a day in the life of india

prior to moving, i had thought that living here would give me lots to write about.. this has clearly not been the case. perhaps i have been too distracted by other aspects of my new life.. i came across this times of india project today however, which seems like fun, and brought to mind my lack of india writing/observing:

Cows sunbathing on expressways. Bare-bodied sadhus on cellphones. Chappal combats in Parliament. Spitting and urinating in public places. Chaos, golmaal, jugaad... all pieces of a vast multi-cultural mosaic called India.

The Times of India invites the entire nation to come together to help create this mosaic, with A Day in the Life of India. All you need to do is to shoot a photo or video , draw a cartoon or just tell us a joke , on anything you feel makes India, India.

the contest is open till march 15, 2011 and you can visit www.day.in to enter. some of the suggested themes are:

Chalta Hai India: Don't we all know the infamous "I don't care" attitude. Dumping garbage on roads, playing cards at work, cops sleeping on duty... the list is endless!

Pushy India: We love pushing and shoving, be it in a bank queue, on a public transport or at ticket counters.

Overloaded India: Typical scenes of over-usage of capacity of all kinds... remember the famous Fevicol ad?

Bizarre India: We inherit the strangest of customs, rituals and superstitions and pass it on generations after generations, like idols drinking milk, walking barefoot on fire, etc.

Golmaal India: Bribery, underhand nexus, cutting corners, phoney red lights, touts and fake brands.

Jugaad India: We invented this phenomenon. It is all about bending and bypassing rules to get a job done.

Chaotic India: We live in complete disarray, no lane driving, chaotic parking, queues for procuring ration and temples on Thursdays...

Technicolour India: A medley of colours that India is... ghagra cholis, kitschy trucks, Holi ke rang, etc.

Incredible India: The beauty and heritage of India, the monuments, wildlife, beaches and the resplendence of festivals.

Sign of the Times: The happy-go-lucky use of English in India. Remember all the times you have seen signs saying "child beer" or heard people entering a building from the "backside".

i'm sure i won't enter the contest, but it'd be nice to begin my own 'a day in the life of india'..