From the Train
I left Chennai at 10:15, one and a half hours late, March 26 on a train travelling north along but in from the coastline to Kolkata. We arrived on time at 11:50 March 27, so I guess you could say we shortened the normally 27 hour trip.

I was in a sleeper car. We don't look like we are in a sleeper compartment - but we are. During the day the middle berth folds down to become the back of the seat. That way we can all sit up comfortably. At night there were 3 berths on my side, 3 opposite to me and 3 across the aisle. The compartment has a fold down table, a mirror and (best of all) a place under the lower berth to stow suitcases. Seats are assigned so the car doesn't become so crazy crowded...except on holy days as I learned. There is a sink with water at the end of the aisle and two toilets. We could ordered lunch and dinner from the pantry car. I had veggie masala and veggie briani. Other foods were hawked continually. No one starved.
I was surprised that no one around me spoke much English. And we know that's about all I speak. The women tried a bit of English. Otherwise people fairly well ignored me....which was nice. They were not impolite. I just wasn't anything special. I was left to watch the landscape which is why I took the train to begin with. What I can tell you is the land is flat from Chennai to Kolkata. And beautiful. Here are some photos I took the morning of the 27th. It's difficult to capture much from a moving train, but I think you can tell - the land is flat. And beautiful....

I can't say much about Kolkata yet....except it is big, very big. And busy. The main streets are wide boulevards and ones like Sudder Street are narrow lanes. The taxi I took and the water I bought were both less than in other places. And Kolkata has a McDonalds. I ate there. No beef sandwiches, but my McChicken was fine. First McD since my arrival in January.

More on Kolkata later.

From Pondicherry
Pondy/Puducherry/Pondicherry is on the Bay of Bengal south of Chennai/Madras. It's where I was the past four days. And honestly, I sometimes wondered why I was there. My doubt may have been triggered by a case of "traveller's diarrhoea," something I was feeling lucky not to have suffered from already. I'm happy to say I'm now recovering. I've been refusing the fresh fruit juice that comes with some breakfasts. I know, I know....sometimes it's watered down.


From my better moments I'd say people go to Pondy for the sea air and for the great promenade. I was on the promenade most every day at least once. It was a great evening stroll. And there were places you could sit to rest and watch.




I ended up at this park several times. It was near the promenade. It was shaded by great trees and had benches. Many others
ended up here too. There were two play areas...and all those good benches. Some people were family or friends to women at the Govt Maternity Hospital which was across the street and was very busy. The park was a nice "lobby."

Pondy is known for its French flavor. There were some restaurants. The street signs were in French. There was a French school. And some French architectural details. I swear I heard from behind these doors in this building an old upright piano accompanying sweet children's voices singing a French song...it almost sounded like "Sur le Pont d'Avignon." Swear.

Many people come to Pondy to see the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. The ashram's presence is widely felt in the town. Along with the ashram and its educational centre, I noticed an Aurobookstore, Auroboutique, Sri Aurobindo Handmade Paper Factory, a shelter and 4 Guest Houses for the ashramites.

Auroville is just outside Pondy. It's an international community begun in "68 by the ashram. Their vision was to have a place for people of all nations to live in peace. To that end, people who live there give up nationality, religion, and politics. The Matrimandir, the new spiritual center and in the picture, is still under construction.


I suppose the center of Auroville, this banyan tree, is also still under construction.

Not much else of Auroville is open to the curious tourist....guess the people just want to get on with their lives.

Tonight I'm at The White House Residency, a seedy hotel with a doorman, near the Chennai Central Railroad Station. Tomorrow I'll be on the train to Kolkata.

From a Hill Station
I'm back in Tamil Nadu but in the western tip. I took a train from Cochin to Coimbatore where I spent the night before catching a bus to Ooty (Udhagamandalam). Ooty is at 2240m. 2 hours of the 3 hour bus trip was climbing through eucalyptus, tea and terraced vegetables. Our bus needed the entire 2 narrow lanes to make the hairpin turns. The bus in the picture is like the one I was on. And like it we ignored the "Do not pass on curves" signs...and the destroyed bus on the side of the road. Construction materials, stopped vehicles, and monkeys blocked our lane at times. Didn't matter. We went around. Sometimes traffic in the other lane needed to stop for us. I'm all the more convinced I should never drive here...my road expectations are so very different.


Ooty with its cooler temps, 40 -70, is where people come to get away from the 100 plus degrees of the plains. I'm ahead of the busy season by a few weeks. School will let out for April and May and then families will be free to vacation in this mountain town. Perhaps they too will find, tucked away in today's Ooty, the faded remains of the British who established this hill station in the 19th century.



Like me they may stay at the YWCA, maybe even in the same funky cottage. The YWCA has been here since the late 1800s. The main building with its lounges, fireplaces, reading room and dining room and the cottages like the one I stayed in (see the picture) are lodging from an earlier era.

The YWCA is located across from the racetrack. I saw the horses getting their morning workout as I ate my breakfast. Racing season begins next month. A racetrack at a British Hill Station

seems so right.

And there is the lake with its boathouse...an artificial lake created in 1824. The day I walked to the boathouse I was the only noticeably foreign person there. As sometimes happens a group of college students asked if they could have photos and so we had a photo session before they moved on to the next attraction.

Ooty also has a rose garden. Only a few newer varieties bloom at this time of the year. The garden will be lovely in another month or two. Now there is a good view of Ooty from the terraces. The afternoon I went there was a good view of the rain on its way.


The botanical garden was established in 1848. The sign said it began as a vegetable plot and went from there! I was surprised at the gigantic rhodies and azaleas - much bigger than mine will ever be. The jacaranda in bloom reminded me of my Seabury days. And, although the name is curious, I liked the dragon trees. They're the palm looking tree with multiple branches and reddish brown fronds. All in all the garden was a very pleasant place for a morning walk.

I've had 5 days in these cooler temps. Time for the heat again. I'm headed to Pondicherry(Puducherry) on the east coast of Tamil Nadu. It's south of Chennai(Madras).

From the Road
At about 6a.m. on the first train of this jaunt my sleeper berth was taken over by women and children going to Trivendrum to pray. Wonder on how many more religious days I'm traveling.




I had to stop at Varkala in Kerala on the west coast. This is where all the young volunteers liked to go for weekends..."It's like you're not in India."


In the morning the Varkala beach was actually peopled by a majority of Indians. Some were these fishermen with their boats. The night before the lights from the boats out on the night sea were lovely.




Cochin is north of Varkala. These "cantilevered Chinese fishing nets...A legacy of the traders from the court of Kubla Khan in around the 1400s" (from Lonely Planet Guidebook) are fascinating.

Vasco de Gama died in Cochin and was buried for awhile at the church in the background. This day young boys played cricket under one of the many huge trees.

I spent one day in the backwaters of Kerala. The boats were poled so it was peacefully quiet. We learned how to make coconut alcohol, lime powder, and rope. Also saw many spices in their natural form. And learned the name Kerala means palm land....the state is aptly named.

What's That?
Traffic here can move as though everyone is racing. One night last week our autorickshaw driver was in a great hurry. He zipped around cycles, motorbikes, cars, buses, and trucks. But then he had to stop behind a truck. As he pulled behind the truck we came up beside a man on a motorbike who was also stopping. Apparently our autorickshaw driver was too close to the man on the motorbike because he hurled words at our driver. Our driver edged up and our back wheels moved even nearer to the man's foot. The man reached in and slapped our driver's face. The 4 of us in the back sat bug eyed. More words were exchanged. The man on the motorbike drove off to the left. Our driver turned his head toward us, said "policeman," and zipped around the truck to the right.


I finished my teaching placement at YRTV this week. Friday, my last day, the principal asked me to make a few impromptu remarks at morning assembly. I'd not seen morning assembly from the stage before.


When the national anthem was over the teachers gathered for a group photo. What a special bunch they are. So quickly they treated me as one of the staff.

For the most part my eight weeks in Sivakasi centered around this school and these people. I will hold them in a dear spot in my memory.

Monday at just after midnight I will hit the road for a few weeks of travel before heading north to Kolkata, Delhi and then Dharamsala. I'll keep you posted.


P.S.

Recognize the woman in the drawing? I didn't think so. The artist holding her work was much too kind.

The Countryside
I like to get away from the noise of the city. So a few times I've taken my bike for a morning spin away from the hubbub.....

where a tree stands out in this flat dry land and...

where a lone man walks to his distant destination out on a lone road and....

another man keeps an eye on his livestock and...

the daughters of a family tending goats take a look at me and suggest a photo.

One day I was shown this tree. It's the home for bats. Look in the top limbs. They live in this tree only. Not the other two trees nearby.

Another day I looked for a shortcut to Satchiapuram which is a short distance from Sivakasi. Instead I found this picturesque lane in a clump of delightfully tidy homes

and these smiling faces eager for a picture.




This past Sunday was the opening of the Projects Abroad Village Clinic. Our Director, Rajendran, has worked 3 years to get this clinic for his hometown, Rayagiri (population 10,000). So Sunday was a big day.

There was an Inaugural Function held in the street in front of the new clinic building. It was well attended by local supporters and a few volunteers.

The Inaugural Function was a time for congratulations and thanks to those who made the clinic possible.

Then we took a tour of the clinic. Here we are at the reception and pharmacy counter.

When I took a look in the doctor's office I was surprised to see him consulting with his first patient!

By Monday morning the clinic staff had seen over 80 patients and hired a second nurse. There is no doubt this country community needed a clinic.....and one that could offer affordable care has hit the mark.