. As one woman stated: "To use all that water for so few people seems stupid and wasteful."

Dharavi a City Within a City

Dec 14 - 18
Dateline: Mumbai
Dharavi is a district in central Mumbai and is one of Asia’s largest slums. It is spread over an area of 175 hectares and has a population of more than 1 million people. As many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre.

Midnight at SFO

Midnight at SFO

Tuesday Dec 12,2007
Dateline: SFO Airport

Two hours till my flight to Singapore and my final destination Bangalore. For these next two hours, I'll spend it in the SFO food court. Once in the food court what do I see? A bowl of plastic Ramen! A reminder of my dear friends .... I miss you all already. Therefore I have created this blog to share the sights and sounds of India each day with you. Oh and before I sign off ... yes Matthew I now know Ramen when I see it, even if it is made of plastic and collecting dust.