After spending 4 weeks in northeastern India, we headed to the southern city of Benglauru, capital of the state of Karnataka. We would make this our home base for two weeks, with side trips to Goa, Chennai, and Mysuru (photo albums on their way).
Bengaluru, India
Paruldanga, India
For one day and one night, I took a trip to the village of Paruldanga, near Shantiniketan, a few hours outside of Kolkata. There I stayed at the home of Rina and Dibakar Das Baul, spending the evening playing music with them and other members of their community.
Kolkata in 12 Miles, India
One of my most memorable days in Kolkata was a Saturday walk I took on my own, wandering freely for 10 hours and covering 12 miles. At 7am, I started at the Howrah Bridge flower market, explored neighborhoods via major streets and alleys, and witnessed life unfold throughout the day.
Video of the flower market is used in my Otherlands collaboration video with Dipannita Acharya. Video of other daily life can be seen in my Otherlands collaboration video with Arko Mukhaerjee.
Pingla, India
We visited the village of Pingla for a weekend side trip while in Kolkata. They are known for a story telling painting tradition, with a focus on scrolls, relating local, national, and international happenings in addition to mythology. All paints are made from natural sources and they sing the story of the painting. (There are also a few other photos from the trip out and back.)
Kolkata, India (Part 1)
The first month of time in India was spent up in the northwest state of West Bengal, with our home base as Kolkata. It's India's third largest metropolitan area (~14mil.) and is considered by many to be the intellectual, artistic and cultural capital. I absolutely loved exploring this city.
Natungram, India
For our very first days in India, we traveled ~5hrs north from Kolkata to the village of Natungram to play a festival celebrating their wooden doll carving tradition. We also made stops in Shantiniketan and the Tepantar Theatre at Satkahania village along the way.
Edinburgh, Scotland
For the last two weeks of December, our home base was Glasgow, but we couldn't resist a couple trips to the romantic city of Edinburgh, just 1hr away by train.
Glasgow, Scotland
For the last two weeks of December, we came down from the Highlands to spend our holidays in Glasgow, with side trips to Edinburgh.
