Pondicherry

An interesting drive down. ...I had agreed to share my taxi with a lovely French couple who had I met on the beach a few days earlier..chance encounter during my brief walk the night before had brought us together again as chance would have it, and so they duly arrived as agreed. Only to argue fiercely with the driver over the price. He then got his own back by driving like a maniac. swerving around anything which got in his way , muttering under his breath . Me, he liked, he said, but 'what can you do, some people' was his verdict on  my fellow travellers. They were very pleasant, I thought, but Tamil Nada seems to have its own culture and bartering over an agreed price isn't part of it.
Still, we made it, past the sparkling waters of the sea deltas and through rural villages.

And so I arrived at this quiet gentle guest house (aka heritage house) with a quiet room and a shady roof terrace just right for me to sleep in!
I am still feeling very fragile but made it out for a brief walk to admire the beach and the French colonial buildings and cathedrals. There's some fascinating art work too ,as you can see from the pics.

Pondicherry Beach

Local Artwork

Hopefully I will feel less fragile soon. I'm just not good at this resting lark but my body certainly knows its been hit by a cow! So needs must...an Indian I was talking to on the beach told me it was fate and I must concentrate on the positive , ie I will recover and I have to slow down (too much rushing, he reckoned ) so I am endeavoring to do as he said.

thanks

Thanks to everyone who sent messages of good wishes following my altercation vwith the cow!! I am very black and blue, very stiff and sore, but hopefully nothing too drastic. Off to Pondicherry in a taxi ...can't face bus.  So will update progress soonest, but your get well messages much appreciated! X

Traumatic

Today was the most traumatic of my India experiences, past, present and hopefully not to be repeated in the future!
The morning dawned well and I joined the still throwing crowds to wander around the stunning rock temples and ancient rock temples. As you can see from the pics, I was happy and smiling as I enjoyed the elephants of 'anjuras penace' shrine, admired the butterball free standing rock, clambered to the highest temple to look down on the view.

Butterball

Anjuras Pennance shrine

Temple Guardians

On Top of the World

Everyone is dressed up for Pongal, including the temple guardians.
Then disaster struck. Mingling with the crowds on the beach to watch the sunset a passing horse spooked a sacred cow who charged...and I was in the way. The horn caught me in my right side, throwing me into the air.
By the time I came round I was the centre of attention of an incredibly kind mass of people. An ambulance was called.ice was brought from vendors and people even went to buy lollies to place on my hip. I was put on a chair and carried shoulder high to an ambulance in too much pain to be embarrassed!
I did not want to go to hospital and asked to go back to my guest house but there the pain struck with a vengeance. My salvation came in the form of a fellow guest, a Canadian pharmacist, who masterminded a  taxi. With my host in attendance we went first to the primary hospital close by only to be sent on to the 'super special' place half an hour away. A modern complex almost deserted bug with plenty of doctors waiting to receive me and all the equipment ready and waiting.
Four hours later I was x-rayed, ultra sounded, pumped full of antibiotics and pain killers (so relieved my pharmacist friend watched them like a hawk, checking needles etc for me so I knew they were sterile) and all for the princely sum of twenty pounds.
I declined admission and signed the disclaimer as I was desperate to lie down and cry in solitude.
I write this the following morning...very very sore,  my right hip and thigh are literally black with bruising, but nothing major that won't heal with rest, fingers crossed. So this will have to slow me down every way.

a relation of the offending animal

I still intend to move on tomorrow, by taxi though rather than by bus...Mamallorapurum at Pongal has been an experience but I m keen to move away even if I can only rest in another guest house...ah well, happy Pongal!!!

After a day spent resting in the cool I finally felt brave enough to go for a short evening stroll. I now know two new things.
1) Mamallorapurum is a tiny typical lazy Indian seaside village normally. The kind of sleepy idyllic three street place with fishing boats up on the sand and locals sitting around drinking chai.
2) I am now terrified of cows!!
Which is going to make my time in India interesting as there's cows at every turn. Doh

festival madness

Today is traditionally  the maddest day of the four day Pongal holiday and, as the fates would have it , I am in the maddest town.
This is the day when everyone goes out, literally. It was,  I was told,   'mandatory' for family outings to the sea. And Mamallaporum is Tamil Nada's place to go..despite the fact that it consists of a handful of village streets and is about the size of Kingston.
Famous normally for its ancient stone temples and rock carving (its a world heritage site) it is also infamous for its crowds at Pongal, esp on the third day,ie today.
After the welcoming rituals and family feast, the third day is to celebrate  animals. Or, the locals ns call it 'the day of the bull'. Luckily the traditional bull fighting 'to honor the cow' has disapeared (mostly).
i now know understand more about the importance of Pongal, the need to celebrate the new harvest season in a county like Tamil Nadu where the majority of the population depends on agriculature.  The name itself means to 'overflow' and is cried out over copious pouring of milk and rice to usher in the holidays.
This morning when I set off for my walk along the beach it was relatively quiet here. As  I returned along the sands to the village I could hear the roar of incoming crowds. By  early afternoon back in the cool haven of my tiny room (cell) the noise outside was deafening. Even the roaming cows had taken sanctuary against walls leaving the streets to the maddening crowds.
When I did venture out I found there was a great atmosphere, the beach resembled a giant market/funfair, tightly packed with bodies but everyone smiling, greeting and waving, often I was handed babies or even a puppy to hold for a photo op, rather surreal. Not often I'm taken for a model!
The dance festival continues every evening and tonight  I saw the energectic 'flok' dancing...thats folk dancing, methinks...aerobic zumba type moves which I rather fancied joining in but didn't think the professionals would appreciate it.
An ensemble traditional dance was fascinating not just due to the hilarious lack of ensemble but also to  the hairy, moustached and bejewelled 'female' dancer in the all 'female' troupe. His effeminate grace and charm was greeted with much applause and cheers.  So a mad, mad day -but turns out that I've ended up in the right place at the right time to join in the madness!

Mamallorapurum

There were many disappointing aspects to this b and b but also it turns out some surprisingly good ones-the bed was indeed comfy, very rare in India where the norm is a mat not a mattress, breakfast was great, fresh guava juice, cheese (processed but you can't have everything) omlette, toast and jam and coffee.
After a week of traditional Indian breakfasts a western one was just fine by me.
My low mood of yesterday lifted still further as a I walked for miles along the beach watching the crashing surf and enjoying the solitude as an unusually cloudy sky was keeping the crowds away.
For me though the overcast morning was a welcome relief to my English skin and the fresh wind a relief from the usual dense heat.
I wandered so far I found myself with no water and no town in sight, just a handful of exclusive beach resorts. Which one welcomed me in-not  the 5 star western one, but the private holiday camp for  Indian workers.
The luxury hotel chain I will not name said only room guests could 'buy' water. The other local camp ushered me in with generous welcome and insisted on giving me free water.
Revived, I returned to find my host here had indeed been as good as his word and provided me with a booster for wifi in my room.  My faith in human nature restored!!
I passed a pleasant hour with my fellow guests, a retired naval commander and his wife, sitting outside in the shady dust bowl of a garden before venturing out to explore the rock sculptures and temples this town is famous for.

Rock sculptures

Carvings are everywhere, not just inscribed into the rocks  but also on ancient temple ruins. It is  free to climb/slip/scramble on the rocks despite their height. Surviving ruins and pillars from dynasties long ago suddenly appear around every corner.The photo shows one sculpture which gave me quite a turn...

Scary Sculpture

Watching the setting sun from a high rock looking over the delta was superb.

Sunset over the delta

Back down on the ground, I walked the roads lined with sculpturers, where the noise of chisels on granite is constant.
The town is a world famous buyers market, apparently, and the stall holders don't mind photos as they are proud of their work. From tiny necklaces to the jumble of figures in my pic to enormous looming statues-as spectacular as the ancient ruins and drawings.
Back again to the dance festival where I watched a story unfold in delicate  intricate hand and feet movements by dancers moving to traditional music. The holiday crowds loved it, and today, feeling happier,  I too was able to appreciate and enjoy this special festival event.

Lost in the crowd

After the exhilaration and sensory overload of the last week, it was inevitable that homesickness would kick in sooner rather than later. Today was that day. Awoke sad to leave the friendly guest house in Chennai where the family have made me so welcome and, despite wanting to leave the city chaos, sad to leave familiar territory.
I treated myself to a taxi, it being Pongal and everyone on the roads and the buses. The gov lay on buses to take city dwellers home to their villages so as we left Chennai I joined the mass exodus for the long weekend.
Coming to the seaside heritage town of Mamallorapurum turned out to be like arriving in Brighton on bank holiday Monday. Manic.
My new b and b is not nearly as nice but expensive by Indian standards...but I booked ahead and that's the price you pay.
Off I set to fight my way through the crowds to stride along the sands, and did find the 'posher' side where there were other tourists... Eureka.  Pleasant south Indian beach, reminiscent of Goa, though marred by discovery of dead turtles, apparently the fisherman catch them in their nets so they are collateral damage. Such a sad sight.

The Beach

and sadly a dead Turtle

By the time dusk fell my homesickness has caught up with me in waves. The gorgeous sunset over the town’s renowned sand sculptures and a visit to the annual dance festival was a feast for the eyes but as I wandered home my eyes were not full of the sights but full of tears for home and family.

Sunset over the town

Dance Festival

The staff here, who had been very standoffish, saw I was upset as I crept back to my cell and turned out to be very kind after all. I have been promised wifi in my room by tomorrow rather than just in the public areas as is at present..I’m not holding my breath but it was sweet that they realised I wanted to be in touch with my family in private when I explained I was upset not because I had been robbed as they thought but was missing home. Inidians value family intensely and understood this without the need for more words.

On the plus side, I have discovered the bed is actually not too hard so the day has ended on an up note!!

Pongal

Today is the beginnng of the four day festival of Pongal, a very auspicious time in the Tamil calandar. As I write fireworks are going off around me and the day has been full of celebrations where, with true Indian generousity, I have been welcomed with beckoning hands of genuine hospitality.
A morning walk to the local temple just out of curiosity as I had no idea what to expect of this holiday coincided their Pongal special annual ceremony involving complex rituals such as pouring boiling  milk  over the deity in a hour's holy ceremony accompanied by traditional music and fragrant incense.

Temple decorated for Pongal 

I was welcomed in, given a front seat (on the ground, obviously but I am getting  used to the continual coating of dust and dirt now) blessed with holy water, anointed on the forehead with a special mark, given ceremonial flowers and oranges and invited for lunch.

I politely declined and made my way by bus to George Town to escape the intense midday heat by enjoying my favourite lassi -the staff now greet me as a friend, which is lovely-and walking the grounds of the leafy High Court compound,  a stunning expanse of classical  red coloured buildings topped with mosaic coloured domes.
Walking the narrow lanes of this ancient district for a final foray I came across another temple in full festival mode. Drawn in by colourful streamers and insistant worshippers it was impossible to refuse their hospitality and I was given special extra large portions of the communal Pongal feast,  tamarind rice, chick pea 'something', ghee to mix and a gorgeous fig based desert. Great for a veggie like me and delicious.
The kindly hosts even found me a spoon as my attempts to use my hand was not as good as usual as I was nervous... I'd been invited to sit with the priests on a step and not on the ground and just could not work my fingers.

Pongal Feast

Chennai  is just not a city that attracts tourists so I am usually the only  western face-not always a good thing but today a bonus as everyone wanted to show me the spirit of Pongal.
Walking home I fell into step with a passing evening temple parade and then wandered home thinking the day was over. I was wrong.

Pongal Parade

With darkness comes the parade, the firecrackers, the fireworks...I got literally swept up in one mad chaotic march - this city certainly knows how to party! Drums, music, flower petals flung from every window, illuminations of every size and colour: the city transformed into spectacular party mode.
Happy Pongal 2015 to everyone in England from this special day here.