BluD

BluDada is what I've always known him as, from a blue bus he used to drive when we lived in Nagpur. My dad's younger brother, who from whenever I can remember has been in Germany. He is a priest there, tho now retired.

This photograph is a from our visit to Goa when he took me back in time to show n tell me all about their childhood. I was trying to get to know a lil about my dad through him. He limped up  a steep hill and down to the Chapora river to show me where they learnt swimming and caught fish with lines made out of coconut leaf stems.

But that's not what I started writing this for. I go tomorrow to Germany to see him. He's getting older n slower now and says he won't come to India again. I'm sad about that. I am taking a Samsung Galaxy Tab for him - a tablet phone so he can call and use the net from his room itself, without needing to climb down to his office. The excitement I feel for him is just like I had felt when he got me a really cool pair of roller skates or the first portable radio he got us. I cannot wait to see his face...

As a kid, we'd go up to Nagpur to spend Christmas with my dad's family. Bundled up for the cold, I'd wait impatiently for him to set up his slide projector. My first glimpses of Europe! I packed all those slides I found many years later when the ancestral house was sold...and the projector too :) I have his photography diary too where'd he made meticulous notes about his exposures. And the delightful little behind the lens filters.

I guess I'm just going to say thanks!

the noronha clan @ amba ghat

the don looks on
the noro clan on the edge ;)
into the valley of death walked the six hundred!
paavan khind - 12km away from the resort...an area rich with maratha history...panhalal n vishaalgadh forts...here it was that auranzeb's troops were ambushed by a handful of bajirao's men...chatrapati shivaji maharaj ki jai!
sunil - the charming resort owner, energetic story-teller, excellent driver n cook...all rolled into one!
the deccan plateau rises over the western ghats

here we go again!

so the noronhas are off again!...this time to amba...bang in between ratnagiri n kohlapur nestled in the western ghats/deccan plateau. this annual family picnic thing which my mum does is getting to be quite a hit with the family!...anil helped design a resort there - hornbill, n we're all looking forward to a weekend of togetherness n rest n birds n of course the occasional rum n cola!...cheers!...will post pics when i'm back.

there's a lot we're celebrating - lina n jim's birthday, anillinababa shifting to chembur, anil's exciting new job...n mum's bday in advance ;)

diwali in bandipur

so after the torrid time in bangalore, we went off to bandipur...the most unusually quiet diwali it was...almost forgot it was diwali except when some locals burst some crackers late one night. but the night skymade up for all the missing fireworks!...a zillion stars up there tho' it was too cold to stay out to catch a falling star!

tusker trails - this really neat enclave of 15huts complete with dining room with all meals, swimming pool n recreation room. they'd wake us up early at 545am with bed tea n whisk us off in gypsy-loads for a 2hr safari deep into the sanctuary. (commander-in-chief mama noronha!)
hungry after devouring the sightings, we tuck into a huge breakfast n set off for a 2hour trek! back with just enough time to splash around in the pool, beer n lunch...and a well-deserved siestaaaahh! only to be rudely woken up yet again with chai at 3.30 in time for another 2hr jaunt into the jungle to hopefully see a tiger!
back at 6.30 all dusty n happy n onto a full game of tt!! some vodka followed by a light dinner, sit around a campfire (but no one told ghost stories :( zzzzzz n next morn the familiar firm rap on the door - saar goodmarning, bedtea saar!! o such blissss...
PS: c-in-c mama noronha sulked most of the time coz there wasn't any church nearby ;)

family tree!

now, just how cool is that?! nagpore circa 1965 or thereabouts.

this, my fav pic of the trip...at lalbaug in b'lore. wished jim n pooja n c! were there too to "complete" the picture...or maybe i should just photoshop them in!!

had carried my minidv cam too but didn't end up shooting an inch of tape. dunno when i'll ever complete that film. by now, the family's gotten so used to me shooting them, there's hardly any resistance when i get them to do stuff like this ;)