An Amazing Experience

It is a hot and steamy Monday morning in Chennai and we fly out for KL tonight at 10pm. We have found the Spencer Plaza Shopping Centre and Liz has gone missing. I reckon she's had withdrawal since she hasn't been near a regular shopping centre for almost 10 days! We'll need the Chennai CSI and Forensic Police to find her in amongst the smart Gucci and other upmarket shops.

What an amazing day yesterday. I mentioned my friend Bala who is now a Front Office Supervisor at the Residency Towers Hotel. He has gone out of his way to make everything perfect for us and we are very grateful to him for making our stay in Chennai so special. But he wanted for us to meet his family so we eagerly ventured out on Sunday and headed south towards Pondicherry, the old French city on the coast south of Chennai.

The traffic was of course bedlam and to make it more interesting, there is a fuel strike so we stopped at every gas station, joined a queue and filled up with maybe 5 litres at a time. I kep thinking, how would we get back at night if it got worse! Still, we managed ok and some 4 hours later we arrived at the town of Auroville where there is an international community and an ashram. All very serene and interesting but bloody hot under the banyan trees.

Soon after we again headed south and then towards to coast, all the way passing through small Indian villages complete with oxen, donkeys, dogs, cows, pigs, kids, goats, beggars, holy men ... you name it ... the whole of India was in every village. I had the impression from Bala's description of where his folks lived that it was in the city of Pondicherry but we were a little surprised when our taxi pulled up in the main street of a small village. Yes... dogs, cows, bullocks, beggars etc. and thatched huts, dirt floors ... your typical Indian village scene.

The main road was undergoing repairs so we could not access the dirt road to his house so we had to travel back through the back blocks and come in the back way. Wow! This was an amazing experience ... it seemed that we were going to meet a real Indian family in a real Indian village and, what's more, we'd been invited for lunch!

Soon enough we arrived outside a mud-brick house and there waiting patiently at the front door was Bala's Mum, Dad, Grand-father, Uncles, Sisters, Brothers, Cousins, Aunts and half the village kids. This was the real thing alright! We felt like royalty as we stepped out of the taxi and were immediately surrounded by kids, with the adults rousing on them and telling them to give us some room to move.

Bala's parents could not speak any English, none of them could, but they welcomed us to their home and we sat in the small living room and Bala acted as interpreter. The home was spotless and had few adornments but these were simple country folk and they had no need for luxuries.

I think Liz and Charlie and I were a little unsure about lunch but soon after we were ushered to another room where a small low table had been placed with some chairs for us. Then Bala's uncle arrived, he was the village Holy Man, complete with all the face markings and trappings ... we were stunned to say the least as he welcomed us and we thanked him for inviting us to the village. (I'll post the photos of all of this when I can).

The it was time for lunch, the moment of truth for our sensitive Western sensibilities. Bala's mother placed three large banana leaves on the table and then spooned out boiled rice and mutton and chicken curries. Bala instructed us on how to mis it all together and then use the fingers (right hand only!) to eat the meal, as they do every day. I think they were all a little confused when we each took our Travelan tablets and used Wet-Ones before eating. But we all managed to finish the delicious food, with the whole family watching on and obviously getting a laugh from our novice attempts to pick up a lump of rice with some meat and try to place it in our mouth, without spilling most of it on the Banana Leaf. It was a hoot and a lot of fun.

Then it was time for family photos and a look around the village with the village kids in tow and jockying for photo shoots. We then watched Bala's mother fold the Banana Leaves we had used and take them across the road and drop then for the village dogs to clean up. Not to worry about the bones in the scraps, they ate the lot. Toka would have had to be taken to the Vet and would have cost $500 after such an episode!

Before long it was time to say goodbye and they whole family gathered to wish us well and thank us for visiting them. We looked around the village. It was very very basic, dusty and without hot showers and western toilets and all the trappings of our lifestyle back home. But the people were the same as simple friendly country folk everywhere. We didn't need to speak the same language ... our simple sign language and gestures said it all. Everyone had a good day and it was as much an experience for them as it was for us. It was a highlight of the trip.

We then headed for Pondicherry and Bala had organised for us to have a hotel room for an hour in a local hotel where we could freshen up and importantly, Liz could use the Western bathroom. None of us has mastered the Indian custom of squatting yet! Bala has gone out of his way to accomodate us in every way. He's not just a nice guy from the hotel... we consider him a friend and his family is proud of him and the success he has enjoyed. Remember, he started out as a kid in that small village.

It was getting late and a long 140 km drive back to Chennai. If you ever thought driving in India was an adventure in terror during the day ... try it at night! I can safely confess to being totally terrified for 2 hours as we overtook vehicles with no room to spare, had trucks and buses and motorcycles and cars heading straight for us and all you could see was a blaze of headlights and all the time praying to whatever gods were active to protect us and deliver us from evil ... or the madness of Indian drivers. But our intrepid driver Vijay delivered us in one piece, albeit trembling and incoherent! I am recommending him for a CAMS Licence and I'll enter him in the F1 and Dakar Rally. (Ian... this was MUCH worse than our experiences here in September 2006!)

So, Charlie has bought some new shoes, and Liz is apparently ready to head back to the hotel ... she must have spent the whole holiday budget already! They both send their love. I'll post the photos when we get to KL. In the meantime, thanks to all for your emails and news from home. Next eposide will be from KL tomorrow.