Day 20: Mamallapuram

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Chennai, India

9:50 p.m. India Time

Today I give praise to Surya, god of the sun. It was once of the hottest and sunniest days we had during this whole trip. Last night I packed most of my stuff, and guess what I also packed? My sunscreen. My mistake. Ouch ouch, ouch, I now have an Indian Commemorative Sunburn to take home with me.

Last night Raja picked up my three new sari blouses, so today I wore a sari for the first time.  Of course,  Raja woke me up at 9:30 saying the car would arrive at 10, so I panicked. I took a quick sponge bath, put on the sari blouse and underskirt, and called Aunty in to help me. She and the cook wrapped me up nice and tight, and off we went.

Raja took me to Mamallapuram today, the site of some very old temples and caves  from the Pallava period. (These sites date from about 600-700 c.e.) They are protected archeological sites, so only one of the temples we saw was an actual temple (to Vishnu.) In the temple, Vishnu is reclining on the waters of the void. It’s apparently the only place he can get any rest, as he’s usually busy preserving the universe that Brahma creates and Shiva destroys.

On the way, we passed the crocodile farm Raja and the boys visited last December, and we saw some Gypsies, as well. Raja offered to have the driver pull over so that we could take pictures, but I declined. I didn’t take very many road pictures today.  We saw many cows, many with huge, curved horns, and lots of goats, as well.  Several of the roads we passed down were toll roads, and the monument park we entered had a fee, of course: 10 rupees for Indians, 250 for foreigners. At the  entrance we were approached by a man offering to be our guide. At first, Raja refused, perhaps thinking he was a tout, but he was an official tour guide and we decided to accept his services.

It was a good deal. Anand knew a lot about the area and the history of the place. He told me some things I already knew, and many things I didn’t. He spoke good English, and Raja filled in a few of the blanks. It was interesting that the guides name was Anand, as that is also the name of an Irish Goddess.

I didn't have time to write down all of the info for each place we saw, but here are some of the things we saw (from This Site)

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Rock Cut Caves

Nine caves with carving from Indian mythology
These caves are famous for their real life depiction of incidents from the Hindu Mythology. There are Bas-reliefs in the various caves. Vishnu is seen in the cosmic sleep in Mahishasuramardhini cave. In contrast to peace here, the other portrayals of Goddess Durga is fighting the buffalo headed Demon.

Arjuna's Penance

The world's largest stone has relief on a huge rock facing the sea with sculptures depicting scenes from the Mahabharata. This carving on the rock wall is the largest Bas-relief in the world. The rock is in the shape of a whale and it faces the sea.

There are various stories to the depictions. Some say that the person in the Penance is Arjuna who is trying to please Lord Shiva. While others say that it is Bhagirath trying to entreat Shiva to control the force of Ganga when she descends from heaven. Looking at the bas closely the latter appears to be true as Ganga is shown in various other places too. But for some strange reason the wall has been named Arjuna's Penance. It is also said that the wall represents the entire creation of the world. What ever the myth goes, the carvings are extremely detailed, fresh and realistic.

The Rathas

Five monolithic chariot temples dedicated to Hindu gods. Also known as Pancha Pandava Rathas. Although there are eight temples, people recognize only five. It is said that the five Rathas represent the five chariots used by the Pandavas. Four of these temples have been scooped out of one single rock. The imposing Gopurams and sculptured pillars & walls give us a glimpse of the style which was adopted in constructing temples all over Tamil Nadu.

Shore Temple

Built in the 8th century AD, it is one of the oldest temples is South India. - This magnificent temple was recently included in the world heritage monuments. A huge wall has been built on one side to prevent it from further erosion since some carvings have almost disappeared. The shore temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. But the carvings inside the temple remain intact. The temple looks particularly beautiful in the night when lit.

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Excavation areas at the Shore Temple still contain water from the 2004 tsunami, which did not do too much damage (thank heavens) to the temple already damaged by years of erosion. Anand told us that there used to be other temples near the same site, but they sank into the sea years ago.

After we saw the final ruin at the shore temple, we walked back to our driver, and he drove us down to this beautiful beach resort, the Radisson Temple Bay Resort where Raja and I had lunch by the sea. It was very beautiful, but it was also emotional, as Raja and I have been having some very serious talks about our relationship. Being together in a foreign land can bring people closer together, and, ironically, that closeness can open up parts of yourself that are very vulnerable and weak. If those things can be overcome, then the relationship can grow stronger. I hope that’s the case with us, as I love Raja, and want to be with him forever.

Lunch was amazing, chicken and tandoori prawns and roti and cold water. I couldn’t even eat all the food, but we still had hot gulab jamun for dessert. He fed me bites with a spoon.

After we came home from the resort I realized that I had a terrible sunburn. My sunscreen had already been packed, and in my haste to leave in the morning I had neglected  to put any on. Ouch! My skin was hot to the touch and my face, neck, shoulder and back were all completely red.

I took a cool shower and changed clothes. Uncle and Aunty had taken the boys to the arcade (again!), and they didn’t get back until late. For dinner we just ate simply, chapattis and chicken curry. I had planned to take everyone out for dinner, but we changed the plan so we would go out for lunch instead.

Uncle had gone to get some suitcases fixed, and brought them back for us.

Raja and I went to sleep kind of early, as we had already had a long day.

To be continued...be good...

Later

Monday, August 29, Chennai

5:33 p.m. India Time

Today has been a tough day for me. No sleep, no nap, packing, misunderstandings. Raja has gone to get the boys at the airport. They went through a sacred ceremony with their family in Pune, and part of it included getting their heads shaved! I can’t wait to see their little bald pates.

Going to the bathroom on the train today was quite an adventure. Ahead of us they had only Indian style toilets, so Raja was kind enough o go all the way to the back to check for me. There wasa western style toilet back there, so I went to the back of the car. The train was shaking so much that I had to hold on to every seat, and at some point my dupatta slipped off! I looked back through the door but couldn’t see it, so I just went on. It was tough to go with the train rattling like crazy, but I made it. And, miracle of miracles, there was toilet paper, running water, and even soap in the bathroom!

On the way back, I saw that a kind girl had picked up my dupatta. I thanked her and went back to my seat. I spent the entire trip blogging and barely looked out the window.  When I got back to the house, I lay down for a little while, and then Raja and I talked for a while. Something I did a while ago really hurt his feelings, and I feel very bad about it. I can’t take it back, I can only wait to see what he feels about it and deal as I can with the consequences.  That’s what taking responsibility for your actions is all about. It’s easier said than done.

I packed a lot of my stuff, and darn, there’s a lot of stuff.  I’m going to need another big suitcase, because otherwise we’ll have too many and/or they will be too heavy.

I had a nice talk with Aunty over my coffee, partly about religion and faith and partly, again, about her life. She is so fascinating! She told me that, when she was in medical school, there were a total of eleven women in her class. She also told me that it was around the time of the Pakistan war, and she felt inspired to join the military. She went for rifle training and came in first in her class! She was going to be a paramedic, but that was about the time she got married to Uncle, and his family didn’t really want her to join the military, so she dropped it.

I think she is really fortunate that she has such an amazing memory, and so many good ones! She really had a very good life. I hope that, when I’m her age, I can say the same, even though I feel I’ve had a much slower start.

I’m still very tired, physically and emotionally. I haven’t eaten much today, and I just don’t feel like it. I will eat dinner with the guys when they get home. I want to go to bed kind of early and get up in the morning. Tomorrow I hope to go to a temple, and tomorrow evening I will take the family out for dinner. Wednesday on the way to the airport I’ll stop and buy sweets. Indian sweets are absolutely to die for.

On the plane it will be movies and sleep, movies and sleep, maybe some reading, some writing, and movies and sleep. Soon I’ll be home again and sleeping in my own bed. I will miss this beautiful place. Even the difficult moments are important. I mustn’t let them taint the beauty of this journey, my love for this place or the people here with me.

Until tomorrow, be good.

Day Twenty: Bangalore to Chennai

Monday, August 30, 2010
On the train from Bangalore to Chennai.

Well, a little sleep was right. It was likely not enough to make everything better, as we were both cranky this morning, too.  Darn Mercury Retrograde. We woke up before 4 a.m. in order to be at the station before our train left at 6. Everyone was still asleep at the B&B, and no one had given us the wake-up call we had asked for. All the guys woke up as we walked downstairs. I felt bad for them having to get up for us (even tough that’s their job.) Raja called our car to make sure he was on the way. He showed up a little before 5, and we were on our way. We almost got hit by a bus and another car on the way, another reminder of why I will never drive in India, as my instinct would be to screech to a halt like a deer in the headlights, wherein I would most definitely be instantly killed: as flat as that dog I saw in the roadway.

Raja asked if I had any money for a porter, and I took it out. I tried to give it to him, but he said “just keep it handy.” I got a bit cranky because Indian women’s clothes don’t tend to have pockets, and I didn’t want to put it back in my bag where I’d have to dig for it, nor did I want to just hold it in my hand, so I made him take it. Perhaps I spoke a bit sharply (I was frustrated, but not at him) but he responded by being miffed at me, which made him seem less than nice to me (at least to my perception.) I hate early mornings: neither of us are our best, but like grouchy lions, ready to roar, claw, and bite.

On the train there are signs all over with big letters that say DONATE EYES. People can donate their eyes after they die for transplants to help people see. However it just looks funny, as if some guy is going to walk up to a counter with a box and say, “Hello, I’d like to donate these eyes.” The sign does point out that you need to be dead, but it does ask you to donate the eyes of your loved ones. Hopefully you wait until they’re dead, too.

I’m just not myself right now, so I’ll be taking a nap soon, and probably one at home as well, between furious bouts of packing. We head home on Wednesday, and although this has been the time of my life, I am ready for my own bed, my bunny, and to be back at school. Okay, maybe not that last part.

On the train they were playing this really long and repetitive song, perhaps Shri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam (Click to hear it on You Tube) or one a lot like it. At first I thought it was someone playing with his or her phone, but it went on for soooo long. Raja said it was a bajan (hymn) to wake up Vishnu and that it was usually played at 2:30 a.m. I was wondering if the song was sort of like his alarm clock, and if he ever got sick of it, and flailed out an arm or three to try to get it to stop. I know I just might, if I were Vishnu.

I want to call my mom, so I’ll try to do that tonight, too. Also, I need to arrange with Aunty and Uncle when and where they would like to go out to dinner. My computer was able to access the Internet at the B&B although I would have had to pay for it, and it wasn’t worth it for the amount of time I would have had to post. Maybe I can try again in Chennai. I can always hope.

I’m going to upload some of my photos here, and the ones from the other camera (as I forgot the USB  cable) when I get back to Aunty and Uncle’s house. Then a cat nap until I get home.

I’ll post again soon. Until then, be good.

Day Nineteen: Bangalore

Monday, August 30, 2010 

On the train from Bangalore to Chennai

6:37 a.m., India Time

On Sunday we got up a little later. Maybe 8:30? We asked and were directed up to the guest house terrace for breakfast. It was really lovely up there, and we were seated at a sweet little table. There were several other groups of people having breakfast as well, a group of American (I think) women, a pair of Indian men, and an American man sitting with a group of Indian people. Breakfast was very nice. It was an omelet, along with the obligatory featured carbohydrate of the day. (Can’t remember now if it was a dosa, or what. All the food begins to blur into one huge mass after a while.) We had coffee, too, which was a big help.

After breakfast, we caught an auto-rickshaw to take us to Commercial Street for some major shopping. Raja wasn’t really prepared for my power shopping; I think he actually expects me to return home with some of the money I brought! Fat chance. I saved the money to spend in India; I’m spending it in India.

Commercial Street is a giant shopping zone. Vendors fill the streets, which are lined with little shops and big shops of every kind.  I only had a couple things remaining on my list to buy, but I bought a lot of each of them. So much so, that I had to buy another carry-on bag to cart all of my stuff home on the train. Raja bought me a couple of cute wrap-around skirts as a late birthday/anniversary gift. I look forward to wearing them this school year.

Raja is the super bargainer. He’s almost as good as Anni. Even in stores where it says “fixed price,” he bargains. We were in this bangle shop, and I bought a bunch of stuff. There was a sign that said: “The customer is King, and the King never bargains.” He says, “Sometimes the King  bargains.” That’s right,  he’s my Raja.

I finally had enough shopping. I tried to encourage Raja by telling him that I only shop like this when I am on vacation, but I don’t know if it had any effect. Things were a little strange today, and some of our communication was misfiring a bit.  He wasn’t taking my humor well. Maybe it had an edge I wasn’t aware of.

We stopped at a restaurant, and I had a fresh lime soda. Other than the tender coconut, this is one of the only cut fruit things I’ve had since I’ve been here. We decided to risk it, and I’m glad, because it was delicious. I was given a choice of salty or sweet, and I chose sweet. The guy at the counter chopped and squeezed the limes and put the sugar (or syrup, I’m not sure, as I wasn’t looking) into a glass. He handed it to me with a bottle of fizzy, sparkly water. I poured the water into the glass, and it became this bubbly, sweet/tangy soda concoction that was just to die for. There was more water than glass, so I just kept pouring the water into the glass and it was fizzing and bubbling as I was drinking it up through the straw.

After the soda, we went cross the street to buy some sweets to take to Raja’s friend’s house, as it is rude to go to another person’s house empty handed.  The sweets were very beautiful, many of them were brushed with silver leaf, and Raja bought me one to try. It was delectable, as nearly every Indian sweet I’ve had has been. The silver stuck to my fingers.

We had to walk back the way we came to catch an auto back to the Terrace Gardens. Once there I typed a bit and packed all my purchases away in my new bag.  We were going to go to the ISKON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) temple in the afternoon, but there wasn’t really anything going on until after 4:30, so we decided to go to Raja’s friend Rajesh’s house first.

On the way, I saw two dogs mating on the sidewalk. I yelled, “Get a room!” but I think they were language snobs and only spoke Kannada, because they didn’t listen to me.

Rajesh, like many of Raja’s friends, is very successful and wealthy. I think Raja has so many wealthy friends because he works in an industry in which people often become very successful. Rajesh was, at one time, Raja’s boss, but now he runs his own company. He has a very beautiful house in a gated community called “The Rainbow Residency” in Bangalore. It was a very long ride by auto, and we had a bit of a time finding the place (and then finding the exact house), but we eventually did. Raja asked the auto driver for his number to see if he could give us a ride afterwards to the ISKON temple and then home. We used the same driver for the rest of the day, We traveled quite a way over the course of the day, so the driver made some good money.

At Rajesh’s house, Raja gave the sweets to Rajesh’s two boys who seemed to enjoy them. The boys have a brand-new kitten, which totally freaks their dad out. He’s not used to the idea of pets, apparently, and he’s sort of scared of the cat. How a grown and obviously intelligent man can be scared of a tiny, adorable kitten that barely even weighs a pound, I don’t know. I find it rather funny. They’ve been keeping the kitten outside. I played with it for a little while, but the boys weren’t sure what to make of me, I don’t think, and I’m not sure they liked me adoring their pet, so I eventually gave him back. The kitten had a really long name, which sounded sort of like a superhero name, if I recall correctly, but his first name was Mohan.

The funniest thing was when the boys came inside, and they closed the glass doors without shutting the screen. Mohan squeezed between the doors, and lo and behold, he was inside the house! Rajesh looked concerned. He does have a gorgeous house with wooden flooring throughout an buttery-soft cream-colored leather living room furniture; not exactly cat proof. He called the boys to put the cat out then close the screen door. Mohan took this as a challenge and promptly climbed the screen to the top.

Raja and I gave Rajesh some cat advice, and he gave Raja some good career advice. They were both polite, and let me enter the conversation once in a while.

After some time, and a tour of the house (It was beautiful. My favorite rooms were the living room and the amazing, amazing bathroom: all stone with a Jacuzzi tub), we called the auto driver to meet us at the end of the street to take us to the ISKON temple. After a long, long, long, long drive (made longer by my asthma acting up due to the pollution, as well as a newly developing cold)  we made it to the temple (and interesting note; on the way we passed a Hanuman temple with a giant statue of the Monkey God on top of it. Raja told me that Urban Legend has it that Hanuman grows taller every year. )

Entering into the temple, we paid 100 rupees for a special darshan (worship), which means we got to go ahead of others and get closer to the deity icons. We had to check our shoes, of course, and I was sent back when I tried to go through security in order to check my camera (again, not allowed.) Security was divided into two lines, men and women. They checked my purse and then wanded and frisked me pretty thoroughly (probably to see if I had any other hidden cameras) Then we were finally allowed to go through and walk up the ramp. Music was being played throughout the entire building on a PA system: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” Oddly enough I knew the tune, because this very same chant was used in the movie “Hair” and my mom had the soundtrack. I used to listen to it when I was very little, but then my mom stopped letting me because I memorized the songs (some of which were inappropriate) and sang them in public. I found the album again when I was 17, and it’s still one of my favorites. ISKON devotees are common in the U.S. especially in San Francisco, and because of this particular chant, they are usually referred to as the “Hare Krishnas.”

The temple has several layers, The first worship area we went to was dedicated to a form of Vishnu called Narasimha. He was sent to save this guy, Prahlada, from his father, Hiranyakashipu, who was evil, of course, and had gained a boon from the gods (it seems, sometimes, that the Indian Gods are not always good judges of character) wherein he could not be killed by either a man or a woman, neither inside nor outside, or during the day or night: in other words, he was a liminal (between time) being.  So Vishnu appeared in this avatar (form) with the body of a man and the head of a lion, and lured the king to the threshold of his palace (between indoors and outdoors) at twilight (between day and night). Guess who was killed? It sort of reminds me of the Welsh tale of Llew Llaw Gyffes, who could only be killed under similar liminal circumstances. In that story, though, his wife, who told her lover exactly what needed to be done to murder her husband, betrayed Llew. Llew didn’t really die, though (because, as a god, he is magic) but rather turned into an eagle and was eventually found and cured by his uncle, the magician Gwydion.

But I am getting off the topic. Once in the room, we prostrated ourselves before the god to honor him. Men prostrate by lying flat on the floor. Women kneel and bow from their knees.

After this room, we walked up another ramp to the next room, which contained the next icon Venkataswara, whom I had already seen in Chennai, as he is very popular there.

Finally, after honoring him, we moved up to the main room of the temple and towards the altar of Radha and Krishna. There were many people crowded into the room, and we had to move to one side and sit for a while. I sat cross-legged and tried to simply meditate. A woman in front of me took her crying baby into her arms and started to feed it, but the line moved, and she and the baby went forward. It wasn’t Raja and my turn, yet, but we sat closer to the front. I prayed for a while, then meditated until it was time for us to move forward.

It was a bit of a crush. The priest performing the rite had us chant the Krishna chant and then had a call and response portion (our part was to respond jai, meaning “hail”, to everything he said.) We received a flower and were able to pull the light from the lamp over our heads, putting a few coins in the collection plate.   The statues of Radha and Krishna were shiny gold. It was very pretty, but the temple did not have the serene feel of the temples I had experienced in Chennai, or even the one in California, where I first felt the overwhelming energy of Krishna.

After the darshan, we filed into a line where people could buy books and CDs in several languages. We had a coupon for 50 rupees off our purchase, so we bought a CD with several chants on it, including the Hare Krishna chant. We walked out past a huge statue of the Hare Krishnas guru (spiritual teacher/leader) A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It was all golden, too.

As we left the temple, we were faced with several followers asking us to give money for their charity where they feed hungry children. I was interested in donating, but it turns out they only accept donations of 1200 rupees or more! WTH? I’d think they’d be grateful for whatever people could give. The rest of the way down was a huge retail area with books, calendars, t-shirts, pictures, offers for lifetime memberships and more. They were even selling soft drinks and popcorn.  It was very commercial, and in my opinion, it diminished the holiness of the place, no matter how pretty the temple.

A lot of people consider the Hare Krishnas to be a cult, as they proselytize (try to recruit people) and charge a lot of money for teaching, books on their particular philosophies, and memberships. I’m of the opinion that spirituality (worship or learning) should not cost money. Giving to a church or temple is different. It’s an offering of love to help maintain the building, cover costs, and in some cases, support the priests. However, there shouldn’t be an expected amount, and the love of God and a relationship with God is always (and should always be assured to be) free.

I’m reminded quite a bit of the story of the moneylenders in the (Jewish) temple, and how Jesus became very angry and berated them for making a sacred place into a place of business. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna derides those who live for money and worship him in a hollow way. However, each person has their own work, values, and the ensuing consequences to live out, and I am not the person to judge whether someone’s beliefs or worship is empty of true devotion or not.

After the temple, we got back into the auto and headed to a mall near our B&B for something to eat. An interesting thing about autos in Bangalore (which I never noticed in Chennai) is that the driver’s license is posted in the auto. It has his name, license number, area of origin, and blood type. I guess this is in case of an accident. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but at least two of our three drivers had type B positive blood. My blood type is B negative, which is one of the rarest blood types (about 1.5% of people in the U.S., and slightly less worldwide, have this blood type. The only one that is rarer is AB-.)  Because of this, the blood bank always wants me to donate blood. I probably should do that one of these days.

By the time we got to the mall, I was tired, cranky, and really not feeling well. I wasn’t hungry, even though I hadn’t had a real meal since breakfast. Knowing me, that means something is wrong. My nose was also really runny, which let me know I have a real cold, likely due to Saturday’s walk in the rain on top of the increased pollution.  I decided that if I was going to eat anything, it would have to be Tandoori chicken, which is my favorite North Indian dish, and feels substantial without being too greasy. I really felt as if I have about taken in my limit of carbs. I crave fresh fruit and salad, and I look forward to eating that, and not much else, for a few weeks after I get home (to shed the weight, at the very least.) I will make some rasam when I get home, for sure, and I’ll likely eat chicken for protein, but no egg dosas for a while.

I wanted to go to a high-end jeweler just to see gold bangles and stuff, and Raja was okay with that, but I was too tired to look much, plus I didn’t want to bore (or unnerve) Raja. We walked home from the mall, with Raja consulting the map on the little business card/brochure that came from the Terrace Gardens. We had to cross at least one busy street, and made it without dying. We asked for directions a few times. It turns out that the last people we asked came into the reception office while Raja was still there dealing with our check out (we left very early this morning.) It turns out that they were the owner’s kids!

Being sick, tired, and grouchy was a sure-fire recipe for misunderstanding and tears. There was some. Eventually I went to sleep, as there’s practically nothing that can’t be made better after a little sleep.

I'm going to do that. Until tomorrow, be good.

Days Seventeen and Eighteen: Chennai-Bangalore-Mysore

Sunday, August 29, 2010, Bangalore

(Happy Birthday, Dad, and belated Happy Birthday, Liam)

12:36 a.m. India Time

I haven’t written in two days, nothing, at least, except, lists, scrambled notes, and poems. These two days and the rest of my time here is bound to be a blur as we try to make up for the time M.C. was sick and our plans got so tangled.

FRIDAY

 Raja got up early to take the boys to the airport. They are going through a ceremony with their mom’s family in Pune (that’s pronounced Poona, not Pyoon) I slept in because I had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn’t get back to sleep until after I had read an entire Reader’s Digest, gone to the bathroom, and watched some cricket highlights on TV with Raja, who also woke up soon after I finished the Reader’s Digest.  My asthma has really been acting up, and I think the A/C has a lot to do with it, as I seem to cough a lot less when it’s off. However, I sweat more when it’s off, too, so it’s a choice between the lesser of two evils.

Anyway, after sleeping so late, I accepted coffee but skipped first breakfast and waited until Raja got home before having brunch with him. After brunch we packed up our things for our trip to Bangalore and Mysore for the weekend. Our train was due to leave at 5:30 p.m., so we packed our bags, some snacks, and left at about 12:30 for some last minute shopping before heading out.

We went to Spencer Plaza, which is really the only mall I like in Chennai, as it is less modern shops and more like an indoor bazaar, with handsome gentlemen wanting “Madam” (that would be yours truly) to come in to their shop so that they could show me something special that I would certainly want to buy. Sometimes I did. I bought some more gifts (I can’t wait to get home, spread out all of my wares and photograph them. My gods, I have bought a ton of things), a suitcase (only one? I know! I may need another, but Raja says there is space in his and there are some spare suitcases floating around at his parents’ house.) and six pairs of shoes. Six gorgeous pairs of Indian shoes. Sequined and embroidered shoes, the kind that were selling for 70 dollars and up in fancy shoe stores, and for $17.99 at Payless a few years ago (an those weren’t as nice as these.) Raja looks at me after we’ve bargained to the final price and said, “Are these shoes really worth twelve dollars a pair?” LOL.

The shoes, and then the Durga. He had done so well with the bargaining before that I let Raja come with me, even though I had plotted out how to haggle on my own. I chickened out. Also time was running out. We went to find the shop, one of several that is run by a Kashmiri family in the mall. I had seen her before, priced 4200R. They cut it to 3000R and I walked away. Came back, and I think I paid 2900R. I’m still happy, as she is absolutely beautiful. My puja cabinet doth overflow with holy deity goodness. Also, while Raja was at the ATM pulling cash to pay for her (my money out of his account) I bought some other things for people I like.

We had eaten an awesome lunch at this South Indian fast food place in the mall, and after our shopping was done, we piled in the car with our travel luggage and put my new suitcase with all my purchases in it in the trunk for the driver to drop off at Uncle and Aunty’s after he dropped us at the train station (remember, he’s their regular driver, so we knew we could trust him with our stuff.)

The driver took us to the Chennai Railway station. The Indian railroad system (as anyone in India will tell you) was probably the best thing the British ever did for India. It is pretty old, but it is very efficient for getting things and people from here to there, all over the country.  Raja told me that some of the steam-engine trains are still running, but most of them are electric now. 

The main part of the station was pretty hectic and crowded, and the walk out onto the platform was long. It did remind me of a station I had seen in a Bollywood movie. On the walk back to our platform, I saw several parcels and woven baskets. There was the smell of fish, too, as some of the trains were shipping seafood from one part of India to others. 

When trains change direction here, it’s a complex process as the engines can go either way, but the train has only one engine in the front, not one on either end, so the train is not "reversible" and it can’t automatically move backwards or forwards. The engineers have to drive the train in, unhook one engine, bring the other engine in and hook it up to the train, heading the other way.

I wanted to take more pictures of the station and trains, but because there have been bomb scares and terrorist attacks in India, it’s not allowed.  Even once we were on the train, I was reluctant to take pictures, so instead, I kept a running list of what I saw as I gazed out the window.

It is as follows: a list poem

FROM CHENNAI

A huge congregation of cows

near a body of water

A cart pulled by a long white cow with horns

A group of women in colorful saris

standing by the train tracks

A slough crowded with algae & weeds

Greenery punctuated by metal rail

Vyasar Padi Switching Room

electrical station

Boys sitting on the tracks

A city street, bustling.

The Church of God in India

A radio tower piercing the sky

A girl in a bright blue sari riding a red scooter

The city speeding by

Another train: opposite direction

Black birds landing on the roof of a

beige building

A baby crying

Another cell phone ringing

The conductor checking tickets &

i.d.s;  blue jacket, burgundy tie,

glasses, handsome mustache

Shri Vishnu Mahal

Two men on  a bench

Pink apartments, orange apartments,

orange and green apartments

Another green swamp

Mud gardens

A well

Electric wires

A grove of palm trees

Two dun cows

Billboards of Tamilian men

with  handsome

mustaches

The sun on the top of clouds

Orange Fanta in a paper

cup

Avadi

A marriage hall

Earth movers

“This is the real India”

Tent city

A graveyard

A cluster of people in the street

A strong man painted on the side of a building

flexing his biceps in blue

underwear

A woman and a small girl in a field

A cow standing alone in the next

field

over

A purple building, a pair of pants on

the clothesline

A long beige fence

Tamil Tamil Tamil: the writing’s on the wall

A shrine on the edge of

a pond

My reflection in the dingy

window

The yellow metal seat in front of me

A long white building with many

windows

A thatch roof hut near

A glowing white , elaborate statue

Shrine

Shrine

Shrine

A roof full of birds

Pale light on the horizon

The silhouette of palms

Rain in the far distance

A mound of sawdust

A thatch hut next to

a concrete building

The chai wallah

Temple

A motorcycle parked at the

dead end of the road

A yellow temple

A woman carrying a roll of purple

cloth on her head

The train slowing

Approaching

Tiruvallur

5 cows

3 men sitting in a circle in

a field

4 scarecrows

A huge rainstorm in the distance

Green green green green

green

A Christian church

Egattur

Orange sky, the horizon on fire

ahead

The light dimming

dimming

The darkening sky

Eventually I had to stop as it became dark and I was tired. The journey from Chennai to Bangalore by train takes about 5 ½ hours. In comparison, you can get a flight, which only takes about half an hour to 40 minutes. However, you miss all the awesome sights.

Bangalore is a very modern and cosmopolitan city. There are tons of coffee houses, shops, and other western conveniences. The Indian (and international) High-Tech companies have offices in Bangalore.  The problem is that it is very expensive to live here. It can be as expensive to live in Bangalore as it is in the U.S., and most people simply don’t make as much money here. Raja told me some flats sell for as much as one million dollars U.S.  That’s more than I can afford!

We got in at about 10:15 p.m. We met our driver who took us to our hotel, Terrace Gardens which is really a bed and breakfast inn…in fact, they claim to be the first and only B&B in Bangalore. It is really modern and nice. It did crack me up that when I walked in the TV was switched on, and they were showing “Twilight” with English subtitles on.  I was glad when Raja turned it off. I took a shower to get the day’s grime and sweat off, and snuggled down with Raja for some much needed alone time.

SATURDAY

I didn’t see any tigers today. Other than that, today was the premium day for animal experiences in India.  We woke up at about 6:30 a.m., freshened up and went downstairs to reception where we handed in the key so that they could clean our room and they brought us some coffee so that we could wake up a little.

We had hired a driver, Raju, for the entire day. It cost Raja 4000 rupees (about 90 dollars) for the day. That is amazing, I think. Raju picked us up at eight, and we headed off to Mysore, about a three and a half hour drive (the approximate time without stops.) Of course, we had stops.

The drive was fascinating. The streets in Bangalore are cleaner than Chennai, but somehow the air seems dirtier. People had told me the air was yellow in India, and I didn’t really see that until  I came here. Maybe it’s been drier, so there is more dust in the air or something, but it is truly different.  Also, in the paper was the news that 65% of Bangalore’s drinking water is contaminated by chemicals, including lead. One of the culprits may be the icons of gods that people dump in the water on big festival days. There is now a growing “green” movement in Bangalore, which is encouraging people to use eco-friendly icons and vegetable-based dyes, instead of non-biodegradable materials and paints which may contain lead. I was hoping that the younger generation would take this up and run with it, and it looks like they have.

On the drive I saw so many things, I was hard-pressed to remember them all. There were plenty of dogs, but I haven’t seen as many of them here as in Chennai. What I have seen a lot more of are cows. Not in the shopping areas of Bangalore, per se, but once you are out of the city center? Tons. Cows pulling carts, cows sitting nonchalantly on street corners, cows with long, curved horns, cows munching by the side of the road…and you know what else you see on the side of the road? Men peeing. Seriously. I think I’ve seen about 20 different men peeing by the side of the road: some in the country, and some right on a city street. Of course, they turn their back to the street (except for one little boy I saw peeing in a bush in Mysore, but he was only about 4.)

Bangalore and Mysore are in the state of Karnataka, and the language, Kannada, is all over the walls and streets, just as Tamil is in Tamil Nadu. However, Raja tells me that the people here are not happy that Bangalore is becoming so cosmopolitan, and they are rather snobby about their language. Some signs don’t even have an English translation given, much less a Tamil or Hindi. (Everyone’s expected to know some English in India, remember, and 70% of the population speak Hindi.)

On the way, I saw a restaurant called “Kentacky” fried chicken. LOL. In Chennai they also have “Dizzee Land.” It cracks me up, like people are going to be fooled. I saw a car with a motto on the back that I thought said “coming for you…always” and thought it sounded a bit stalker-ish, but later I saw another car which said “caring for you…always” so I guess I misread it the first time. This reminds me: one day when I was browsing in a jewelry shop, the guy at the counter’s phone rang, and he had a Hindi movie song as his ringtone. I recognized it as the song  “Jaadu Teri Nazar” from the movie Darr, which is about a guy who obsesses over this girl so much that he stalks her, tries to harm anyone who gets near her, and eventually tries to hurt her. He dies in the end. “Jaadu Teri Nazar” is the song he sings for her. If I were on a first date with a guy and his phone rang with this song, it would be our last date!

We were stuck in traffic for quite a while getting out of Bangalore. I’m not sure why, as it was early Saturday morning, and not a work or school day, but it was what it was.  As we were stuck in traffic, I heard an ambulance siren, and saw it limping its way through traffic, and wondered why people didn’t at least try to get out of the way.

I was a bit surprised once we got out of the main part of town how many ponies (or donkeys, not sure),  goats, and long-horned cows there were pulling carts. Also, I saw sheep and a group of men with loaded camels! I really wasn’t expecting that.  I also, unfortunately, saw my first truly deceased animal, a dog who seemed to have met with either a bus or a lorry (big truck) as it was squished almost completely flat, like in cartoons, but much yuckier.  I also saw several chicken vendors with live chickens stuffed into small cages. Animal rights activists would have a fit, but they were probably only in there while being sold for eating, anyway, and PETA wouldn't like that, either. There were several roosters in people’s yards on the way, as well. 

We stopped for breakfast at a little out of the way place by the roadside, which seems to be a well-known hot spot. They have a very good breakfast buffet (although you can’t eat the fruit or use the silverware, at least not when you’re with Raja the Germophobic) and we stuffed our faces. We weren’t the only ones, as the place was inhabited by a lively group of monkeys! I really didn’t expect to see any monkeys on my trip, so this was an amazing surprise.  As we walked down to the buffet hut, Raja said, “Hey, look! Monkeys!” There were two of them on the roof, but there were at least six of them in all; it was likely more like 10 that we saw. I saw full sized monkeys, kid monkeys, and a mama monkey carrying a baby on her front! It was funny to watch the monkeys steal food from the buffet tent. They seem to like idli. 

At the restaurant there was the delicious smell of wood smoke and I also saw three ladies in ghunghat, or Hindu veils. Interestingly enough, I saw them again later in the day, too.

I took tons of pictures of the monkeys and their antics. After breakfast , Raja bought some sweets (and some for Raju, as well) and we drove on a bit to a toyshop where they had lots of toys and things made out of sandalwood, rosewood and other  woods and metals. They had beautiful depictions of the gods, elephants, full dining room sets, puja cabinets: tons of stuff I would have loved to take home with me to decorate my house.  I bought some things for the prize box, and we went on our way.

On the way to the next stop there were many more interesting sights. We drove past a motorcycle dealership (Hero Honda) with a cow tethered outside. Maybe someone had brought it for a trade-in?  We saw several brightly painted lorries. They are so gorgeous, much more interesting to look at than the big rigs in the U.S.  There were also several smaller trucks, which carried several people in the back, sometimes up to 8 or 10 people. One I saw just had one guy in it, asleep, with his legs hanging out the back of the truck. Later I saw one with several little boys and their mom in it. The boys were so cute with their tousled hair and big brown eyes. The camera I had with me doesn't take good pictures of moving objects, so I don't have a lot of those.

We went through Mandya, “Sugar City” and fields and fields of sugar cane and rice paddies.

I saw a man sitting with two sheep who were grazing the grass on the median between the opposing freeway lanes.

Probably the oddest thing I saw, though, was this old man with matted grey hair who was wearing only ½ a pair of pants. Not shorts, but one pant. At first I wasn’t sure because his shirt and pants were about the same color as his skin, and he was standing facing away from the road. However, when I looked closer, only the right pant leg was there, and his left leg was bare all the way to his waist. Yes, I could see the left cheek of his robot. That was really weird. I don’t know what the front of the pant looked like, but I don’t think I want to know.

Our next stop was the summer palace  of Tipu Sultan.  It was absolutely beautiful. Tipu Sultan, also known as "the Tiger of Mysore," was the de facto (real) ruler of Mysore from 1782-1799.

It's usually not allowed to take pictures inside museums, palaces, or temples, but I'll tell you, this place was absolutely gorgeous. The walls and floors were painted and inlaid and carved. Beautiful colors and designs, mostly Islamic style designs. There were drawings of him and of his seven handsome sons. I thought the painting of him looked just like Raja. He was very handsome.

I didn’t want to use the Indian-style bathroom at the palace, so Raja had the driver stop at a really fancy 5-Star hotel in Mysore: Sandesh the Prince Hotel. I went in and asked them for their tariffs list (that is the brochure with their room rates on it.) The cheapest rate, which is for only one person, was 4500 rupees a night! That’s still not bad when compared with regular rates at a nicer U.S. hotel,  but their primo rates were 15,000 or more rupees a night.  Using online deals, you can get rooms in U.S. hotels for a lot cheaper. Still, it’s fun to stay in fancy hotels sometimes. After getting the tariff card, I asked to use the restroom. Then I came out and Raja was waiting for me. We got back into the car and headed for the next place, Mysore Palace.

My 30,000 gods, Mysore Palace is an amazing place. You have to take off your shoes  (and put them in “shoe check” which costs 10 rupees) and check your camera (50 rupees) to even go into the palace. It costs a lot more for non-Indians to enter these places, because tourism is how they make their money.  Because Raja is a dual citizen, he gets to pay the Indian price. However, an audio tour was included in the price of my ticket (100 rupees), but not his (5 rupees).

The palace is not actually very old. It was built to replace the previous palace, which burned down in 1897. It took 15 years to build it, and was finished in 1912. It contains Hindu, Islamic, and Victorian architecture, and it is just absolutely glorious.

As we entered the palace grounds, a nice man offered to be our guide. He had an official guide badge, so we accepted his offer, but then when we wanted to meet up with him, we couldn’t find him! (We hadn’t paid him yet, so he wasn’t a cheat, we just lost one another.) I took the audio tour and Raja followed along. I had to leave my I.D. with the audio tour guy in order to take the equipment.  The palace was amazing, of course, with gorgeous painted walls,  inlaid floors, carved woodwork, and colors. So many beautiful colors. There was a place where the Rajas would greet the people, and a chamber where he would meet with his advisors. The royal family of Mysore, the Wodeyars, ruled from 1399 c.e. all the way up until 1947 c.e., when the British left and India became unified and independent. 

One thing that is really cool about the palace is that the Royal Family of Mysore were devotees of Durga, who is one of my personal favorite goddesses. You don’t see much Durga worship in Chennai, and most of it is in Kolkata, which is in the Northeast corner of India, but in Mysore, it is common. They even have a huge annual festival devoted to her, called Dussehra. If and when I live in Bangalore, I am definitely going to travel to Mysore at least once to see it.

After the palace, we went to the gift shop. 70% of the sandalwood in the world is grown in the state of Karnataka, and Mysore is famous for sandalwood.  Sandalwood is a tree that has been used for its incredible scent for thousands of years. It was said to be given its beautiful aroma by the gods, and hence, it is holy. It is used in many ways: incense, perfume, sachets, fans… I bought a lot of it, and my suitcase is going to smell delicious.  We were going to go to the temple, but it was closed. Instead, Raja treated me to a wonderful surprise. He had me blessed by an elephant! I went to the elephant and gave him 20 rupees. He took it with his trunk and gave it to his handler. He then lay his trunk gently on my head. It was magical. Of course, the poor elephants are not always treated well by their handlers, but I know they hold the spirit of Ganesha. Their karma is good, while the handlers…well it depends on how they treat the elephants, doesn’t it?

Outside of the palace was a crazy bazaar. Tons of people trying to sell you tons of stuff you don’t want. I bought something from one of them, and the same guy tried to sell me the same thing about two minutes later (and I think for a lower price!) We had some tender coconut water (I thought of you, my coconut-loving students), then ran through the bazaar to get to the car. While trying to find our car, a cute young boy came up trying to sell us even more fans.

I pointed out that it was hard to resist someone so cute, and Raja pointed out that often parents keep their kids out of school to hawk wares just for that reason. That made me sad. I wanted to tell that kid to go to school, and that if he made it through eighth standard (eighth grade) I’d give him enough money to buy 1,000 fans. (That would be 50,000 rupees, which would no doubt be a fortune for him and his family.) But I didn’t. I just got in the car, and let Raju drive on.

Next Raja and I went to a beautiful botanical garden, Brindavan Gardens, in Mysore. The gardens are laid out near a giant dam, called the Krishnarajasagara dam, and are studded with fountains and man- made waterways. It is really, really lovely. They let you have your camera there, but you have to pay 50 rupees to take it in. We walked around, and up the stairs to the top where you could see the gardens in their entirety. We heard music and followed it to an outdoor temple where Raja went for a blessing (I chose not to this time.) We walked back and sat on a bench for a while, but then it started to rain. Raja and I decided to walk over to this lovely expensive hotel, The Royal Orchid Brindivan overlooking the gardens. We sat on the terrace and had some chaat (snacks) and coffee. Because we bought something, I got to use their nice restroom.  The terrace was lovely; it was round with columns and open to the air. The rain had cleared up. Raja and I had a nice talk. Being with him there was really romantic, the kind of stuff I really enjoy.

We stayed on the terrace for about an hour. We were mainly waiting until the sun went down because that is when they turn on the lights in the garden. It is supposed to be something to see. We walked down from the terrace and back to the bench near the top of the stairs. There we waited for about a half an hour. I spent a lot of time watching these four (very cute) rambunctious boys stick each other in the robot with pointy leaves from a plant. As the time grew near, we stood up and looked over at the garden below. As Raja was standing next to me, I heard him say, “Oh, hello, there!” A very little girl had come up to him and held his hand! I think she thought for a moment that he was her daddy. When she realized he wasn’t, she ran away. I had to laugh.

The lights began to come on at dusk, then, as the sky finally darkened, all the garden lights and fountain lights came on. It was really lovely. We walked down the stairs, and it began to rain. A lot of people rushed to cover up or put up umbrellas, but it didn’t seem like much to me. It was rather like sea spray.  We walked down a long pier in the rain towards a large fountain that glowed bright green.  When we got to the end of the pier, there was an area with food stands: soft drinks and roasted corn and popcorn and nuts. It all smelled delicious, but we didn’t want to risk it, so we turned around and walked back along the pier to the parking lot.

By the time we got back to the end of the pier, we were both soaking wet.  Luckily, Raju was in the very first parking spot, and we jumped in. We were both tired, but I was exhausted. I couldn’t exactly fall asleep, but I did “rest my eyes” and lay down on Raja’s lap in the back of the car. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner, and Raja ordered some really delicious stuff (again!) We ate, and headed home to the B&B for another night of restful sleep.

I was still exhausted, but when we got back to the B&B I realized I was at least two full days behind on my blog. I also had a bunch of poems floating around in my head. I wrote for about an hour after Raja drifted off, but I couldn’t take it anymore and drifted off too. In fact, I just finished this on Sunday night, and I’m still a day behind. I’ll complete today’s tale tomorrow on my 5 ½ hur trip back to Chennai on the train.

Until then, be good!

Day Sixteen: Chennai

Thursday, August 26, 2010, Velachery, Chennai

10:31 a.m., India Time

For the third day in a row: no Internet. I’m going to call Sharanya in a bit to set up our meeting tonight.  Our schedule from now on is packed tight.  I obviously will have to come here again, as I have not done nearly enough to satisfy my curiosity about this city or India in general.

I am not feeling very well today,  and my throat still hurts. Raja is very nervous. He wants me to take antibiotics, but I don’t want to take them unless I absolutely have to. I can’t feel my lymph nodes and I don’t have a fever, so I don’t think it’s strep. My nose is clear so I don’t think it’s a cold.  My digestive system is doing all right. Anyway, I’m hoping it’s just an air-quality thing, made worse by all the shouting at the arcade yesterday.

I had weird dreams last night. Aunty, Uncle, the boys, Raja and I were flying somewhere. All passengers were required to wear these pink and gray uniforms, and were given trays containing their on-flight meal prior to boarding. The meal was unidentifiable. It looked weird, as if it were freeze-dried or something.  I saw my (real) aunt and cousins through the glass at the airport. They were wearing uniforms, too.

For some reason we were capturing reptiles, maybe for eating.  One of us caught a large, two-headed snake, maybe a cobra or a viper? It was poisonous. It was twisted into a pretzel shape, and it was frozen. We went to cook it in the microwave, and it melted and came alive. I had a little snake, but when I looked again, it had legs. It was a lizard! I decided to keep it as a pet. I put it in a jar with some water. I was going to put some rocks in for it to climb on. I put a plain round rock and a bigger, kind of pointy rock. When I looked again, the bottle had shrunk to just fit the rocks. I somehow got the rocks out, but it was too late: the lizard was squashed completely flat.

Raja came back a little after midnight and M.C. and I were still awake. Hence, we slept a little later today. We (the M.C. and I) were both coughing in the morning.

Tomorrow I’m going to go buy two new suitcases. Big Ones. I have to start packing my things, and I have a LOT of things. Then there’s shopping in Bangalore and Mysore. I have no idea what’s going on today, hopefully the Theosophical Society, and maybe one more temple on Tuesday. That’s all I want.  I’m going to try to get on Raja’s computer to try to check mail, etc. I’ll make a small post, explaining my absence.

Until then, egg dosas and coffee for me, and for you, be good.

1:56 p.m., India Time

Used Raja’s computer to respond to a few e-mails, update my private blog, and post a short note to y’all. At 3, Raja and I are going to go take some pictures at the Theosophical Society, the world’s largest Banyan tree, and maybe a few other spots.

So once again for lunch it’s amazing shrimp curry (I am going to have to get the recipe for my friend Liz. It blows biryani out of the water) and the first thing I do is drop it on my shirt. Of course it’s a new shirt, and the curry is tomato-based, and so there’s a red stain on the shirt. I rushed to wash it out and got most of it, but I think it’s color-safe bleach time. We’ll see.

We’re leaving at three, just Raja and me, and the kids are going with Aunty and Uncle back to the Arcade (thank every Hindu god there is that I don’t have to go again, but poor Aunty and Uncle!)

I treasure every minute that Raja and I get to spend alone. Not that parents (and step-parents, and the girlfriends or boyfriends of people who happen to be parents) don’t love their kids and like being with them, we do. However, just like kids want time with their friends without parents hanging around, sometimes adults feel the same way.

10:13 P.M., India Time

A long day, but one filled with pleasant things. After a long, roundabout drive in which we had to ask directions about 5 times, we finally found the correct entrance to the Theosophical Society’s International Headquarters.  The Theosophical Society was a group of folks in the 19^th century who tried to take the best parts of all religions and strip them down into one whole Ultimate Truth: 

"The realization that life, and all its diverse forms, human and non-human, is indivisibly One."

The grounds of the Theosophical Society are expansive and beautiful, with tons of trees, birds, flowers, butterflies, old buildings, archways, little pathways, insects, chipmunks, dogs, cows, and snakes. Yes, cobras, vipers, and kraits live in the grass there, so it’s best not to stray off the path too far. In fact, when I was exploring a little, I heard a noise, turned and saw a snake slither off a tree and crash into the underbrush below. I couldn’t see the whole snake, only part of its body.  I looked from a distance, but didn’t see it, and I certainly wasn’t going to go poking around for a poisonous snake!

I did see a lot of huge, cool beetles though, and ants and millipedes (gross!) and cool butterflies, and I heard a strange bird cry. “What is that?” I asked Raja. “A cuckoo,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like the one in the clock,” I replied. It doesn’t. 

The sounds in that place are just amazing. Not very many people or traffic sounds, just layers and layers of nature. Caws and buzzes and slithers and moos; leaves whispering, and beetles clicking and grass rubbing. I could sit there in silence for hours unraveling all the sounds.

There are also good smells of beautiful flowers, and all the sights I mentioned before.  The society has an amazing library, but we were so late I only got to see the card catalog. They have hundreds of rare books from the 1800s: books on philosophy and religion and archeology and likely occult subjects, because they were interested in that stuff, too.  You have to take your shoes off to go into the library, or into the main hall, which is decorated with all kinds of holy figures and names. Jesus and Krishna, and Confucius and Buddha and Zarathushtra and Osiris …

On the grounds of the Theosophical Society resides the world’s largest living banyan tree. It’s really cool.

After the Theosophical Society we went to Santhome (St. Thomas) Basilica, which is a very famous Catholic church in Chennai. The story goes that St. Thomas, who was a disciple of Jesus, came to India to preach the word of God, and was martyred (killed) for his beliefs. The story goes that they built a church over his burial place. That was where we went. We bought some candles from a guy outside and entered the church. There was a mass going on, and we joined the other people for a while. We soon realized we had joined a wedding! It was really cool to hear a mass in Tamil, though. I couldn’t help but feel very moved. We exited the church, and looked through the side into the Shrine of Our Lady of Mylapore, an Indian expression of Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

We lit our candles, and I said a kind of long prayer for everyone I thought might appreciate it, so if you’re one of those people, the prayer and the candle was for you.

We went into the next building over, which was the museum of old Catholic artifacts, including a cross containing  a relic of St. Thomas (which means a part of a bone, usually) In the basement, I saw the tomb (grave) of St Thomas.  There were pictures of Pope John Paul II (the last pope before the current one) visiting the church several years ago. Raja told me he was in 10^th grade, and he actually saw the Pope in Chennai. That’s sort of a big deal.  There was also some sort of service going on in the room with St. Thomas’s tomb, so we couldn’t get too close. They were singing hymns in English, but I was amused, because they were Protestant hymns (Nearer, My God, to Thee, and What a Friend we Have in Jesus.) Likely, it's just another fine example of India's spiritual openness.

Outside, there were about a hundred boys and girls dressed in white. It looked as if they were getting ready either for First Communion, Confirmation, or both. I also took a photo of a nun texting, because it was sort of funny. There was a celebration going on celebrating Mother Teresa’s 100th birthday, so there were a lot of nuns from her order there. You could recognize them from their white habits with the blue stripes.

At Santhome, I really had to go to the bathroom.  I know that’s TMI, but I had to share, because it was my first experience with a true Indian public toilet. Not my favorite experience, but one I expected to have eventually. I want to experience The Real India, and this is it.

After the church, our driver took us for a drive along Marina Beach. It was really cool. We stopped to look at some statues, and a memorial for Indian politician M.G.R. Ramachandran. Raja told me that Ramachandran was buried, even though he was a Hindu, and Hindus are almost always cremated.  He collected watches, and would wear a different watch for every occasion. Urban Legend says that the watch he was buried wearing is full of James Bond-like secret codes, including the access numbers to all the bank accounts containing the money he stole from the government. If that’s true, I wonder why no one has tried to dig him up yet! I was also wondering if his ghost was haunting the people who didn’t cremate him, because now he can’t return to Earth to fulfill his karma (lessons of cause and effect) and achieve moshka (unity with God.)

Finally, after all of our wanderings, I was tired and hot and sweaty. (It was very sunny today, finally!) We drove to T. Nagar to a Malaysian restaurant to meet my poet friend Sharanya in person for the first time. She is an amazing woman. I love her poems, but she is also just a very interesting person.  We talked about poetry, India, spirituality, and lots of other stuff.

The food was good and the discussion stimulating. Raja was very charming and got into the conversation, but he himself admits that he doesn’t really “get” poetry. Speaking of getting poetry, I bought a couple copies of Sharanya's book, one for myself and one for a friend. Her poems make my heart race and my head spin. Her work is so amazing. The way she uses words is pure magic. 

For dessert we had this amazingly interesting and delicious thing. It was sort of like a sweet fruit snow cone with vanilla ice cream on top and corn and kidney beans underneath. It sounds gross at first, but in the end it’s really good. Lots of things in life are like that, I guess. I felt bad because the ice cream rolled off the top when I was taking a bite and fell on the table, but the rest was good, too.

I was so tired when I got home that I couldn’t even write. 

Oh, and Monkey won over 1800 tickets at the Arcade. More Loud Toys.

Be good.

Day Fifteen: Chennai

August 25, 2010, Velachery, Chennai

9:31 a.m. India Time

The Internet is still down, but this time, it may just be the modem needs to be switched on and off or perhaps I need to reconfigure. I am a little stressed out as I really should have paid all my bills on Saturday.

I woke up late (I dunno, 9?) after a series of weird dreams. Part of it involved the MC and my asthma inhaler. I woke up coughing, and with a sore throat (which I’ve had on and off for a while now.) I gave myself an asthma treatment, and I feel better. I think the air quality here is finally getting to me.

I’m not sure what the plan is for today, but since it’s raining it probably means another arcade. I’m digging out my earplugs, for sure. Also, Raja left me with some money, so I may go buy something.

Last night I stayed up late researching restaurants in T.Nagar, the central Chennai shopping district, where we could take Sharanya for dinner on Thursday. I found a few places that look good. I was looking for places that have above average food and average prices. Granted, even a really spendy restaurant here is affordable: around $25-$30 per person is about the top range at a fancy hotel; however, you can usually get a really amazing dinner here for $2-$5 per person, and that includes dessert.

Speaking of dessert, I ate some laddoo this morning. I found it in my bag from the other day. It was still good and had not gone rancid. At least it didn’t taste rancid. We’ll see if I get violently ill later from rancid ghee. Laddoo and coffee has to be the perfect breakfast.

I had to go break up another session of “brotherly love” wherein the Monkey jumped on the Man Cub and got kicked in the head. Ah, brothers.

I’m still tired, and feel the need to be lazy for a short while longer. I’ll write more later, and make another attempt to get online.

12:47 p.m.

It was raining this morning, but it has cleared up, and is simply hot and overcast (what’s new?)  I had another cup of coffee, chapattis (sort of like soft, fried tortillas), and chicken curry for “second breakfast,” and played a couple of games of “I Did It” with the Monkey while Aunty took MC to the eye doctor. His eyes were a little swollen today. He has allergies and asthma like I do, so it’s probably just that, but everyone is overcautious here, and for good reason.  I think I have a cough drop in my first aid kit, and I could use one, so I’ll grab one before I go. Oh, and earplugs.

In fact, I could use some now, as the boys are bickering again. Time to go back to my room soon. I’m going to try one more time to connect to the Internet, though. Hmm…didn’t work.  This is really making me upset. I would use bad words, but I know some of you reading this would be shocked, so I won’t. I’ll just think them.

I just checked this post for spelling and grammar, and was amused at the spelling suggestions for “Velachery” They were (in order): flasher, teacher, belcher, Flaherty, debauchery, Delahey, peachey, Melcher, and feathery. Then, after I made this list,  “peachey” (which is exactly how they spelled it) came up as a spelling error! It should, of course, be spelled “peachy.”

After I moved to my room, guess who followed me in here, and are fighting over their games in here now? I guess that’s what it’s like when you have kids around. Really, it’s fine by me.

The other day when I was at Pothys, we were on the top floor where all the jewelry, purses and cosmetics are. A lady handed me an ad for a cosmetics line, which advertised “double whitening action.” I find it terribly sad that all of these beautiful dark skinned people, all the gorgeous shades of coffee, cinnamon, mocha, chocolate, topaz, earth…are being encouraged to (and that some want to) be vanilla. I mean, vanilla is very nice, but it has to be the most boring flavor. Not to say we pale skinned people are not cute. We are!  All colors of people are beautiful, and that’s what I’m saying. I hate that there is racism even among brown people in countries where nearly everyone is brown, especially since light-skinned people in the U.S. and Europe routinely kill themselves with skin cancer, tanning themselves in order to be more brown! Last but not least, if anyone does NOT need “double whitening action” it has got to be me. Seriously, what were they thinking?

My throat still really hurts and I am double moody. The thought of another arcade is disheartening, but you know, anything for the kids, and I really need to be there to keep the kids in line. I had to get on the Monkey at lunch (rice, chicken curry, amazing shrimp, rasam, and raita) to put down his darn DSi, and I spilled water all over myself. That really helped my mood.

Right now, astrologically, Mercury is in “retrograde.” That is, it seems to be moving backwards in the sky. Some people think that when Mercury is in retrograde, communication goes haywire. Computers stop working properly, people get in more arguments or have more misunderstandings. Things get lost, deals fall through. I’m not sure it’s completely true, and I think people like to have something to blame, but whether or not I blame Mercury Retrograde, a lot of that stuff seems to be happening right now. I guess I should spend some more time thinking, contemplating, reading and praying, and less time worrying about whether I will be able to post today or why Raja didn’t talk to me the last time he called the house.

He’s coming home tonight, and he’s been so busy since we’ve been here that I’ve only seen him in little bursts anyway.  He’s too busy today to miss me, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean I don’t miss him.  I miss my mom, too. I’ve tried to call her several times and she hasn’t answered.  I can only call her within a short window of time because of the time difference, so that makes it harder to reach her. She also doesn’t have her voice mail set up and that is extremely annoying.  I’m going to get that dealt with when I get home. Seriously, Mom!

Went to a different mall and spent a couple excruciatingly long hours in a different arcade. After a break for chaat and ice cream, the boys returned to the arcade with Uncle and Aunty and I begged for respite and went shopping instead. This mall is very modern and filled with Western-style shops and such (Levi’s, Converse, Esprit) and so I didn’t buy much. I bought some Indian games to share with some kids I know and a couple toe rings and a gift for my man (smelly stuff, of course.) The M.C. has a loose tooth, and it’s really annoying him.  The Monkey is a master at all ticket games, and earned 1,565 tickets tonight, enough to buy two laser guns, a remote control car, and two swords. M.C. is a motorcycle maniac. He got 5 1^st place winnings today, and 7 second place wins. I also took footage of the bumper cars, which I have entitled: “Chennai Driving School.”

Dinner was fabulous fast food (not.) I had chicken strips at KFC, which were ok, but were served with salsa (WTH?) and the coleslaw was sadly disgusting.  I was sooooo disappointed. Still, I had three Virginia Mojitos today (I confused the guy when I accidentally asked for it by that name the first time. Ooops.) I also got a funny look when I tried to pay w/ a 10-rupee note instead of a 100. I’m an idiot.  (Better than when I tried to give a sales guy 1000 rather than 100!) Oh well, I’ll learn.

The drive back wasn’t quite as bad tonight, although traffic still sucked rocks. In the car I called Raja and he told me he was at the airport. That’s all the love I get. LOL.  Once we got home I got ready for bed and called my mom.  She’s in Pullman visiting my brother, so I got to talk to him, too, and wish him happy birthday. (37… OMG, he’s old!) While I was talking to my mom, I accidentally hit one of the switches with my elbow and blew a fuse. I had to have Aunty hit the breaker for me afterwards.

Afterwards, the kids finally stopped shooting one another, and the M.C. came in here and we had a nice long talk about “Man Cub” stuff.  I’ll let you guess what Man Cubs might want to talk about. He’s awesome.  (“Obviously,” he says, looking over my shoulder.)

I can’t wait until Raja comes home. I want to kiss him all over his face.

I’ll try again tomorrow with Internet. I really miss your questions and being in contact with you all. I promise I’ll do my best to upload soon.

Until then, be good.

Day Fourteen: Chennai

August 24, 2010, Velachery, Chennai

10:15 a.m.-9:06 p.m. India Time

I always feel as if there is so much I'm forgetting to write. This place is so full. Every moment, every iota of space and time is so rich, colorful, cacophonous. I love it so much, I feel as if I'm going to cry when I have to leave, even though I miss the U.S. and all of my friends and family. 

There is some incredible music in the air this morning, with lots of drums and some sort of horn or wind instrument, and a cool breeze coming through the window. It's overcast, and I'm not sure if that means rain, or if it might brighten up later like it did yesterday. 

I couldn't sleep again last night. I'm not sure if it's all the coffee, or my body clock adjusting (I am naturally a night person), or what, but I had to get up out of bed last night to write. I like being up alone at night, and that's often when I do my best creative writing (I write poetry. I even had some published in a book recently.) I have spent most of my writing time on this blog, of course, but I like to keep my poetry skills flowing. Out of every ten poems I write, only a couple of them are really good, so I have to write a lot. I've been writing poetry since I was ten years old, and stories since I was four. I'm much better at poetry than stories, as I don't have the focus or attention span to develop a story well. Poetry is more like a short burst of thought, and I'm pretty adept at those. 

On Thursday, I am going to meet a poet I really admire. Her name is Sharanya Manivannan, and she is an amazing poet, journalist, and spoken word performer, and she is only 25! She's really beautiful, too. I can't wait to meet her and talk to her about writing, India, and all other kinds of things.

Anyway, last night I got up, ate a bar of chocolate, swatted mosquitoes, wrote a few poems, tried to meditate, said a few prayers, and went to bed. I didn't get up this morning until 9. Raja actually called me lazy, and I laughed at him, because he has to be the laziest man on earth. I've never known a guy who can nap so well. Anni says her hubby is a close contender, though. Maybe those two should have a sleeping contest. 

Raja tells me he usually reads my blog, just to make sure I am not misrepresenting India. I think it’s just to see how many times I mention his name. He’s a little egotistical that way. I told him that I was going to write:

“India is just like a Bollywood movie. Yesterday it rained and dozens of lovers were dancing in the monsoon, singing songs of love…”

My friend Liese asked me how Aunty could bake a cake in such a small oven, and to tell you the truth, I don't know. My guess is that they simply don't bake a lot of cakes. I don't see much cake here. Ice cream, yes. (I've had some amazing ice cream here, in very exotic fruit flavors.) Sweets, yes, made mostly of nuts and ghee and cream and yum. Turnovers, too and pastry, but not a lot of cake.

Raja has to go to Bangalore overnight for business. His company has an office there, which is where he'll work if we end up moving to Bangalore in two years. Uncle tells me that we'll drop him at the airport tonight at 3-ish and then go somewhere together (me, Aunty, Uncle, and the kids.)  Raja will be home tomorrow night very late. His plane doesn't get in until 11:00 p.m. so he'll take an auto home.

I have some photos to post, but that means I have to move to the hot living room, where I actually get Internet access. I need to move there anyway to post this, but it feels so nice here in my bedroom with the breeze and the peace and quiet (and by that I mean nobody talking, and by that I mean no adults trying to convince naughty children to put down their DSi-s and eat breakfast. It is always an argument. I just say to them, "eat it" and give them the hairy eyeball. It usually works. ) The music is still coming in from outside, it’s a special day of prayer, and the pujas began this morning at about 5:30.

****

This has been a most frustrating day. I have not been able to get on the Internet all day, despite the fact that other computers in this house have not had a problem doing so. I am so annoyed that I just want to throw my computer out the window, but I know that, a) That wouldn’t fix the problem, and b) I’d regret it later.

Today at about three-ish, we left to take Raja to the airport to catch his flight to Bangalore. The car we hired was so small that Monkey had to sit on my lap, and Man Cub had to sit on Raja’s lap. He could have sat on my lap, but he refused. “I don’t like sitting on women,” he said, “I like lying on women.”  (I don’t think he means just any women; he means his mom and other relatives, and in a purely cuddly way, of course.) At least he’s honest about what he likes.

Raja got out at the airport and we (Uncle, Aunty and I) took the boys to a mall to play arcade games, as it was rainy and we couldn’t go to the beach. It shouldn’t have been a huge problem except that our driver was a complete &$%!!#$%@^ idiot. (Forgive my symbolic bad language.) He took a wrong turn, and instead of taking us there in a straight line, he went in a huge circle! It took us almost an hour to get there. It’s sort as if you were going to Puyallup from Tacoma, but instead you decided to drive through Bonney Lake and Sumner as a “short cut”. It took us almost an hour.

We went to the loudest arcade I have ever been to. If we ever go again, I am definitely taking my earplugs. From what I have seen of the Man Cub’s skills in driving games and bumper cars, he has a wonderful career ahead of him in the auto-rickshaw business. Monkey is the best skee-ball player I have ever met. He won enough tickets to get a teddy bear that plays music when you squeeze it. Aunty spent about 30 minutes making sure he got a bear in which the sound box worked, but I think she’ll soon regret that. I had to give the bear a time out because it was being annoying on the ride home, singing “I love you, I love you, I love you,” until I wanted to throw it out the window.

We ate a decent dinner, for mall food. MC and I shared a chicken combo plate and some chicken kabob.  Actually, I ate all the chicken kabob and a lot of the combo plate. I was very hungry. My throat was sore from shouting over the terrible din of the arcade and breaking up bouts of “brotherly love.”

I also had to go to the bathroom at the mall. It was pretty scary (sort of like going at a rest stop), and I was just glad I brought my own tissue and hand sanitizer. That’s all I have to say about that.

Now, I have a lot of patience, but I was really about to blow my top when the driver took another wrong turn and it took over an hour to get home! It didn’t help that the traffic was the worst I had ever seen. Seriously. It was like Friday afternoon traffic on I-5 if no one used any lanes or obeyed any traffic rules. The boys both fell asleep, the Monkey on my lap, and the MC in the front seat. At one point the driver pushed the MC’s head off his shoulder. That was hilarious. At that point, Aunty just stuck her hand up front and held the MC’s head in place. Even worse was that the #^$&$! driver had to stop for gas, and Aunty and Uncle had to pay for it! I hope to all that’s holy that he was not charging them by the mile.

At the last U-turn before our place, he tried to squeeze out a couple of other guys and ha ha! There was a cram, and another car got wedged between him and a motorbike (there wasn’t even a bump, and no one was hurt) but as the other car pulled back, we could hear the scraaaaaaaaaape of the metal against metal. It was just like the Man Cub in the bumper cars. The driver was really mad, and got out and started yelling at the other guys. Apparently the guy on the bike left: parked his bike super quick, and ran. That's the way they do it here. The driver just had to get over it and take us home.  I didn’t feel very sorry for him.  Karma (or should I say CAR-ma) sucks.

 We finally got home at 8:55. I’m exhausted. I talked to Raja for a moment on the phone, and I think he’s going to call me tomorrow. I still can’t get online, and my computer is running very slow in general, so I’m going to call it a night. I’ll try again tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have better luck.

Until then, be good!

FINALLY!

I am home (to Portland, which is feeling more and more like home to me) and have my interwebs, again! I guess it was just something personal between my Mac and Uncle and Aunty's router, or maybe Airtel (the Internet Service Provider) is holding some sort of grudge.

Maybe it was just Mercury in Retrograde (You will hear more about that as I upload my posts.)

I'll be uploading my posts and some photos over the next few days. I have been keeping notes, don't worry. I have a few places where I have to revise, but they'll be up ASAP.

Thank you for reading this, all of you. It has been a very large part of the fun of my trip.

Post soon. Until then, be good!

I ATEN'T DEAD

Hey, people!

I'm sorry I haven't been able to post for the last three days, but something is FUBAR (messed up) with my computer and I can't connect to the Internet at all. I'll have to get it looked at when I get back to the U.S.

I'm typing on Raja's computer right now, and hopefully I can retype in all of my blog posts (yes, I've still been blogging: I've been saving them in Word) when he's not busy. It's going to take a while, but I promise I'll get it up soon. I'm hoping for a little sightseeing today, and I have to begin getting my things together. We're going to Mysore and Bangalore this weekend, and our whole schedule is full until we leave. Have to make up for the downtime when the M.C. was sick and Raja was out of town on business.

More later. Be good.