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from this place we continued to Kanykumari. This amazing southern
most tip of India sees the meeting of the Arabian Sea, the
Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. This place was damaged
significantly by the Tsunami and we could see evidence of
the washed out shacks near the front.
We disembarked from our bus and travelled to the Vivekananda
memorial by boat. This rocky island shows the life of the
philosopher Swami Vivekananda - the wondering monk who developed
a synthesis between Hinduism and social justice.
To the side of this island is the Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar
- India's Statue of Liberty! He wrote a 133 chapter poem which
was so celebrated this statue was erected in 2000 - at 133
feet high in respect of the number of his chapters.
Following our boat trip we went to the Gandhi memorial where
some of his ashes are stored. The domed roof speaks to architecture
from Hindu, Islamic and Christian traditions. In its roof
a small hole let's in light that is rumoured to shine a light
on top of the casket holding his ashes every 2 Oct - his birthday.
During the Tsunami the building was flooded and repairs took
3 months to complete. Amazingly however the main structure
seemed to survive well and Gandhi's ashes had been put into
the sea a year after the memorial was erected.
We stopped for lunch and, having taken a break from dinner
and breakfast, we felt hungry enough to really tuck in. I
was pleased to have finished my lunch before I saw the drowned
cockroach in the hand washing sink and by the time my black
coffee came out with some bug in it I was asking simply for
a spoon to fish it out with before I drank it. The head waiter
however removed the cup and I was uncertain whether he had
simply fished it out off line or whether it was a fresh cup
- either way I drank it
After we finished we went for a paddle on Chotha Valli beach.
Beach games ensued and as we paddled the snacks which Chitra's
mom had made -Murukkus - rice crackers and sweet rose cookies
- were shared. . Both made with rice flour and ground lentils,
I think, and both beautiful in presentation and taste.
These were followed by slices of papaya and I could tell the
tone of the party was deteriorating when a pip spitting competition
ensued.
We wondered up from the beach to a small hut by the roadside
which made ginger coffee. The strong ginger and pepper liquid
was sweet with a natural tree based liquid. Personally I would
have preferred it without sweetener but the rich strong taste
of ginger and pepper was worth a taste.
We heard stories from the makers of this drink of their experiences
of the Tsunami - the older woman had been flung up a tree
and her teeth knocked out and her belly injured. She spent
45 days in hospital and had undergone surgery. The little
boy chattered about the big waves - he must have been only
a baby but other people will have told stories to him which
will ensure this part of history remains told for many generations
to come. One of Chitra’s older relatives had been working
in his field and was swept away and died. It made the memories
of seeing this disaster on the news when I was in South Africa
feel very current and real.
Back on the bus we reflected on these memories - and some
other lovely and memorable moments - yesterday Chitra’s
father, who was excited by her arrival, was described as having
been on “tender hookness” all day.
Chitra’s English is beautiful and engaging; she shares
and understands the nuances of humour often so quickly it
makes me laugh aloud.
We journeyed home and stopped off at the end of our road to
pick up some take away from the best take away in the village.
Men were gathered around and Chitra and I laughed as to where
the women were and wondered if they were at home cooking -
so the men would have two suppers.
The chefs - all men- cooked on burning hot plates - throwing
colourful onions, herbs, spices, chillies, eggs and chicken
into the mix.
We took our take away home wrapped in banana leaf and news
paper and returned to wash, sort and share cool beers again
- Sandra Sinclair’s hunter vision had served us well
in seeing the only beer shop for miles.
I have loved these moments as we've pieced together our recollections
of the day, anchored our experiences in other travels, learned
more of one another’s lives and debated issues which
affect us all but which seem more pressing here - water conservation,
energy consumption, global trading, carbon reduction, the
temperature at which beer should be drunk.
Tomorrow a 6. 30am start to see the fishermen bring in the
catch.
Liz
Day Thirteen
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