Southern India - 10 February 2012 (1)

Out of Tamil Nadu

Vegetables, Usilambatti Market

Vegetables, Usilambatti Market

It was an early start, so I was up at 0530.  We left promptly at 0730 for a long ride to Thekkady.  I sat at the back of the bus and was bounced around quite a bit, which made it difficult to write my journal.  But I didn’t get travel sick like some people in the group, so I was able to read and even write when the roads were smoother and there were fewer corners.  The back seat was higher than the others, so Steve was happy to sit there too, because he got good views for his photos.

Garlic for Sale, Usilambatti Market

Bananas, Usilambatti Market

As we drove through Madurai, everyone commented on the rubbish.  It seemed like the government’s effort to get India tidy hadn’t reached here yet.  Communal areas and rivers seemed the worst affected.

Family, Usilambatti

Brothers, Usilambatti

We passed lots of schoolchildren, waiting for the school bus.  They happily waved at us.

Then we were back in the countryside, with very productive-looking fields, the occasional lake with lots of birds, and cows with painted horns.  We were approaching the Western Ghats, but for now there were just rocky outcrops and a gentle climb which still managed to slow the bus.

Brick Making 1 - Dig Some Wet Red Mud

Brick Making 2 - Pour into Metal Grid

We had a 20 minute stop to look round the market in Usilambatti.  As well as flowers, there were lots of fresh vegetables for sale: mini aubergines, cauliflowers, onions, garlic, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, manioc, plantains and sugar cane.

Brick Making 3 - Pack Mud and Smooth

Brick Making 4 - Raise Frame

Brick Making 5 - Stamp with Maker's Mark

Brick Making 6 - Leave to Dry then Stack

Our next stop was to see bricks being made.  This was a very manual operation, but quite fascinating.  The rich red earth was dampened to the right consistency and then scooped into a wheelbarrow with an inverted spade-like implement.  This was then wheeled to a man who was operating a metal grid.  The clay was tipped into the grid and further water added as it was smoothed and pressed down.  When ready, the grid was raised, leaving two rows of six bricks each.  The grid was moved on and the next two rows were made.  A lady moved along the rows of completed bricks and pressed an implement in the wet clay to leave diamond shaped imprints.  She marked the bricks two by two and could only reach three bricks on each side.  Lukose told us that the bricks were left to dry in the sun for a few days and then stacked and dried in a kiln, made from bricks which they had made earlier.  We watched as some men stacked completed bricks onto a lorry.

Brick Making 7 - Bake in Kiln/Load Truck

Poor Mangy Dog Outside Bakery

Next we had a coffee stop at the Maruthi Bakery in Theni.  Lukose took our orders to speed things up.  I was so glad that I ordered the white coffee, which was very nice.  The black tea looked terrible – really thick and strong – and got nul points from the people who had it.  Lukose tried to make it drinkable by diluting it with more water, but that never works.  The samosas and coffee – and the toilets – all scored dix or douze points.  Outside, I saw a dog, with full teats, who suffered so badly from mange that she kept chewing the hair on her back because it was itching so much.

Working in Rice Paddy

Such Green & Fertile Land!

The next stop was beside a rice paddy where women were working.  Egrets foraged on a nearby wet patch and in the irrigation ditches.  Across the road were a kapok tree, coconut palms and a stall selling planters in nice pastel colours.  They would have looked great in my garden, but were not practical to transport.  Unwanted parts of banana plants lay discarded beside the road.

Colourful Planters for the Garden

Soon after that stop, the scenery really began to change as we hit the Western Ghats.  From agricultural land, we moved to woodland and the road wound round and round to take us up into the mountains.  Macaque monkeys sat beside the road.

As we climbed, a blue lorry kept tooting his horn, trying to get past.  He made his move as a bus and another lorry came down the other way.  He tried again and managed to pass us, but he soon got stuck behind another bus and we caught him up.

We reached the border town of Kumily and Guruprasad had to get out to pay duty on the bus.  We had left Tamil Nadu and were now in Kerala.

Southern India - 9 February 2012 (3)

Shopping, Eating and Sleeping

Next stop was shopping.  There hadn’t been any opportunities to shop so far, so people were eager to start spending.  We thought it would be free time in a shopping area, but it turned out to be hard sell carpet shopping in an emporium.  The carpet sellers were part of a co-operative from Kashmir.  We were given cold drinks and invited to sit down.  I found the sprite quite reviving and it was lovely to be in an air-conditioned area.  The carpets looked and felt good.  They were hard wearing and so we were encouraged to walk on them when heading for the restrooms.  I managed to resist buying, but Shona and Stewart had come to India intending to buy a carpet, so the sales pitch wasn’t in vain.

Most of us headed downstairs where other items were on sale.  I looked for jewellery as I wanted a pair of earrings to wear for the rest of the holiday.  The first ones I was shown were decorated with precious stones and so were too good for what I wanted.  Eventually I found someone who had a box of silver earrings.  He fished out a couple of pairs and quoted RS2,400 a pair.  I haggled and eventually got a pair for £20 or Rs1,500, so I was quite pleased with myself as I am not usually a good haggler.  They are quite ornate and have a stamp on the back to show that they are silver.  Some of the others bought things like pashminas and cushion covers.

Then we got on the bus and headed to the Bell Food Court for lunch.  We went into the more expensive air-conditioned room, but even this was far from cool.  I decided only to have two chapatis and my usual fresh lime soda and this came to just Rs90 with a tip.  I felt so much more human after that and quite recovered from my funny spell at the start of our sightseeing this morning.  The bus back to the hotel did a small diversion to drop people off at the Gandhi Museum, but I stayed on.

Back at the hotel, I washed my feet, caught up with my journal and slept.  Once again, Jen’s key card didn’t work, so it was a good thing that I was in the room when she got back.  It was also a good thing that I had the card which did work.

We ate the buffet dinner in the hotel which was very nice, especially the bhindi dopiaza.  It was the most expensive meal so far: Rs650 including fresh lime soda and tip.

Andrew had been late for dinner.  He had been using the free internet in the hotel to contact Australia and said that this had been available in all three hotels we had stayed in so far.  After dinner, I decided to take advantage of the facility.  I sent three quick emails and then had to run to the room.  The only time my tummy felt bad on the whole trip.  Then I had some quality reading time and was still awake when Jen got back.

The others had gone back to the Meenakshi Temple to see the statue of Shiva being put to bed with his wife, Meenakshi.  From what they said, it seems to have been very interesting, with lots of people attending.  They felt very welcome and there were plenty of requests for group photos in both directions.

Southern India - 9 February 2012 (2)

 Meenakshi Temple

Gopuram, Meenakshi Temple

Ceiling inside Meenakshi Temple

Just outside the entrance to the Meenakshi Temple, we saw a party, the focus of which was a newly married couple.  They were attending a blessing, either to help the bride conceive or to celebrate that she was pregnant.  Once again, they were very happy for us to take photos.

As we entered the temple, we were frisked and had to prove our cameras were indeed cameras.  This was easily done by showing a photo on the view screen, but I wondered how they did it back in the days of film.  Perhaps the security threat was lower, but it could have spelled disaster.  I remember having to take my batteries out of my camera the first time I went to India.  Instead of opening the battery compartment, I opened the film compartment and lost several photos of people I used to work with.

Blessing Party

Wedding Party

While the others were busy being searched, I dashed inside and bought 11 bangles from a shop just inside.  It would have been 12, but one broke as it was being put on.  The elderly vendor measured my hand by squeezing the part round the knuckles and immediately picked the perfect size – large enough to go on (with a fair bit of pushing) but small enough not to interfere with anything I might want to do with my hands.  The bangles were made of glass, which was why they were fragile, and were covered in glitter, much of which came off onto my hands.

Ground Squirrel in Meenakshi Temple

Gopurams of Meenakshi Temple

Once our group had reassembled, we crossed over to the Shiva side and made our way to the tank from where we could see five high gopurams and vimanas.  A wedding party walked past as we got there.

Tank Under Repair

Human Chain Removing Rubble

The tank was being refurbished – by hand.  We watched as people with pickaxes cut large chunks of stone which were put into metal bowls.  These bowls were then passed along a chain of people who carried them on their heads for a few paces or up 3-5 steps before passing them on to the next person and walking back for their next load.  Everyone wore padding on their heads.  I guess it was better to carry a heavy load a short distance and get plenty of short rests and labour was plentiful and cheap.  Both men and women took part in the human chain.  I didn’t find out how far the chain went, but it disappeared off to the left as we made our way round the far side of the tank.

Human Chain Removing Rubble

Human Chain Removing Rubble

Proud Father in Wedding Party

Further round was a model of the temple, kept under glass.  I was looking at it when Lukose called us over because he had spotted another wedding.  It seemed that this was the best way to get us all together and following him.  This time, the bride seemed to be one of the security guards as many of them were gathered round and one was acting as the bride’s support, wiping her brow and generally looking after her.  There were several young children in the wedding party.  A father happily posed with one of them who had flowers in her hair.  It was not all peace and harmony though.  One woman with a baby slapped another woman with a baby, but I could not see the reason for the dispute.

Ganesha

Lukose finally managed to lead us away and took us to where a small crowd was gathering in front of a curtained alcove.  This seemed to be an important event because a couple of holy men were part of the crowd.  After a wait, the curtain was pulled back to reveal a statue of Ganesh, dressed and decorated for the occasion.  Like many people, I thought that the queue meant that the statue would only be revealed for a brief moment so we all started snapping frantically, jostling for a good shot.  However, the crowd dissipated after a while, leaving plenty of room for everyone to get a good photo.

Carving in Temple

Marriage of Meenakshi to Shiva

We moved into a hall which contained several displays in glass cases, the first being a shrine to the planets.  Lukose said that people would pray to Saturn to ask him not to cause them harm.  A nearby statue of Shiva had some good carvings around it, including one of his marriage to Meenakshi, who is an incarnation of Parvati.

Voluptuous Statue

It had been very hot and humid inside the temple, so it was a huge relief to move into the next hall which was air-conditioned and much more comfortable.  This was the hall of 1,000 pillars.  The hall included a small exhibition of ancient bronze statues, like those we had seen before and a small cart for carrying a god in procession.

Bronze Statue of 8-Armed God

Two elephants were either side of the steps, leading up to the central shrine.  When I got to the shrine, a procession came up the hall to feed the god.  An elderly man had been sitting beside one of the elephants and he stood up when the procession came.  As they walked back down the hall, the man spoke to the final man in the procession, but he was completely ignored.  Could this be a tragic family drama, with the elderly man trying to make amends with a lost son?  It seemed very sad and I wasn’t the only one in our group to remark on it.

At long last, we emerged from the temple and were reunited with our shoes.  Even that seemed to take a long time, with Lukose having to round up people who kept disappearing.