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[Jeremy McCreary]

This is all in slow motion, so you may want to watch it at 2X...

Looks like they invited the right guy. And all the better in slo mo.

[ta0]

Yesterday I did a demo for the company that my host in Bagalore manages and I was offered to do another one for the neighborhood tomorrow.

Although India feels surprisingly safe (except for the traffic), even walking beside slums, I generally didn't carry a top with me, so I have few photos with one. But after finding some rope walkers in the streets of Pune I went back to see if I could get a photo with a top on the head. I had my missgivings, as this is child labor, but at least they seemed to be working for their families (at least I hope). The highlight of the routine is swinging side to side very fast with the vase on the head, while walking on the inner part of a wheel rim. I asked two different performers (actually the person on the ground), suggesting that there would be a good tip, but they declined, so I didn't insist. I imagine they were doing a killing anyway, as it was the middle of the Ganesh(a) festival.

[ta0]

I think this "top restaurant" sees more monkeys than tops 





The monkeys come from an adjacent 1000 year-old temple dedicated to Nandi, the bull that serves as messenger of Lord Shiva. In Satara I had attended a Hindu ceremony in a temple dedicated to the dancing Shiva, Nataraja. It has carvings for the 108 dancing poses. But it occurs to me that with 4 arms, Shiva would be very good at tops too.

In Pune I found the last day a Muslim  Sufi meditation center where, for a fee, I could have become for a day a Dervish: a human spinning top! A missed opportunity!

[the Earl of Whirl]

Shiva lives the dream of every person who is intersted in multiple spinners.  Shiva might also give Mark Hayward a run for his money on the "most tops spun at one time" record.

[ta0]

Here is my spinning of Sandeep's Daxi giant top, the "easy" way:



I tried once to do a lift-and-drop start, but I ended up rolling on the ground and feeling pain in the arm I had injured a few days before, so I didn't try again.

One thing that I lament is that I didn't have the opportunity of playing tops with the kids and adults during the festival. Before my show they were playing in the rain, and after my show it was all selfies and placing tops in the fingers and head. But a man who waited patiently could finally show me his snap start. When I asked to film it, everybody paid attention, that's why the applause:

[the Earl of Whirl]

Good job with that big top.  I have yet to try one of those.

Two hand snap start!  Very nice.

[ta0]

Sandeep with Figaro in his man-cave:



The entrance to the lot in front of his house and clinic, where he is trying to develop a "soil games" park:



There are several murals in the park with traditional games, including one for tops, of course: