Bhubaneshwar

I have been trying to get this post and photos up for a while now but my frustratingly slow internet connection at home is driving me mental at the moment and it seems i have to rely on hotel wi fi connections to get any kind of decent speed.

so now i find myself in an echo-y (how do you spell that?) beige hotel room in south delhi, going crazy on high speed internet – i can finally catch up my favourite podcasts (I heart Russell Brand), and really find out whats happening in the celebrity world, Oscar fashions and all.. PHEW..

SO anyway.. Bhubaneswar, a wee town (only 2 million people or something.. tiny!) on the east of India in the state of  Orissa, was my destination for a quick trip last week. i wanted to meet a fair trade group there and also check out the local crafts. while trying to find a good hotel amongst the tired old business hotels or inflated tourist chains that were there, I found the great new budget self-service franchise by Tata, called ‘Ginger’. How’s this for a clean modern set up for a hotel in small town India:

 

all for the grand total of Rs.1500 and that bed is freaking comfortable. Oh AND there was a cafe attached to the lobby which means real coffee for breakfast.. wahoo!

But besides all the crafty investigations, the highlight of the trip was a weird circus performance that i was treated to at an All India handicraft exhibition.. I’d spent the past 2 hours being keenly stared at by everyone around me and the finally found someone i could stare at and be part of the audience.

The whole thing started out with these two sweeties, the younger girl must’ve been around 4 or 5, the older about 9 or 10 I think…

 

and then mum and big sis came out to perform on a very dodgy and very wobbly bamboo contraption…

the audience watched, fascinated:

and the musicians played faster and faster:

and for her last trick..

spinning on a small metal pin that sticks out the top of the bamboo pole. while in the lotus position.. and she was spinning fast..

pretty impressive..