Mom visits: Sarnath, Lucknow, and an Indian Wedding

Mom about to experience her first rickshaw ride.

Mom pumpin' some water.

Assi Ghat at midday.
A water-buffalo's behind.
A paan, chai, and snack shop on Assi Ghat.

Zach in his fancy clothes for the wedding of our yoga teacher's daughter.
Riti and Kate.

Mom and Sarika (Bhabhi ji).A red cotton silk tree in Lucknow.
Mom at the La Marteniere School built by a French officer.

A freaky lion.
Mom exploring at the La Martiniere School.


Two sleepy Spotted Owlets.
Then it saw me taking a picture of it and woke up.A cute pair of Plum-headed Parakeets.

The giant memorial for Dr. Ambedkar, the famous Dalit leader who fought hard for the rights of untouchables (dalits). It was built by Mayawati, the current chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who is also a dalit. Although the memorial is for Ambedkar, Mayawati made sure to put plenty of statues of herself and of her party's symbol, the BSP elephant. The memorial is huge; it spanned at least a few acres plus a nearby park named for Dr. Ambedkar.

The yellow things are statues of BSP elephants covered with tarps so that no voters would be influenced by them in the recent elections.


Zach walking along the Ambedkar memorial. The statue in the middle of the road is an image of the Buddha; Dr. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism because he did not want to be part of a religion (Hinduism) that treated him as filthy and impure.

Baby goat friends!


The outer wall of Bara Imambara in Lucknow, which contains a mosque and a labyrinth!

The mosque at Bara Imambara.


Mom in an old mosque in Lucknow.
Mom trying to climb into the labyrinth.Inside the labyrinth.

Long halls of the labyrinth.Another long hallway.

Mom standing on top of the British Residency in Lucknow. 19th century nawabs of Lucknow built the Residency for the British, their primary trading partners. In 1857, the people of Lucknow attacked the Residency in protest against the British Raj. The Residency stands today in the condition it was in after the Uprising of 1857.The Residency




Mom looking very tired after our long day in Lucknow.