trash sunset

trash sunset, originally uploaded by ryan linke.

its really sad what's happened to the indian landscape. there is trash everywhere. this was such a beautiful place destroyed by litter. the worst part about it is that there is no infrastructure to handle all the trash. sometimes in the cities you walk for blocks looking for a trash can to throw something away and you usually never find one. i feel bad about my impact because as a foreigner i have to drink bottled water and this is a large portion of the problem. boiling water is not always a reasonable option and in the cities you really have no choice. hopefully within the next 10 years some one will invest in recycling and waste management.

village ball

village ball, originally uploaded by ryan linke.

while in ooty i went on two separate treks through the country side. it was a great experience for me. i walked about 40 km in two days and by the end of the second day my legs felt like rubber. on the second trek we came upon a small hindu village where the kids invited us to play soccer. two out of the four side of the field had a ledge so every time the ball went off the ledge they sent some kid running and the game would pause for five minutes. i kept calling it a T.V. timeout which they all found pretty funny. village ball was good times, i quickly became a local legend because i had a hat trick. this was fun for me and i could tell the kids really enjoyed it.

banana plantations

Originally uploaded by ryan linke

i rented a bicycle in hampi and just cruised around taking in the amazing landscapes. huge boulders stacked on top of each other formed from millions of years of erosion. layered within these rocks are several banana plantations. i happened to pass by one that was harvesting. these women kept coming out of the plantation, beautifully dressed in colorful saris with amazing smiles. they asked me to take a picture of them. i found out later that most of the workers receive 100 rupees a day which is equivalent to 2.50$.
as the price of food rises globally i can not help but think of these women who rise with the sun everyday and work in the plantations so other people can eat. it is often the farmer/laborer who can not afford the crop that they work so hard to harvest. they work in the blistering heat so we can eat, and they are often forgotten. when i got back to the city i went to a market where many people were selling bananas, i could not help but think about the labor and effort that went into getting the food into the cities.

Protests in Bangaluru

This picture was taken in Bangaluru during a street protest/demonstration. Most of the participants were Tibetan monks and students who have taken refugee in India. The situation in Tibet has been put on the International stage with the Beijing Olympics around the corner. The Dalai Lama has accused the Chinese government of cultural genocide and is urging the United Nations to investigate China's actions in Lhassa. I am hopiung that the conflict will end peacefully, but for now the tensions remain high.

Bangaluru

Alarmingly the price of food around the globe has gone up 40% in the past year. This has left a large percentage of the world unable to afford basic food such as rice, bread, and grains. By examining the global markets i am hoping to create a dialogue which will inspire change. Our systems are obviously flawed when a large percentage of the world can not afford rice and bread!

Asia's largest slum

Flying into Bombay offered this view of Asia's largest slum. According to Lonely Planet the annual economic turnover in the slum is $650 million. Many of the products manufactured in the slums are exported. Flying in from above all i could think about was "organized confusion." India is a land of dichotomies so the fact that Asia's largest slum exists in one Indias richest cities did not surprise me.