Author: devayanitirthali

India Outside India

Pennies for Ganesha

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Last year, I used to visit Metropolitan Museum frequently, on one such visit I thought I should see what they have from India and what they are saying about Indian art. I was pretty disappointed to see the meager collection. But something really interesting caught my eye. The Ganesha idol had pennies placed in front of it as if it was an idol in a temple. I did not have a camera at that time but I promised myself that I would come back to capture this sight. So here it is:

I still cannot imagine who will keep the pennies there and why. Was it strong belief or just desperate attempt to appease. Or may be it was simply an effort of the museum staff to create ambiance. LOL 😉

India Outside India

In the Zoo

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We finally went to see the Bronx Zoo. I was pretty impressed with the design of the zoo. Each animal had a spacious area cordoned off by chainlink fense. The tiger also had a viewing area which was made of glass. The viewing area also gave information about the Tiger, its habitat and the Tiger projects all over the world. We reached there at the feeding time and could see their caretakers feeding them and later playing with them.


The vast area was divided into continents and then in types of habitats. The markers were designed so that they created an ambiance of being in that area.

See these two images for the Himalayan region.

I was impressed to look at the peacocks roaming around without fear. Reminded me of Jaipur.

India Outside India

Selling Indian

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In summer NY comes alive with street bands, block fairs and fun things happening everywhere. The following 3 photos are taken in such fairs. Indian seems to be the buzzword in the fashion industry here at present. Not just in NY but down south as well. When I visited Charlotte, NC The Old Navy outlet there had a lot of merchandise with Indian fabric, designs and cuts in the ‘new trends’ section. The Chappals and sandals like those you would get in the Kolhapuri chappal stores were everywhere in NY as well as Charlotte.

This photo is from a stall of a British lady. I have seen her in most of the fairs in and around Upper West side and midtown. I found the ‘Gaon ki Gauri’ handbag in her stall quite hilarious. She was selling it at a premium price cashing in on NewYorkers’ ‘exotic east’ syndrome. She took offence when I clicked a photo as if it was her patented design. lol :). I think I should have asked royalty on behalf of all the Gaon Ki Gori’s and all the Bollywood movies featuring them.

This lady also sells curtains which are actually saris cut in two with holders for a curtain hanger. Should have captured that too. That was also a hilarious site, Belgaum polyester, cotton-silk and other colorful saris with plastic Zari, hanging there on the road, being sold for a bomb. They were quite a lovely site I must admit and were attracting a lot of NY Goris. Seems like I am not the only weirdo who wanted to make curtains out of a Dharwad sari with Karnataki Kashida.

The other two photos are of stalls from Kashmiri guys selling Kaalin and clothing which can be best termed as fusion.

You don’t need to go to a fashion designing school to know how to cash in on a trend.

India Outside India

The Red Dot

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This is a painting in the lobby of Marshals on 125th street. Seems like they have tried to portray children of different ethnicity. The Indian girl is immediately noticeable with her Bindi and the hairstyle. The effect of the typical frock, hair braiding, bindi and the earrings is so amazing that I could see many of my school friends in that image.

Will try to find more about the artist and the motivation and share it on this blog.

India Outside India

Why ‘India Outside India’?

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Since I came to US I have been trying to capture for the benefit of my international friends what is ‘India’ or ‘Indianness’. It is not an easy task, that everybody will agree. We have time and again discussed various facets of Indian people, culture, ways of meaning making and what it means to live as an Indian. It was also interesting when my international friends shared what they thought being Indian was/must be like for me.

I have been capturing visuals (mostly in form of photos) that I thought express non-Indians’ perceptions about India and also the expressions/visuals shared by the Indian community in US that must be shaping this perception. After a year of gathering images and talking in my head about it I thought why not put it all down in a blog.