Day Six: Chennai

Wednesday, August 18, Chennai

10:06 p.m. India Time

This afternoon after lunch (leftover Chinese...yum! Plus the usual Indian fare, and Aunty encouraging me to eat more) Anni and I packed up the kids, and headed out to Valluvar Kottam. This place is a monument to the Tamil poet/saint Tiruvalluvar, who wrote the series of sacred triads called the Thirukkural. There is a very run down ampitheatre there, but the main feature of the place is the giant replica of a temple chariot with a statue of Tiruvalluvar inside, and his verses sculpted all over the chariot.  It's really beautiful. 

After taking a million pictures of the reluctant children, we  drove on to the Gandhi Mandapam which is a memorial park honoring Tamilian political leaders and freedom fighters against the British Raj. There are some lovely gardens there, full of butterflies (and scary caterpillars, too.) I also swear I saw something slither, slink, or scurry into the grass, but I’m not sure what because it was too quick. The first thing we went to see was a statue with a brass plaque at the base of it. Since it was in Tamil, I asked Anni what it said, and she told me it basically translated into “White man, go home!” This seems to be a common sentiment everywhere white men went in the world. Probably because they usually thought they were better than everyone else (Don’t forget that the British used to have signs posted in certain areas that said “Dogs and Indians not allowed.” )

Anni told me that she and Raja used to play there all the time as children. When she was fussy and wouldn’t eat, her Amma would sit her on the stone elephants to distract her so that she would eat. She said that when she got older, she and her girl friends from school would go there and annoy couples who had come there to flirt with each other.

By the time we got through the whole area we were very hot. I could feel the sweat rolling down between my shoulder blades. We got into the car, and headed off on a little tour. We drove past the university where Uncle was a professor, and (after going through another security check of some sort) drove into the campus housing area to see the place where Raja and Anni grew up. The place was very busy with young people registering for next quarter’s classes. As we drove along, I saw a little critter scurry across the side of the road. At first it looked like a chipmunk, but when I saw it closer, it looked more like a little weasel of some sort, We eventually turned onto their old street. There a rows of very old British housing, and it looks very worn down on the outside. Anni assured me that the homes were very nice on the inside, and when they lived there they had been newly renovated. 

Some of my students will recall the story of the snake in the toilet. 

The bathrooms in the housing unit were separate from the houses, and all in a row. One night, Uncle went out one night to use the bathroom and discovered a snake in the toilet! As you might imagine, this is very dangerous. The snake was apparently surprised as well, as he slithered down the toilet drain. As he didn’t want any of his neighbors to get a nasty surprise, he woke a few and they went searching for the snake. They opened each bathroom door down the line, no snake. Finally, they cornered the snake in the last toilet in the row, at which point, they called a snake charmer to lure it out of the loo. At least this is the story as it was told to me. Anni may have more details she’d like to add. This home is where it all occurred. I even drove by the very spot, but was not able to take a photo in the moment.

After the driving tour, We got back into the car, and Balaji drove us to this little café that Anni was dying to take us to. It was very out of the way, and we sort of got lost. Also, we drove right by a guy picking his nose. I noticed because I looked over at just the right time. A lot of people do that right on the street here. It’s part of the city’s charm. We finally found the place after asking for directions. It’s called Amethyst, and it is an old colonial mansion that has been turned into shops. There is the café, which is a little pricy, but lovely, a flower shop, and a boutique which sells super-expensive clothing and designer jewelry. Some of it was just amazing. Also, on the top floor they have antique furniture. I can imagine some people who would have just loved the place (you know who you are.) We found a seat in the lush, overgrown garden, and ordered our drinks, after which I went and browsed the shops. Anni called me to tell me my drink had arrived, and good thing, too, because when I got to the table, the boys had already sampled it. I had ordered an Amethyst cooler, which is a fruity soda over ice. Since it was a fancy place, I wasn’t too worried about the ice, and I haven’t had any problems so far, knock wood!

Next, it was on to Anni’s hotel where she treated us to pedicures in the hotel spa. I was so grateful, as my poor feet had been taking quite a beating with all the walking in dirt, stepping in potholes, and just being exposed to the grit and grime. They felt dry, rough, and not pretty. Well, all of that was fixed by the nice man who washed, scrubbed, clipped, filed, rubbed and otherwise cleaned and softened up my feet. He then handed me over to the sweet lady who painted my nails so they looked pretty again.

It was also nice to get a little break from the eternal war between brothers. The boys love each other, of course, but they fight all the time. Sometimes it really annoys me. I’m sure my students know what I’m talking about. Later at dinner, Monkey slapped the M.C. The M.C. said he wanted revenge, but when I told him that revenge cost 20 rupees he shut up, as he only has 40 rupees, and he knows when I mean business.

The boys got pedicures, too (and monkey got his fingernails trimmed) but they didn’t get nail polish on their toes. In many places in the world (including the U.S.) it is quite common for men to get manicures and pedicures too. It helps you look good, it helps keep your feet healthy, and it feels nice, too (except it really tickles at some points. The Man Cub and I were making such awful “tickle faces” that Monkey couldn’t help but laugh at us.)

Toes clean and shiny, we went to another hotel to meet Raja, Aunty, and Uncle for dinner at another South Indian style restaurant. This one had the banana leaves, too, only they were placed inside metal dishes like the ones Aunty uses at home. The restaurant was lovely. We ordered two appetizer platters, one of South Indian appetizers and one of South Indian appetizers. They were all delicious. For the main course we ordered these flaky parathas (bread), chicken curry, mutton (goat) curry, and shrimp biriyani. I can’t even begin to tell you how succulent everything was. I can’t believe I ever claimed to hate Indian food. What was I thinking? Of course, I haven’t ever tasted anything as absolutely delicious as the food I’ve eaten here. Maybe it’s just that certain foods taste better in certain places. The KFC here is not one iota as good as the stuff in Kentucky. I probably wouldn’t try an Indian hot dog, either. The mutton curry was divine. It had a coconut milk base, and was perfectly spicy. I was not fond of the shrimp in the biriyani (it tasted a little “off” to me), but the rice part was amazing.

By the time we finished our dinner, Monkey was fast asleep. A magician came over to our table and did several tricks for us. He was amazing! I couldn’t tell how he did them at all, and he was right in front of our faces! We ordered dessert. Most of us had ice cream (I had blackcurrant), but Anni had this traditional North Indian dessert called kulfi , which is made out of nuts and cream and stuff. It was cold and delicious, tasting of cardamom, my favorite spice, and I ate more than a few bites.

Raja paid for everyone’s dinner, and I ended up carrying Monkey out of the restaurant before handing him off to his dad. Raja, the boys and I ended up getting into one car, while Aunty and Uncle went with Anni and her hubby.  Once in the car,  the Monkey fast asleep on my lap, the Man Cub gave me my official Superhero Nickname: “The Human Pillow,” as my life’s destiny is to be a pillow for certain males whose last name starts with T. He then promptly fell asleep on me, too.

On the way home, I was partly amazed and partly amused by an ad I saw on the back of a bus. I must warn you, it’s inappropriate. Sometimes, in foreign countries, people do or say things, use phrases or whatnot in English without realizing what they are saying or suggesting. I’m not sure if this was one of those times or not, but there was this big ad on the back of the bus, and this is exactly what it said: “F********CK!! 20% off.” There was a picture of a watch and some sunglasses, so I assume it’s an accessories sale or something. I had to laugh, and be glad that the boys were asleep.

We got home and put the kids to bed. Raja watched cricket and I took my nightly bath and settled down to write this long tome. Tomorrow I’m not sure what we’re going to do. Raja bought me some Kindergarten level reading and writing books in Tamil, so maybe I’ll work on that. I’d also love to go to another temple, go shopping for bangles, or whatnot. There’s one more clothes shop I want to visit: Pothys, where Raja bought my sari last Christmas. I also have to show Aunty and Uncle one of the movies I made, finish and post the driving videos, post this update, and I’m sure there are a thousand other things, as well.

I'm finding it easier to post photo posts separately, so I'll do another one of those in a little while.

Until then, be good.