Here are a few of my recent observations about this lovely, crazy city the locals call Madras:
1. Every tool from shovels to brooms don't have long handles. This seems strange to think about, but the shovels workers use to dig holes alongside the roads are about two-feet long. Also, the actual shovel part is at a 45 degree angle from the short holder. This gives a whole new meaning to back-breaking labor. The brooms are bundles of sticks also about two-feet long. Men and women everywhere are bending in half simply because they don't extend the handle of their household tools! Again, I just don't ask questions.

2. Diwali was lots of fun at the O. The kids had a ball shooting off crackers and enjoying a "special lunch." Each child received a new outfit, too. Diwali is the one day where the toddlers wear diapers so they don't dirty their new clothes. Well, one for the whole day was probably very uncomfortable. I picked up one diaper-clad girl and sat her on my lap. When I put her down, she had left a wet circle where her bum was. I believe super-saturation is the correct term. Finally the bangs and booms of the crackers have stopped. It seemed for the whole week before Diwali (and a few days after), the loud sounds would wake me up long before my alarm clock would.

3. I ate street food. I paid for it.



On Monday and Tuesday, I took a short trip South. Monday morning, I ventured to Asia's largest bus station which is only about 4 km from the apartment. Thankfully, the police don't just stand there, they are actually willing to help people who ask. So, I found my gate with ease and jumped the crowded government bus to Mahabilapuram, aka Mamallapuram. I was lucky enough to get a seat of my own after having to move once. I accidentally sat in the ticket-collector's seat and received some harsh words in Tamil for doing so. Luckily though, I didn't have to stand for the two-hour trip.
On the way down, I caught myself staring at the other whities on the bus, wondering the usual questions I am asked (Where are they from? How long have they been in India? How do they like it?). I looked away and out the window to the coast. Mamallapuram is a "traveler's enclave" says my Lonely Planet guide. It is less than 100 km south on East Coast Road, the A1A for the Bay of Bengal. This road is lined with beach resorts, tourist attractions, and restaurants with neon signs big enough for Times Square.
Mamallapuram is right on the beach, so the local specialty is fresh fish. I passed though all the sights: the Five Rathas which are huge stone- carved temples from thousands of years ago, the monkey temple teeming with the smelly mammals, the haggling store-owners, and back to the bus station where I jumped the late-afternoon trip to Pondicherry aka Puducherry.
I have read all Pondy's French flavor, but wondered if I was in the right spot when I arrived. The bus stand is in the Tamil part of town. There is a French quarter, but it is closer to the beach. Most of Pondy is just like any other Indian town: loud, dirty, and overly crowded. The French Quarter, though, is exceedingly pleasant. There are Mediterranean restaurants and hotels in old colonial homes. I stayed at one of these places and loved every minute of it. From tea in the courtyard to my large, airy room, I didn't want to leave! Pondy also has great shopping, so I made sure to enjoy that aspect, as well. The main tourist sight is the large Sri Aurobindo Ashram where visitors can practice yoga or meditation. I am planning to visit it on my next trip to the city.
I spent Tuesday morning in Auroville, the utopian community just outside Pondy. Auroville is as hippie as hippie gets. It was founded on idealistic principles of work for subsistence and relationships for love, not selfish desires. The visitor's center is very informative and it seemed like they are always willing to take new believers. It is a community where anyone can live and work in return for room and board, I believe. There is no presence of money amongst the residents. The mini-villages within the community have original names like "harmony," "peace," and "serenity." Auroville rakes in the cash from people who still think money is necessary by selling beautiful handicrafts, clothing, shoes, paperwork, and jewelry. There is also a working organic farm, and a bakery on the grounds. The visitor's center is near a small shopping area with three different boutiques and a cafeteria. There are also Auroville boutiques elsewhere in Tamil Nadu (the one in Chennai is not nearly as good as the one in Pondy). It is possible to more than just shop and eat here: There is a huge, gold, Epcot-like orb for gatherings of Aurovilleans called Matrimandir. Tourists aren't even allowed inside, but it is bright, bold, and fun to see.

That was my short trip South. Pondy is only about 4 hours away, so I was back to Chennai by the evening. In other news, it is the rain season and I am desperately seeking an umbrella. My raincoat just isn't going to cut it in these monsoons.

Finally A Chance To Write!

It's Monday morning at 9:15. I jump in a rickshaw after showing the driver the address of the local agriculture college that is holding a full-day cooking class starting at 9:30. It is 3km away, so I have plenty of time. At 9:45, after stopping three or four times so the driver can ask for directions, I am getting ansy. It is 9:50 and I spot the small building as we are driving down the same road we have been for the past ten minutes. I figure it is ok to walk in a few minutes late, I mean it is India. Long story short, I got worked up for nothing (as usual). The class didn't really start until 11. Until then, everyone just sat around and chatted. I was the "special guest" according to the host of the class. I had to introduce myself first and tell all about why I was in India. I was asked a million times if I liked Indian food. One girl even said, "are you actually interested in Indian cooking?" I answered with a cautious, "yes." She then sighed and said, "oh, it's so cumbersome, but I have to learn it so I can cook for my family." I'm sure she means so she can cook for her husband. That was the first time any Indian has hinted to me that Indian culture is not perfect. Well, once I heard someone crack a joke about the government offices, but no sane person can actually think they are efficient. I even dislike going into the post office. It is a scary place and it can trap you in its depths for extended periods of time for no good reason.

The cooking class was great. I got extra-special care for being the only whitie in the class. I got to taste everything first and get an up-close look at the demo, too. Once, I even got to take part and help make a dish, which everyone thought was hilarious. The class was called "Preparation of Sweets and Savouries" so it was all about the super-sweet sweets that follow a spicy meal and the spicy fried snacks typically eaten with tea or alongside a meal. It was a lot of fun, but I came out of there so stuffed I couldn't eat dinner.

I have been going to the O everyday since then. Today was Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. It is like Christmas, but more people are celebrating it. It involves receiving a new outfit (I made the mistake of going to the shopping district about a week ago. Think Times Square at midnight on New Years Eve.), exchanging sweets, and setting off many, many loud firecrackers days before the actual holiday. It is getting late so I will explain more later on the fun we had at the O on this exciting holiday. Happy Diwali!

About The Pictures

Some of these were taken at the shotgun wedding back in September. Others are just snaps from around the O of different children. The black dots on the faces of the little babies are bindis. The forehead bindi is the third eye for good luck and the cheek one helps to ward off bad spirits because babies are too young to do that themselves. They need the help of the bindi. The one of me looking like a green monster was taken at the O. Ranjith told me about some mixture of leaves that kills lice. I immediately asked him if I could try it so he had the kids pick all sorts of leaves, grind them up in the blender, and scrub my head raw with the grassy-smelling paste. Then they put water on it to make it looser because the stuff was thicker than glue. I had it on for a half an hour which was long enough. I felt like I was attracting bugs rather than warding them off. I'm not sure if it worked. I was back at the O the next day so I could easily have picked up lice again that day. I think it may have done something, though, because after I washed it out (with the water the kids had just used to clean their clothes) I combed through it with the special brush and didn't find any lice. I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as much as I enjoy taking them.

The Difference Between Being Right and Being Correct

My posts have been getting less frequent these past few weeks, I realize. I have been going to the orphanage most days. Last weekend I took the advanced Pranic Healing course and a one-day course on psychotherapy, which was very interesting. The advanced class dealt with healing with colors and the energy which colors supply. Psychotherapy was all about the emotions and what they can do to the physical body. I particularly enjoy going to these classes because the teachers are all very knowledgeable, confident women. I have been noticing more and more just how annoying a patriarchal society is and these teachers are a nice break from that. It was quite funny when a man had a question, though. Usually he would ask the man sitting next to him instead of asking the female teacher. The first time this happened, the teacher stopped the class and asked him if he had a question. He replied, "no" like she had just hit him and left the question unsaid. Now it is this kind of thing that really gets to me. Yes, I am all for equal rights, obviously (I do live in the 21st century), but I realize India is simply more conservative than I am used to regarding gender status. At times it makes me plain angry that wives don't stand up to their husbands, but women accept their role as the submissive one, so I can't actually be mad. My teacher of the psychotherapy class did mention that many Indian women have a depleted solarplexus chakra due to pent-up emotions. I wonder if these emotions are underlying negative feelings about the strict gender roles. Secretly, I hope they are and I hope there is an uprising against the dominant male figure. But, what women who hears about fifties housewives and cringes doesn't hope for this? In the basic class, we were learning how to clean the enrage aura and it involves a gentle sweeping motion of the hand. One male student just couldn't get it and kept pushing the diseased energy every which way. The teacher went right over to him and said, "well, we can see you've never done any sweeping in your house." The women in the room chuckled as he, and the other men, turned red. It's true: boys and men are treated like royalty. They never have to do any cleaning or cooking even if the wife works. So, the teacher was right, that 35-year-old business man hadn't actually ever touched a broom.
This leads into the first of many funny stories about the owner of the orphanage, Ranjith. He is a typical Indian man with even more of an inflated ego than is common, but who thinks everything he says and does is correct. Here is an example of why that isn't a good mindset to have: There was another volunteer named Lane who lives at the O for a few days. Ranjith asked him to teach the kids some English. Lane was writing the names of fruits and one kid went to ask Ranjith about Lane's spelling of the word "banana." Mind you, Lane is from Canada where English is his native language. Ranjith is from India, has never left India, and speaks broken English. Back to the story. The child comes back with the "correct" spelling of the word according to Ranjith which was "panana." Yes, you read that write. My spell check keeps wanting to change the first letter. Anyway, the kids are afraid of Ranjith because he uses corporal punishment if they step out of line even the slightest bit, so they wouldn't believe Lane, who was showing them in a book the correct spelling of the long yellow fruit. Father had said it was spelled with a "p,"
so it was spelled with a "p." Lane thought this was humorous and asked Ranjith about it later. Ranjith laughed in Lane's face for thinking it started with a "b." This is a prime example of an overworked Indian male ego. There are other stories of this degree about Ranjith. Particularly ones about his intensity when he plays badminton. Lane had the bad luck of being on his team in a game of doubles against Ranjith's wife and a friend. Every time Lane would miss, his doubles partner would actually scold him. Many times, the birdie went under the rope (makeshift net), but Ranjith would say it went over and no one would argue. The same would go for out-of-bounds. If the opposing team would hit it in-bounds and Ranjith would miss it, he would kick it over the boundary line and call it out. Again, this was in clear view of all the players, but his rath was enough to make even the best badminton player keep quiet. I had the poor luck of being challenged to a game last week. He tricked me into it by asking if I could teach him how to play. The hour and a half game/rally turned into a clash of his hyper-competitiveness and my lack thereof. I enjoy playing a casual game, but he wanted to make it a world war. Each time he would smash it into my face, he would burst out laughing in front of all the kids! Needless to say, I did not have a good time.

Another one of his specialties if herbal remedies. He has a cure for everything growing in his garden. I don't think he expected me to take him up on his information about a leaf paste that kills lice, but I asked him to make it for me yesterday. I am sick of having an itchy scalp even after I cut off my hair. Well, the kids had a great time rubbing the bright green stuff all over my head. I smelled like freshly-cut grass and I am still picking out leaf pieces, but I liked using an all-natural remedy to get rid of the lice instead of that pungent, chemical-ridden shampoo. I will be able to see in the next few days if it did anything and I am hoping for the best. I am headed to the O tomorrow and to the Pranic home on Sunday to practice my new skills. Next week I am going to Mahabilapuram and Pondicherry for some sight-seeing and tourist activity. Hope all is well in the States!

Having an Indian Moment

This morning I had an Indian moment. This is going to sound like one long complaint and it kind of is, but is it also a fabulous example of common goings-on here. If you are getting frustrated just reading this, good relief would be to look out your window and thank your fellow Americans for doing hard work. We stayed later at the O today because one of Katryna's friends bought dinner for the kids and wanted to stay and eat with them. This was fine, but because we would get back late, I wanted to leave later in the morning to catch up on some sleep. The driver's phone is broken or something so he is totally unreachable. He came at 9:30, the usual, and I asked him to come back at 11 because we would be leaving later. I understand this was kind of short notice, but there was no other way. Here comes the bad part that made it an Indian moment: he called his boss and griped about having to pick us up later. Then, he handed me the phone (all the while I am half-asleep because I had just crawled out of bed) to talk to him because he speaks English. Turns out, the driver only works eight-hour days so wanting to go at 11 and be picked up at 8 was a nine-hour day. It gets worse. Last weekend the driver had three days off when neither Katryna nor I went. Also, he doesn't work more than four hours a day- it is about a 40-minute ride to the O, so two round trips is far from eight hours. I hope this is making sense. Anyway, what was so frustrating was that he would agree to take me at 12 and pick up at 7 to get back by 8, or take me at 11 and pick up at 6 to get back by 7. It had nothing to do with any prior engagements, just that he didn't want to work that much. It was beyond frustrating because at the time all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. We agreed on the 11-6 time, so he just waited outside until 11. I guess I have far to go in understanding Indian time.

So I wake up after finally closing my eyes again and our housekeeper comes. I'm sure I have mentioned her before, but she steals. She has taken everything from food to cash to notebooks to magazines. So, we follow her around as she cleans because the director won't fire her. The worst part is that she doesn't do a good job. Our apartment gets very dirty because the air is so heavy with filth and we only have screens on the windows and fans to circulate the dust. The place could really use a good sweep every day, but we only let her in maybe three times a week because she makes us so nervous. So we found out that she is supposed (meaning getting paid for) to clean the whole place, including the dishes and shelves. But, she only sweeps and mops some parts. Long story short, she came in and did her thing (which I am convinced makes the place more dirty because she sweeps the kitchen counters, shelves, and floor with the same broom and cleans the bathroom floor with the dirty water she has used to mop the other floors) and I asked her to do the dishes. She said something in Tamil and just walked out. We found out this was her job last week and ever since she has been avoiding it! It wouldn't be so bad if she didn't steal and curse at us in Tamil, but she does both of these things so it makes it much harder to like her. Now, the level of frustration of both of these events was amplified by my level of tiredness, so please take that into account. But, if I ever refer to having an "Indian moment," this is what I am talking about.

Last weekend I took a course on Pranic healing. Pranic is healing with the hands using energy as a guide for health. It was totally interesting and I am taking the advanced course this weekend, along with psychotherapy which is mind power. In the basic course, I learned how to do basic healing for minor ailments (anything from sunburn to head cold to sinus infection, that kind of thing), distant healing- healing anyone anywhere, meditation, self-healing, and the basics of a person's energy aura and chakras- energy passageways. I can now sense anyone and anything's inner and outer energy aura. Every physical thing (it doesn't have to be living) has an energy aura. For a human, eight inches is a strong one. They grow through prayer and generosity. Five inches is normal and two inches is ill. Anywhere where the energy aura is depleted means there is pain or sickness in that part. Pranic healers clean and energize (by holding an open palm to it) the chakras to heal. The body has eleven main ones- the powerhouses- and numerous minor ones. Distant healing was my first taste of psychotherapy. In this, the healer visualizes the person in front of them as they heal.

By far the coolest thing that has happened to me since I took the class was at the tattoo shop where we like to hang out because Katryna's friends own and staff it. So, the owner took the class a year ago and was so excited that I did that wanted to try something. I had scanned Katryna's aura a few nights before to feel how big it was and it was around eight inches. So he said I should scan it while he tried something. I did and I felt nothing! To scan, the healer starts with the hand about a yard away from the space between the shoulder and the elbow on the arm and moves slowly in until he/she feels a tingling or pressure. I was scanning, and I hit her arm before feeling anything. He said he depleted her aura with his mind. All the while, Katryna was complaining of suddenly being very hot. I scanned it once more and her aura was back! He then proceeded to create a fire with his mind on the floor after I had taken its aura. First it was about one inch, then I took it after he made the fire and it was almost four feet! He then erased the fire and it was back to an inch. Psychotherapy is some crazy stuff. I can't wait to take it. So, if you have any aches or pains, e-mail them to me! I would love to try distant healing on it! You've got nothing to lose and I would love the practice. Don't let this Pranic freak you out, it actually makes good sense. I wasn't ever a believer in Eastern medicine because Western medicine is so effective. This picks up where Western medicine leaves off and can replace Western medicine at times. Coooooooool!