Goodbye India

This is one of our India friends teaching me how to tie a veshti (while they're traditionally worn by men, they're super comfy and since it's pretty much just a big sheet you can wear it any way you want). The lesson took about 45 minutes since for just a big rectangle of cloth it can be pretty tricky to arrange. I was first taught how to wear it long (much easier) and then short which would be how workmen would wear it. I never had an official sari lesson since Archana is a master at sari arranging and took great joy in dressing me up like a life-sized Barbie (I come complete with bindi, jasmine, and jewelry accessories!)

When it came time to leave India it was bittersweet, but perhaps more sweet-bitter. I had a wonderful trip in India and as my first travel experience it left a definite stamp on me. Seeing so many temples, peoples, and places, along with eating a great deal of Indian food I was on experience-overload the whole time I was there. It was quite the life changing trip. However, 7 weeks of sickness, crowding, complete strangers touching my hair, hands and face and just sitting and staring at me, witnessing the heart-breaking poverty every single day, having children thrust into my arms to bless or to take, and series of emotionally draining interactions with some of the most remarkable people I have ever met, all of it left me drained and done. I returned to the U.S. disbelieving the huge trip I had just undertaken, ready to see my family, and also ready someday to return to a country that is at once both beautiful and very, very ugly.

Thus ends India week, here comes Ireland!

Chennai

We were in Chennai twice during the trip since we flew in from Delhi and spent a few days there before traveling on and we also ended our trip there. The city is great with lots of good food, fun stalls, and beautiful temples. We were able to see a professional Bharatanatyam performance while were were here (much better than the students we saw perform at Thanjavur) and also attend a music concert. We also had the privilege of visiting with Archana's family who lives there and seeing the house she grew up in. Visiting people in their homes was definitely a very important part of the trip as it gave me a chance to speak with people and hear their wonderful stories along with benefit from their hospitality and amazing cooking!

Kanyakumari and the train to Madras (Chennai)

From Kovalam we hired a driver to take us to Kanyakumari which we wanted to see because it is the southernmost point of India and you can see where three waters meet (the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea). While it was amazing to see the three waters (they were in fact three different colors to you could see them coming together) the place was run down and felt a little dangerous, and would not warrant going out of your way to see. We only had a couple hours there however before we caught a train to go back to Madras and we met up with our travel companions along the way. We started out the trip sitting near the back of the train in the second class seats which meant the windows were bars like on the bus, the breeze was nice though and without the glass on the windows I was able to take some pictures on the way.

Kovalam

So I have some bad news, I have no pictures of the breathtakingly beautiful Kovalam beach. These pictures are of the Christ Flower at the spice garden in Kumily, and another picture of the Periyar sanctuary below. We took a bus from Kumily to Kovalam, pretty much a whole day event. I much prefer trains to buses but that was not an option. For those of you who have never been on an bus in India, celebrate that. For those of you who have, you can already envision what my day must have been like. We had luckily packed light because I had my luggage on my lap while crammed into a seat with three other people. There were multiple bus changes and most of the trip was done in a bus that had bars on the window (rather than glass) so it was open to allow all the dust and dirt in. There were several fun adventures including a public bathroom (Indian toilets are not like western toilets, they are a hole in the ground and two foot pads, in some places it is just a trough, and in this particular instance, it was just a room) and our bus breaking down on the side of the road. After we caught a bus going by, we spent the last two hours of the trip standing packed into the bus, carrying our luggage, a bit of a strenuous trip. When I got to Kovalam, I was not feeling my best and by the next day it was pretty clear I had heat stroke after I passed out in the middle of the beach and had to be carried back to the hotel (pretty much the most mortifying thing that has ever happened to me).

After a day or two I was able to recover enough to enjoy Kovalam which has to be the most beautiful place I have ever been to. There were two sandy coves with lots of fishing boats, and fish were caught in the traditional way with men dropping the net out far and swimming it into shore. The water was a gorgeous clear blue, and if you swam out 20 feet or so the waves were big but gentle so you could just float and have the water lift you up and set you back down. Back on the beach we rented chairs and an umbrella, and women wandering up and down the shore sold us fresh fruit and coconuts (this was a little tense though because if you bought from one woman, you had to buy from them all). We also had to contend with people wanting to take pictures of us (keep in mind we were dressed modestly in shorts and a t-shirt) but it was still paradise. Of all the places I went to in India, I would have to say Kerala was the best since it catered well to tourists at the same time that it didn't feel like it had sold out and it had the least amount of pollution I had seen during the trip. So I am sorry I don't have pictures, but I guess this means you will all just have to go and see it for yourself!

Kerala

A highly skilled carver outside a temple in Kumily (which I can not find on a map anywhere!) Which is also a huge spice manufacturer so the streets were lined with shops stocked with cardamom (my favorite), cloves, cinnamon, pepper, saffron and all kinds of delicious smelling goodies. This is also where I met the world's best street food. Huge vats of oil (imagine a wok on steroids) that plantains were grated into and then fried to get the most delicious plantain chips. I don't think Americans usually buy them because there were many shocked faces when Ylva and I got three huge bags full and we had a group of pilgrims that took an interest in us and helped us get them. When we got to town we had an idea of where we wanted to stay however after walking through town we saw a hotel that had tree houses which were too good to pass up. So for two nights we stayed thirty feet up, in a comfy little cabin, and when I had to use the bathroom in the middle of the night I got to climb out from under the mosquito net, climb down the ladder, and make my way to the outhouse, hoping an animal had not taken up residence in there. We spent one day at the Periyar Tiger reserve, where we saw no tigers, but we did see the monkeys shown below, and we got to go on a boat ride that was quite lovely.

Srivilliputtur

Antal going on procession.
The view from one of the priests houses.
During our time in Madurai, we went to visit the nearby village of Srivilliputtur where my professor had done her research for her dissertation on the goddess Antal. Since she had spent a great deal of time there, she was friends with all the priests and we ended up being invited to lunch. However, the two head priests of the temple were brothers, and they were feuding (perfect soap story plot, huh?) After being invited to lunch by one brother, the other brother also invited us to lunch. We could not refuse either one, and we also could not let either brother know that we had accepted an invitation at their rival's house. So we ended up having two huge Indian meals (the best Indian food I have ever had, and it was served on banana leaves on the floor).

It should perhaps be said that one meal in India is about three times what I'm normally used to. Not only are there multiple courses, but you will be plied with seconds and thirds at each course. Refusing is not an option, especially since everywhere I went Indian women would pinch me and say "you are too skinny, eat, eat" (remind anyone of "eat Santa eat!"?). By this point in the trip however I had been trained well. I polished off first, seconds and thirds at each house, had sweets and coffee too (this was tricky since it is polluting to have your mouth touch the utensils so we had to pour boiling hot coffee into our mouth and hopefully not on our laps) and walked away still hungry. I think this was the proudest my professor has ever been of me since she had been attempting to force feed me large amounts of food for the last year and a half.

More Minakshi

Flower seller, this woman pretty much forced her wares on people. Before you'd know it she had already cut a strand and was tucking it into your hair and then you'd have to pay her. Even though my ponytail was just a little nubbin the whole time I was in India, we'd wear jasmine in our hair just about every day.
A big bull in the temple, no big deal.

Flower and Vegetable market

Yes, that is a huge bag of flowers in front of him, and another bag of petals. This whole market was just crammed into the second floor of a random building and it was so packed it was hard not to walk on huge piles of roses or water lilies.

Temple Market

So all around the temple there are markets selling keys, knives, toys, fabric, flowers, religious statues and temple supplies, jewelry and just about anything else you can imagine.


I have about a million bangles from my time in India. Most made the trip unharmed, especially since my favorite where the thicker glass bangles which are a little sturdier.

Temple time in Madurai

The Minakshi-Sundareswarar temple in Madurai. This is where I did the majority of my research and field study. The temple is somewhat unique in that it is often referred to as the Minakshi Temple, and Minakshi is the goddess and consort of the god Sundareswarar, it is not often that a temple is named after the goddess rather than the god.
A decorative arch inside the temple with small oil lamps.
A small shrine on the outer wall of the temple, it is smeared with kunkum and ash, the trident shape is a symbol of the god Shiva which Sundareswarar is a manifestation of.
All sari'd up and ready to go to temple. The Minakshi temple actually does not admit non-Hindus (the shrines at least do not, the more open parts of the temple allow visitors) and although I was let in once or twice, the third time we tried to visit Minakshi, I was told I could not go in because I was not Hindu. My professor (who is Hindu and Indian) argued with the guard telling him I was however he cited the lack of flowers in my hair, and the fact that I was not wearing earrings as proof I was not Hindu (he decided that mentioning that I was white might not be the best tactic with Archana arguing with him).
It is customary to throw ash onto this statue of Ganesha. These boys were too cute and got into a big ash-fight (Indian equivalent to a snowball fight?) before their grandfather broke it up, I got a picture of them later grinning as they're covered head to toe in ash.

A New Year's Eve present

As a present to ourselves, we spent two of our days in Thanjavur staying at a nice resort just outside of town. The rooms were beautiful, there was a pool, a gorgeous view of the river, absolutely amazing food, and ... monkeys! The monkeys also liked the food and since breakfast was served on a big open veranda each morning started off with an entertaining show of the monkeys trying to steal huge bunches of bananas and the wait staff chasing the monkeys with knives (the never caught them, if they had it would have gone from funny to tragic very quickly). Also, for New Year's Eve, there was a Bharatanatyam performance, a concert and fireworks over the river.

Thanjavur

Remember the street cleaning cow? This is his co-worker, Mister Goat.

Brihadeeswara Temple

Brihadeeswara, also known as the Great Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was build during the 11'th century. It ended up being one of my favorite temples (and I saw a LOT of temples) because it is not painted in the style of most South Indian temples (like a cartoon on acid) and while the other temples I visited had a wonderful charm about them, I really loved the austere nature of the red stone.

Vijayanagara Fort

I love Nandi (also, in retrospect, that is a whole heck of a lot of pink I am wearing! But when in India...)


The fort also holds a museum where we were told we could either pay the government 500 rupees to get in, or we could pay the guides 400 rupees. Apparently the guides made their living by counting on people wanting to give them money rather than the government.

Thanjavur

We drove from Pondicherry to Thanjavur, where we were going to visit the great temple and my travel companions had some research to conduct. Along the way we stopped at Chidambaram where there is a very good Nataraja temple (the god Siva in a particular manifestation, the dancing god) and then at Kumbakonam where they have the world's best coffee. Indian coffee was amazing and it is served in two little metal dishes, one is shaped like a cup, and the other like a smaller bowl. The coffee is poured from one dish to the other to cool it and to add air to it (I was often hopeless at this and any waiter in the vicinity would rush over to make sure it was done properly). The coffee itself was always milky and sweet (so for black coffee drinkers this may not be your cup of tea, or umm, coffee as it were) and quite hot.

Pondicherry wanderings

Walking around one morning we passed a young girl creating a design in front of her house. A tradition in many families, the design is often made from an edible powder, like rice flour, and the designs may be quite ornate or more simple. Not only is it an expressive and creative task, but with the edible powder the idea is that many small creatures, like ants or other organisms, will be able to eat the design, helping the family achieve the auspicious task of feeding 1,000 souls every day as is encouraged in Hindu practice.

Street cleaner

So to accompany the story of the elephant, here is one of the many free roaming cows. He was just wandering around, doing as he pleased (which included eating trash). And yes, I did pet him, and I probably picked up lots of great bacteria and micro-organisms, but I'm hoping that fact that he was holy helped counter that.