Chase Jarvis put out a book of photography last year that shares its title with this post, where every photo was taken with his iPhone. The idea being that it's not about the camera lens or the giga-pixels, it's about having the camera on you when you encounter the world. Of course, in Democratic India, you don't encounter the world, the world encounters YOU. Here are a few photos from my phone that give a glimpse of things you'll run into around Bangalore if you aren't careful.
Exhibit 1: Dog in a box. There are dogs everywhere in India. In Bangalore, they are pretty friendly and more likely to wag their tails at you than bite, and more likely still to just avoid and ignore you. These dogs can sleep anywhere. The middle of the sidewalk during rush hour, no problem. You often think they are dead, until they yawn, look around, and go back to being dead.
Exhibit 2: Enigmatic signs. If you've traveled in Asia, you're familiar with the usual Engrish signage. You see that here too, but this is something more subtle. For example, "More smiles per tonne of steel". The words make sense, the grammar is fine... but what does that mean? I imagine some poor overworked official keeping track of these things. Is there a cap and trade system?
Exhibit 3: Jesus with frickin' lasers attached to his frickin' heart. I stumbled across St Mary's Basilica one day. Turns out it is the oldest church in Bangalore, quite famous, and architecturally beautiful. It also has two life size posters of Lazer Jesus guarding the main entrance, and red neon lights framing the altar.
As Kristin likes to say, " In India, more is more."
- F. Seahorse
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