Holi Moli 03/11/2009
The High Holi-Day!![]() I was warned. “One step into Old Delhi on the high Holi-day and you surely won’t surface unmolested!” 1 Comment Crossing Borders 03/10/2009
![]() ______________________ ![]() In the hours leading up to the ceremony, Indian women and men shook their hips provocatively - especially this macho man. I bet he'd kick butt at Dance-Dance-Revolution. ![]() The Indian Border Guards and Pakistani Rangers punctuated the start of the ceremony with loud war calls. ![]() Who knew mustached Jawans (soldiers) were so flexible. They put even the Rockettes to shame. Jai Ho - India's "Yes we Can" 02/25/2009
When Slumdog Millionaire scored multiple Oscar wins earlier this week, the award winning song Jai Ho roared through the streets of Delhi, blaring from rickshaws and ringing from mobile phones. ![]() Many were captivated by shots of Indians cheering for the flim in Mumbai’s slums of Garib Nagar, but not all locals had their hands up in praise. Voice of America News - Child Beggars Report 02/23/2009
Voice of America News internationally released my first television report on New Delhi’s efforts to curb child begging. Here is the English version. This video piece is actually taken through a global car-wash. The narration is translated into hundreds of different languages and it is transmitted to T.V. stations world-wide. ![]() Recording the children begging was a perspective builder as well. The third shot where one beggar kicks another child to make sure she doesn’t steal her “business” made me realize how seriously the youngsters take their jobs. ![]() I also found it interesting to see children pocketing money with the same stoic look worn by Las Vegas bookers. ![]() *The children take the bus each day from their family home in the slums to the more affluent intersections in South Delhi to beg My Indian Birthday 02/23/2009
I celebrated my birthday last week with some wonderful new friends in India. As is tradition, they swooshed chocolate birthday cake across my face and took turns feeding me. They also threw me into the air as many times as I am year’s old. I felt like a baby being burped by ARod. Herbie Hancock was part of a delegation celebrating the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s first visit to India to trade notes on the non-violent tradition with the late Gandhi. Martin Luther King III lead this delegation of America’s top civil rights leaders, congressional representatives and musicians, all here to retrace the steps of his father. I am still looking for evidence in India of this awakening MLK III says the world is experiencing. Tangible evidence beyond the election of a Black President in the states, of course and the symbolic success of Slumdog Millionaire. Pigeonholed in India 02/23/2009
I have been pigeonholed in India. Literally. The room I am staying in has an air conditioner system built into the wall. A hive of pigeons live inside. Each morning at 7:30 my pigeon alarm clock goes off: cacophonous scratches jolt me awake. The huffs & puffs they murmur while in heat are bearable. But, this sound is something far more sacrilegious. It smacks of a slaughter house. That, or a Mike Patton track! This is obviously making me loony. As you can see for yourself, if I turn on the air conditioner to clear the wall of these beasts, the noise generated is louder than the pigeon squawks. I have gone from denial (trying to sleep through the noise) to acceptance..... Where do the Children Play? 02/11/2009
Three young girls and a bottomless baby approached me yesterday near Delhi’s Lodi Garden with extended hands. The trio revealed to me that they have been working the streets since they, too were bottomless babies. When I asked if they ever had time to play the seven, ten and eleven-year-olds shook their heads "no." One week and counting... 02/08/2009
Beggars and Bollywood![]() My first week in Delhi has been nothing short of exhausting. Each time I leave the house is pure vaudeville. My First Night Shoot in Delhi 02/04/2009
Sweet scents saturated in stench. Soot soiled handshakes and toothless smiles masked by saffron viles. Ohhhh India.... Ham for the cam! 02/03/2009
I met this beautiful group of children in Pushkar, India in 2007. This is what I meant about the incredible “ham for the cam,” stylings I’ve encountered when trying to shoot candid scenes here. Watching the youngsters' raw exposition of pride always makes me a little tearful... | लिंडाDigest of Linda Blake's foreign multimedia work. ArchivesDecember 2011 |














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