Some cool India images:

Day 5: Kolam

Image by Jess and Colin
A girl in a primary class at the Abacus Montessori School in Chennai repairs a floor kolam outside her classroom, while an observer from the visiting AMI conference looks on.

(Kolam – From Wikipedia:

“Kolam (Tamil: ????? kõla?) is a form of sandpainting that is drawn using rice powder by female members of the family in front of their home. It is widely practised by Hindus in South India. A Kolam is a sort of painted prayer — a line drawing composed of curved loops, drawn around a grid pattern of dots.

Kolams are thought to bestow prosperity to homes. Every morning in southern India, millions of women draw kolams on the ground with white rice powder. Through the day, the drawings get walked on, rained out, or blown around in the wind; new ones are made the next day. Every morning before sunrise, the floor is cleaned with water, the universal purifier, and the muddy floor is swept well for an even surface. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so that it is held better. Occasionally, cow-dung is also used to wax the floors. Cow dung has antiseptic properties and hence provides a literal threshold of protection for the home. It also provides contrast with the white powder.
[...]
Decoration was not the sole purpose of a Kolam. In olden days, kolams used to be drawn in coarse rice flour, so that the ants don’t have to work so hard for a meal. The rice powder is said to invite birds and other small critters to eat it, thus inviting other beings into one’s home and everyday life: a daily tribute to harmonious co-existence.”)

DAD

Image by Easa Shamih (eEko) | P.h.o.t.o.g.r.a.p.h.y
In loving memories of my DAD.

Kanakakkunnu Palace,
Trivandrum, India

The gorgeous gaur

Image by Shachi Sitaram
This fellow strode nonchalantly across the jungle trail, even as he munched his way through the evening. Date should read June 17, 2011.

Some basic information about his brethren gathered from a few sources on the internet: The heaviest and most powerful of all wild cattle, the gaur or Indian bison is a threatened species. Adult gaur bulls can grow to a height of almost two metres, and weigh between 650 kg and 1000 kg. Living in small herds ranging from three to twelve animals, they are largely confined to evergreen forests, semi-evergreen, and moist deciduous forest. An ash-coloured forehead and white-stockinged feet are characteristic of the species.

There are only around 12,000 to 22,000 gaurs in the wild in India. While gaur have few natural enemies owing to their formidable size and power, their numbers are declining. The key reasons: shrinking habitat and bovine diseases.