Those of you who know me best know that I really enjoy spring craft fairs (i.e., TACA http://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/NashvilleTN/eventCalendar/TACASpringCraftFairinNashvilleTN.cfm @ Centennial Park) and holiday gift shows (i.e., the extravaganzas at Centennial High School and The Factory in Franklin). Well here in India they call those events ‘Exhibitions’ and I was in for a treat Sunday night. The entire street in front of my hotel was blocked off for 100+ art exhibitors. True to the Indian culture’s fascination with their gods, almost all the artists had some crazy interpretation of Ganesh (Hindu god of wisdom). He seems to be a much-favored god and those artisans drew and painted him in endless and funny ways. Of course, the marketer in me saw right through why Ganesh is so popular: it’s a lot easier to make an elephant cute and cuddly than it is to make a cobra something children would adore and want to hug!

Funny sidebar: One of my leadership team from China has arrived and joined me for dinner. My reputation for shopping precedes me… Having never been here, he mistakenly thought the chaos outside was a recurring market and said: “I now know why Tonya always stays at this hotel with the shopping just outside her door.”

Touring through the Exhibition was much fun and I picked up a few paintings to take back home. Snapshots of art rarely do the piece justice, but I love the pair of colorful paintings depicting two very Indian scenes – one of a rural home with farm animals playing and the clothes drying outside (reminds me of my childhood, too) and another of a rural waterfront scene.