A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, is usually identifiable by orange robes. Generally such people have left home to pursue an ascetic religious life, owning only what they carry. On the Ganges bank in Varanasi (setting of my novel Sister India), a holy man or two is sometimes available, for a few rupees, to look […] Read More

This rickshaw in Benares, or Varanasi, India, represents a variation on “Bloom Where You’re Planted.” The idea is: “Splash Color Wherever You Roll.” I like to go places where decoration shows up unexpectedly, where the ordinary objects and the unsung corners are turned into something wonderful. Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read More

This is the mosquito net on my bed in Benares, or Varanasi (where–did I mention?–I was doing research for my novel Sister India.) My first few nights there I didn’t have one of these, and so many tiny moths were darting around my room in the dark that I pulled the sheet over my head […] Read More

What, you might ask, is bold about the Indian city of Benares or Varanasi–(other than being the setting for my novel Sister India)? It sits by a holy river, the Ganges, which purifies the sins of sunrise bathers, draws millions of devout visitors, and floods regularly high up the city walls. It is the city […] Read More

Another of my favorites from Varanasi (or Benares) where I spent a winter doing research for my novel Sister India. I like it because of the angle of the light, the feeling of motion, and again the sisterhood image of the two women. And the red. Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read More

Some culvert pipes are left on the street for construction and quickly turn into a market, a little strip shopping center. I love the enterprise and ingenuity of this. This is at the market area called Dashashvamedh in Varanasi. This central site turns up in my novel Sister India. It’s the point of reference for […] Read More

This man, Sakhai Prasad, was my model for the character of Ramesh in my novel Sister India. Like Ramesh, Sakhai was an innkeeper; he was the cook and manager of the two bedroom guest flat where I spent my three months in Varanasi (or Benares). I think he’s the only real-life model I ever used […] Read More

An original mattress factory. There’s something satisfying about seeing daily objects made by humans, knowing that it can be done. Add to del.icio.us - Stumble It! - Subscribe to this feed - Digg it Read More

This photo, taken in one of the wider of the narrow alleys, called galis, of Varanasi, is part of the reason I called my novel Sister India. The other reason was that my good friend Usa who lived in the flat across the stair landing from me said that I was her Indian sister, which […] Read More

This intersection is the site of a crucial moment in my novel Sister India. Jill is riding a rickshaw that is trapped in a traffic jam beside a political demonstration that seems on the verge of erupting into violence. I did have that experience myself at this spot. I briefly considering walking across the bars […] Read More