We interrupt our scheduled photographic programming for a moaning post

It's only 10 am and I'm already tired. I didn't sleep well last night because I was wound up.
Here I am, running some training, answering to lots of queries and I am also supposed to do my normal job, as if I were at my desk in London.
Which I do. But then it never seems to be good enough.

Add to this, the frustration of being in a 'golden prison'. A colleague in London said "You'll love having a driver taking you to/from work". The reality is a bit different. Yes I'm driven to and from work but only when the head of the India office (who lives in the same apartment block) decides it's time to go. Which meant leaving the office at 8 pm last night.

When we got home, he asked me if I wanted to go out for a meal/beer. I just replied "No, thank you" thinking "you've already taken too much of my time".

Roll on Friday!

And now we shall continue to broadcast as normal.

Gandhi, rubbish and temples

On Sunday I travelled around Pune in auto-rickshaws: I'm going to miss them in London!

First destination was the Aga Khan palace where there's a Mahatma Gandhi memorial because it was here that the British imprisoned him for 2 years and where his wife and his secretary died.

(part of his ashes as explained by this article: Gandhi's ashes scattered at sea)

Then I went to the Empress Botanical Gardens which was a disappointment. Good job that HM Queen Victoria is not round to see what state they are in. Like many of the other places I've been to during my visit, they are strewn with rubbish.

Nobody never feeds me!	Good job that the bust of Queen Victoria is not here anymore

There are many of these signs around the park admonishing against indecent acts.
An article somewhere on the net warns against exploring the back of the park because of snakes and anti-social behaviour. I had to have a quick look there in the name of research. I can reassure you all that I didn't encounter any snakes of either variety! LOL!

Last sightseeing stop was Parvati Hill from which after a steep climb, you can see the whole of the city. And how sprawling it is!
There are 3 temples on the hill and they are beautiful: I went inside the courtyard of two after removing my shoes.

( Click here for more photos )

I don't do maroon

A place I didn't manage to visit on Sunday it's the (in?)famous Osho Ashram, the commune founded by the late, controversial guru Osho (aka "the sex guru", aka "the Rolls-Royce guru").

It was really just curiosity to see hundreds of people donning maroon robes and visit the grounds of the commune. You can go on a 20-minute silent guided tour but it was sold out.

Other than that, I have no interest whatsoever in taking part in anything that - apart from quite a bit money - requires applicants to take an HIV test. If you test positive, you are not allowed in.
When I read that, I was shocked but yes it's all true.

I tried to take pictures of the entrance but I was stopped by a security guard and a woman in maroon with a stupid, beatific smile.

In the afternoon, the gardens at the back of the centre, were opened to the public. Here too you are not allowed to take pictures, and that has quite the opposite effect on me.
  
A statue of the guru in the gardens


Second hand robes for sale. Broken dreams and empty wallets?