King Cobra … of the Red Centre
somewhere north of Oodnadatta
From him even the monkeys scatter
And King Scoob De Dude . . .
the Yogi Master of Mind-Under-Matter
Retired 80’s Reggae band leader
of ‘King Scoob & the Safari Suits’
on one last reunion tour of India
Where they played their unique brand
of Jamaican style Disco-Punk fusion at the wedding of Shantanu & Akanksha in Delhi.
Congratulations to the exhalted Maharaja and the new Maharani of Agra
Now for the party . . .
“Dress Code! Wait a minute Mr. Doorman.
How much for those shiny shoes of yours?”
“If I said you had a beautiful sari
would you hold it against me …?” ~K.C.
“Ha! Yes . . . I mean NO!”
Despite the loss of his natty dreadlocks
(confiscated by order of the Department
of Sanitation) King Scoob still has it!
When the King does his thing with that crazy white man safari suit dance, leaving the audience stunned and in a trance, the support act doesn’t stand a chance . . .
. . . The support act
‘King Cobra and the Mongoose’
Infamous for their cover versions
of Jimi Hendrix hits …. unplugged
“K.C. & the Sometimes Band”, as their fans
affectionately refer to them, were once a trio (just like ‘The Jimi Hendrix Experience’
… only unplugged) till Pratik packed up his
genuine Indian teak didgeridoo, and went off on a Himalayan trek. Plus, he and the Mongoose hated each other (“Creative differences”, as they say in the industry). Sadly, Pratik hasn’t been seen since … ?
Back to the Royal Wedding Reception
The catering was remarkable … and clean
The plates were remarkably clean of food
Even the Croquembouche was deconstructed
. . . and decidedly sparse!
Followed up by a spicy curry sorbet for desert
Compliments to the Head Chef
Five o’clock in the morning & the young
Maharaja decrees the party keep going.
But the Best Man, in his complimentary
hotel slippers, seems to have other plans.
On the road again the very next day
with transport fit for royalty
the two kings are soon on their way . . .
But alas, the Maharaja would not loan
the Kings of Quirk his two white horses.
So a less fuel efficient alternative was
soon found . . .
to get through the crosstown traffic
of every description.
For a consultation . . .
with the High Swami of Much Substance
under the Bo Tree of Realisation
. . . that size really does matter
in avoiding an open toe footwear splatter
. . . or the occasional impromptu inspection
( . . . The journey continues )
Photography;
David & Linda Redpath ยฉ 2019
Mark & Natalie Clarebrough ยฉ 2019
nice photos, thanks to the blessings from ‘high swami of much substance’ ? ๐
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Thank you exceedingly, ESP ๐
May his fragrant blessings abound ๐ฅ๐
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haha fragrant
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Thank you for taking us with you via your beautiful photographs David!
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My esoteric pleasure, Efi ๐
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Wow, this is quite the story.
Fabulous photos!
My gosh… the cobra… amongst others…
Loved the video too!
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It would seem, all in a dream, Vanessa
… always leaving me craving hot chai ๐
But I do suspect that the King Cobra
was a toothless tiger. Sadly defanged.
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Haha nice. So you get it… tea helps everything ๐
I’m not sure the King would agree, however!
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The King from Oodnadatta is tea total
. . . a total wreck and a caffeine fiend.
One mean Java Mudda.
But thanks for your concern, Vanessa ๐
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Jamaican style disco-punk fusion – Sounds interesting!
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It’s an acquired taste, Rakkelle.
But they’re working on an antidote ๐๐ถ๏ธ
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๐
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Love the pictures, David!
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Thanks Watt.
It was an opportunist communal photo
shoot, where resistance was useless ๐
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Loved the quirkiness in this!
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Yes Kunal, I was left most quirked
after riding the midnight train from
Jaipur to Udaipur. Quite a trip ๐
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๐๐
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Loved the photos — that’s no surprise, I always do. It seems you are having a good time!
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Most affirmatively, Basilike.
The key is to trek with friends who know
the terrain, and won’t drive you insane ๐
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I agree, David. Nothing worse than trekking with friends that drive you mad (I mean it).
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I’d rather be driven … to the railway station ๐
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As fast as possible!
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“Do not venture the Himalayas
with fair weather friends. For when
the monsoon hits, they’ll push you
over the edge, or drive you around
the bend.” ~ Confucius
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Keep your enemies close, send your friends to the Himalayas — Socrates.
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Socrates would’ve needed a fleet of busses to
do that! If he had … he would still be alive today.
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Certainly an interesting post! the music video at the end reminded me of something my grandfather would do for the kids. He would play the spoons. the guy in the center would be a master of bluegrass.
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Yes, the Ravi Shankar of spoons!
He also sang a mean Country & Eastern tune.
Thanks Lloyd for tuning in ๐
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Lovely pics. Did they really serve that at an Indian wedding?
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I may have already violated the confidentiality
agreements the Maharaja’s lawyers had me
sign. But thanks for enquiring, Punam ๐๐
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Lol David. Indian weddings are known for their extravaganza! Perhaps with diets a huge concern, the portion sizes were kept lite! ๐
Always a pleasure.
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There was much extravagance at Shantanu
and Akanksha’s wedding (it really did happen).
But being from Agra, I was surprised they held
it in Delhi. They could’ve had it at the Palace of
Love? Being the Maharaja and all ๐
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There are all sorts of compulsions while planning an Indian wedding. Tajmahal may be the ultimate monument of love, Agra as such is not a happening city!
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I did notice, with some surprise considering
all the tourists passing through on the way
to the Taj. Perhaps Modi could make that a
priority to make Agra a bit more appealing?
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We are pretty bad at keeping our tourist spots shipshape. Modi seems poised for another term, why not visit again and see if anything is done to improve conditions?
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The gap between the poorest and the richest
just keeps getting wider. It’s a global phenomenon.
The tourist areas are usually well policed, to
hide this inconvenient truth. Modi does seem
to be focused on providing housing for the
fortunate few. While multitudes sleep in the
streets. I certainly hope things improve.
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A glimpse you grant us.
Through your eyes, my soul dances.
Many different worlds
A gift from me to you.
Haiku “The Magic of Travel” ๐
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Thank you very much, Susan ๐
It’s a privilege to share
from valleys deep ๐
to horizons beyond despair ๐
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you’re welcome
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What a wonderful blog post … beautiful vibrant pictures, people and culture.
Loved the cross town traffic reference.
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Yes, on WordPress . . .
“It’s’s so hard to get through to you.”
~ Jimi Hendrix
Thanks Don for noticing ๐
A virtual visual cornucopia of delight.
If you haven’t been to the Subcontinent yet,
I highly recommend you pack your camera,
and take the trip. But perhaps skip the bit, sitting
at the feet of the Swami of Much Substance ๐
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A colourful journey, great to share in these moments.
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Thank you, Paul ๐
It was my trekking pleasure ๐
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These pictures all of them are beautiful and ‘What the hell’? You held a King Cobra?
How was that experience for you? I would be pissing in my own pants if I saw a king cobra near me.
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The monkey on my left dared me to do it ๐
so the silly monkey in me did it ๐๐ ๐
Thanks for your concern, Charlie ๐
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I’m just surprised by you not being afraid of holding a king Cobra.
Well, if the monkey told you to do so. Then the cobra must have been carefully trained by the monkey itself. ๐
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Well, the monkey was just a curious
bystander who ran the other way
as soon as I picked the snake up ๐
But I was informed later that the snake
charmers often have the fangs removed.
To get the King to rise up I had to stoke
his neck. Otherwise he was just going
to hang there all limp ๐
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What an interesting post and pictures! ๐
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Thank you truly, Pragal ๐
And every word is true ๐
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An interesting wedding and an interesting day after.
I’d certainly like that woman to hold her sari against me after I complimented her on it. ๐
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Yes, we’ve had to rename the band,
‘King Cobra and The Wedding Crashers’.
Complete with the uninvited masher.
Unfortunately, the two ladies picture
were chaperoning each other ๐
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Elephants and motorcycles, camels and cattle in the streets, really cool party/wedding fashions– another entertaining post, David.
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Thank you, Loujen.
The whole experience was so entertaining
I had to share. Unembellished of course๐
And yes, the holy cow has right of way ๐
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What a colorful country.
I love their red weddings.
Now tell me that cobra is a product of Photo Shop. I’m ok with monkeys, though they can be nasty too.
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Bojana …
would I lie to you!?
That cold blooded piece
of scaley bling
was the real thing ๐
The monkey dared me ๐
and being an Aussie
what else could I do? ๐
I was at the Monkey Temple in Jaipur,
where the honoured residents are very affectionate. There were pet pigs, holy
cows, cute goats, friendly feral dogs …
even the snakes were chilled. Being a
city of vegetarians, the local wildlife is
super relaxed.
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Shoot, David. You’re one daring Aussie.
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What doesn’t bite you
may not make you stronger
but could make you stranger ๐
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Yeah?
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in love with the pix thanks for sharing ๐
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My pixelated pleasure ๐
Thanks for viewing ๐
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Cool photos
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Thanks Soiba ๐ Glad you liked them.
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A pleasure to journey with you. Thank you for sharing.
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My compulsive pleasure, Drew๐
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David, you have a unique and genuine way of sharing your life through amazing photographs and vivid words. I enjoyed experiencing a bit of your journey, but I will let you keep the King Cobra to yourself.
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No King Cobras in Montana!?
I guess Ohio is in no need of a Rattler ๐
Thanks Buckeye for trekking along ๐
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Can’t say that I have seen any rattlers in Ohio, but in Montana we can explore some places where they hide.
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I’m sure those rattlesnakes are harmless.
It’s the ones in Wall Street and Washington
you really need to watch out for ๐
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Very enjoyable tale… loved the allusions / references to Hendrix too ha ha!
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Thanks Peter. Glad you liked my tale of two
Kings. There’s another installment to come
a bit further down the trail ๐
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Please remind me when it’s published David… I’m an old man and not very good at following or keeping up with other bloggers’ / wordpressers’ work (to my detriment no doubt!) By the way I liked your visuals in that piece too!
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Will do, Peter. Planned for two weeks time.
I’m a technophobe, so I only dare to dive into
the blogosphere once a week ๐
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Thanks! I love your wry humour BTW David…
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Thanks Peter.
According to that song, American Pie, two things that go together … Whiskey and Wry ๐
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Lol !
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Such beautiful clothing at this wedding. Lovely couple.
If I knew the cobra wasn’t going to harm me, I’d pick it up, too.
Love that funky jeep.
Are you a vegetarian?
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I was strictly vegetarian, till I spent time
in a land flowing with milk and honey …
and not much else. It does help when
travelling in much of Asia to not be an
Alpha Carnivore ๐
Glad you liked my Wedding Crashing Tour.
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Wow I really love your photo processing technique excellent. I love the feeling of your amazing perspective. Wow
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Thank you very much, Michelle Marie ๐
I had to share my venture into Bollywood ๐
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Lucky you ๐๐ผ
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Fantastic post, David! I love your photography so much!
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Thank you very much, Lara.
I’m afraid to report the two Kings got up to
more subcontinental mischief, so there’ll
need to be another post ๐
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Great – I’ll be watching/reading!
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AHHHHHH!!!! What AMAZING adventures Y’all are having!!! My face hurts from smiling so hard! Cool, cool, COOL! Brilliant and Yay! Rock on, Beautiful People!!! ๐ฅ๐โ๏ธ
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Very happy you liked this one, Katy โจ๐
I’ll pass your kind comments on to
King Scoob De Dude. The last time
I saw him he was planning a concert
at Mount Everest Base Camp.
I didn’t go for fear of an avalanche.
When the King turns up the amplification
anything could happen ๐๐๐๐
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๐คฃ
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Most beautiful pics of Jaipur (Pink City)-Rajasthan,India. Oh dear David!!
you are most kind hearted and with this enthusiastic. You have posted most lovely pics of my Jaipur. You know Ihave done post graduation and research from Rajasthan University. I can never forget that city. Your post has become that my memorandum of my lovely memories of Jaipur. When will you come again to India,dear!! Thanks for your valuable post๐น๐น๐น๐น๐น
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You are very welcome, Aruna ๐
I did promise you a jolly Indian jaunt ๐
We had a wonderful time in Jaipur and Udaipur. Would love to do a return.
I’ll be sure to give you advance warning.
I have more pics to post as Rajasthan
is such a picturesque place ๐
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Good information.you are most welcome,dear!!when you may come to Rajasthan,i will show you here’s wonderful Hawelis(Residence),Bawadis,(Ponds)Chatriyan(umbrella of stone) made by kings and rich merchant.๐๐๐
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A very gracious offer, Aruna ๐งก
One I hope to take up in the future๐ โ๏ธ
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Thanks,dear!!๐น๐น๐น๐น๐น
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A well thought-out and superbly illustrated masterpiece! Bravo!
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A right royal thank you, Eugenia ๐
Modesty forbids me from agreeing with you ๐
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Your welcome, David! ๐
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Amazing!! I had to follow, again. It seems some of my WP follows have fallen off.
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Thanks Resa ๐
Yes, I think WordPress is hard pressed
to keep up. It’s becoming like a broken
down switchboard, where the operator
has been smokin’ something ๐
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Maybe the switchboard is smoking! ๐
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In a recreational fashion ๐ฅด
Smokin’ hot like a little black dress
designed by your good self.
Perhaps that’s where the problem started,
the overloaded WordPress distress? ๐
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LOL! ๐ ๐
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KC and the Sometimes Band! LOL!!
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Yes, they’re now getting of soundtrack work in Bollywood ๐
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Oh
My
Word
What a set of photographs
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And a great time was had by all,
according to my tour guide ๐
(an old friend who once lived in
India ๐ฎ๐ณ, so no need of a tip ๐ธ).
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and there you were ๐ absolutely fascinating
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Thanks John ๐
Hoping to get the band together
for another grand expedition ๐
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