Ahmedabad Close Up - Ana

Hello bloggers!

My name is Ana Powell, and I am an intern for ITSA-India from New York City. I am here, in Ahmedabad, for three weeks helping with the program. So, as Gandhi said, "my life is my message." I'm here to share mine with you.

You always hear about the cows in India, but holy cow are there a lot of cows! In the mornings, people come and buy the grass for 5 rupees, and then feed the cows. These cows are owned by people, but as embodiments of holiness, they are free to wander around the city during the day, even sitting in the middle of a traffic jam if they so choose. In my guidebook before coming to India, it even said that "an Indian will be more likely to crash into a pole trying to avoid hitting a cow than hitting the cow." On the right side of the picture, there is also a rickshaw, which is an open-air taxi. All in all the rickshaws and cows make driving in the streets of India, a chaotic, and yet wonderful experience.

As you can see above, in addition to rickshaws and cows, there are also a vast amount of motorcycles on the road. Coming from the airport, one of the most memorable experiences for me during that delirious jet-lagged drive into the city (after 26 hours of travelling) was the women riding their motorcycles, with their beautiful fabric blowing in the wind behind them. As my wonderful host sister Deeksha Joshi tells me, the sign behind this woman, reads " Harish Keri Bhandaar", which means "Harish mango shop." This picture is just a glimpse of all the things that makes Ahemdabad so distinctly unique, and at the same time so distinctly wonderful.