Don't mix drink with drive

According to this Web site, the Mumbai Traffic Police have started disseminating these coasters (at left), which are printed with a type of red ink that only appears when wet.

Thus: Order a frosty beer; enjoy the mug, glistening sweat; finish draught; admire mugshots of people with what appear to be head wounds.

It's gruesome, shocking, tasteless, and a little bit fantastic. I love it when art and technology collide, particularly in such a public forum.

That said, I have absolutely no idea of the back story for this; when S and I were in Mumbai, we certainly didn't notice any of these while we were quaffing innumerable pints. There's also little buzz about drunk driving in recent media, so the catalyzing event for this macabre exhibition will remain a mystery for me.

Found: in Mumbai's Chor Bazaar

These images are all from books found in Mumbai's Chor Bazaar, purchased for Rs 200 (for the lot). The etching is a reproduction of a Piranesi -- whoever that is -- and there are four hand-tinted postcards from Brussels by an anonymous artist. My favorite, hands down, however, is the illustration of Marguerite Dufay, from a compendium of French posters. The face! The breath of roses at her nipped waist! The errant trombone! The possibility that Marguerite was originally a Marcus!

More of the same at my Flickr pool for art; mind you, skip over those crappy collage images, which I do for fun on weekends.

Signs of the times

I absolutely adore the handpainted signs that dot both urban and rural India; there's something so refreshing about the small, personal flourishes that make the advertisements somehow less intrusive, yet still inviting.

I've started a Flickr pool with pictures of some of the signs I've seen (though not all; sometimes I forget to add images to my set), but the examples I found in Mumbai were so excellent I thought it would be worthwhile to post them here.

It's not many a city that features public art of an elephant god, a woman bedecked in her finest sari, a bouquet of tulips, and a pair of kissing pigs.

An ode to Mumbai's local trains

I have to say, the penis seems unnaturally hirsute.

Bombay darshan!

Welcome to Mumbai! Care for a stroll along the dock?

Good to get away from Dilli for a long weekend; we stayed in Juhu, took the local trains tons, meandered along Colaba Causeway, explored Kala Ghoda, ate Iranian food, had a pitcher of beer for lunch, went to Elephanta Caves, marvelled at the St. Thomas Cathedral, visited the Tea Centre, had cocktails at the Saltwater Grill, marched down Marine Drive, took lots of pictures, ate copious amounts of chaat at Chowpatty, took in some cricket on Juhu Beach, drank coffee at the Prithvi Theatre, and ran into a miraculous number of people we (O.K., S) knew.

I could make some bland assertions comparing the two cities, but it would be a bit trite as I spent nary 72 hours in Mumbai. Your thoughts?