Kerala, India

My knowledge of the different states in India is pitiful.

Here is a postcard from Kerala, which National Geographic Traveler describes as "one of the 'ten paradises of the world' and '50 places of a lifetime'." Cochin, or Kochi, is the city from which the sender embarked on a houseboat trip through the peaceful and spectacular waterways of the state. Who knew that Kerala grows a large percentage and 50 varieties of rice? Have you heard of the house boat rentals here? Check out the state flower, the Cassia. It's beautiful.

My friend Sudha and her husband took a mini-vacation here, while in India tending to her business. Sudha works with artisans and craftspeople, creating beautiful gifts, jewelry and accessories, and helping revive age old crafts that were near extinction. She was truly a pioneer in the area of social responsibility.

Ganesha in Leh, India

I worked at Caltech for a while, in the Department of Economics and Political Science. One of the economics professors was a big climber and trekker. This postcard is from him, off on one of his adventures.

Interesting depiction of Ganesha, the Hindu deity responsible for many things, but mostly for both creating and removing obstacles. That he sent this card makes sense, given the description of the trip he was on. Many, many obstacles.

For more on Ganesha, check out

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ganesha

Camels in India?

I never imagined there were camels in India. But my friend, Andrew, went on a camel trek into the desert in India, I think in Rajastahn. It happens sometimes that the automated mailing marks on a postcard cover up the description or name of a place, and in this case the spelling is Rogistahn. Can't find that on google. (See card.) From his note and later descriptions of his travels, it sounds amazing.