Most traditional village houses have niches on both sides of the front door, where lamps may be set in the evening. Sometimes,

vibhuti and

sindoor

are also kept in them, so that people who are going out can decorate their foreheads as they leave.

These little niches are usually rather oil- and grime-filled…. but here’s one that I snapped on our journey from Chennai to Bangalore, as we stopped for chai:

It was a very, very small house, but it had this artistic touch, in the most unlikely place….it gave me a lot of joy to click that! Will those parrots ever get to eat the fruit that they are eyeing?