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| one little elephant |
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| one little elephant at night |
The first picture I took one early evening when I happened to find myself at the Tekka side of Little India and was standing at the junction right under the elephant and it looked so chubby and cute and lifelike I decided I'd snap a quick one.
The second picture I took one late evening when the day had turned to night and I was again, at the Tekka side of Little India and with the elephant looking so beautiful and magical being completely lit up, I decided I'd snap a picture.
Think I'd do better to adjust the settings on my camera- before I take the picture.
But here's the thing, when you're in the middle of what is a very colorful fiesta, a very vibrant celebration of Light over Darkness and Good over Evil, and it is the eve of that very special day, you really just have to snap the pic and go.
Because there's much more else to see.
Mind, the stretch of Little India is a fairly long one that stretches out two sides, one end leading to Race Course Road and the blocks behind, the other side leading out towards Jalan Besar and Rochor River, and if there's the intention to go to Mustafa....
You go on.
You dive through the crowds, side step here and there, resist as many stares as you can, tip toe on the pavements, jostle around elbows with plastic bags and handbags and feet pattering whilst trying to grab pictures of whatever catches your fancy and of course, the cars and the tourists who are there to soak up just that lil bit of the Indian cultural experience.
It is not every day I get to see a Caucasian with a bindi on her forehead. Neither is it every day where a mother and daughter pose at the side of the road to grab a shot of the beautiful, beautiful arch with their Polaroid camera.
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| The arch! |
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| The arch again.. |
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| And again, from the other side... |
It is not every day too that I decide to plunge right into the bustling, shoulder to shoulder crowds of the second floor of Tekka Market on the eve of Deepavali just so that I can look (only look!) at some of the saris and the tops and the lovely bangles on sale.
But that's what I did. :)
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| Trad tops!! |
Quite an experience, I should say, for the sake of a photo.. and very much like Chinatown during the Chinese New Year Bazaar. I really squished and squashed my way past all the chattering ladies and the happy, excited children, first stopping at one shop to look at their aquamarine tunics and emerald green saris, then another shop for their bangles. I didn't know the shop owner would have to measure the size of your wrist with a set of bangles before selecting the size for you. I thought you could simply pick and choose.. :)
We came out near the escalators after slugging our way through two narrow lanes of body traffic, breathed a little from the stuffiness that comes with the presence of crowds, and spent time getting curious about the wet market on the first floor, which was still open, and had a fishmonger busy with a couple of customers.
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| The wet market downstairs |
From where we stood, we could look across the road to the bazaar opposite at Campbell Lane, and because I love bazaars, we zipped across the road, dodging cars, lorries, staying sane and in one piece by just following the guy in front.
The stalls extended out from the shops beneath a tent all the way to the back. I caught sight of peacock feathers tucked into an elongated vase, and from there right through to the back, there were plenty of earthenware pots, sparklers, henna artists, religious artworks, jars and jars of cookies and sweets and a couple of shops selling beautiful, shimmering pieces of traditional wear.
And I nearly bought a pair of rose red wide flare pants. :)
Sadly, I didn't. I couldn't. But I remember the shop.
The same way I remember the time a friend introduced me to all the different shops here and showed me where she got her tops from and how you could have them tailored and you could mix and match this together and there were these shops filled with shelves and shelves of textiles and this really big piece of cloth transformed a person from ordinary tee-shirt and jeans to glamorous, shimmering sari and all.
We had a lovely time that day, my friend and I, for which is something I'm super duper thankful about. She showed me the jewelry shops. She showed me the shops where there were sundresses and tops and bags and strongly scented incense sticks and she brought me to a shop somewhere along Campbell Lane (or the street next to it) that sold all the necessary items for prayers.
Alongside Ayurvedic skin care cosmetics, facial washes and lotions.
Me and my walking companion made a quick stop into this store this time. Just to take a look, to sniff at the incense sticks and to introduce everything else. :)
Then to dinner, and it being Deepavali, we gravitated to the Sakunthala outlet at Dunlop Street- the one that my friend had introduced me to months before. We could have chose Ananda Bhavan or Komala's as well, but someone desired mutton briyani, so....
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| mutton briyani |
Accompanied with iced Milo and masala tea,
Let's just say that whilst I was attracted by the mountain of briyani rice and the abundance of yogurt vegetables, someone else was attracted by the pappadum.
And I remembered to take some of those mint-tasting little herbal beads at the counter which are good for digestion. :)