Posts from — January 2006

This was a big catch-up day in the diary; there was no time between the 28 and the 31 to write, so this entry covers 3 pages of handwritten text.

Morning excursion <18:37 31/01/2001 Ernakulam> was to a textile mill run by one of the Gobi $GROUP_MEMBERS. It was loud, smelled bad, and was poorly lit, yet still fascinating. They gave me 4 one-meter bolts of cloth they had dyed on site. wow. thanks.

Lunch at the house — more curry, but with a sort of rice-noodle ravioli. After that, “rest”…

…not disclosing the next part, because I’m not that sort of blogger…

Tea at 16:30, followed by packing. Watched “Crorepati” (the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”; they could win up to Rs. 1 crore (10M)). Noticed a strange occurrence of a phenomenon experienced in the waiting room at HYKS a few years back: If I don’t pay attention to someone speaking a foreign language, it begins to make sense. So I picked up a little Tamil. weird.

Dinner, social time, bed.

Monday, 29 January 2001

Up early (06:30 bed tea) — had a train to catch. Breakfast, then out the door, back to Erode. Had more chai at the station, & Thomas got me a Coke (1.5L!) and pineapple cake before the train arrived at 09:00.

My ticket was first-class, so I got a little cabin to myself. Chilled in there, taking pics of the scenery, resting, etc. I was trying not to drink too much Coke… so I wound up dragging the liter or so left with me as I graciously allowed this Amazon-in-sari to have my “coupe” cabin. Sat around, got greeted by these kyoot Keralites, watched the scenery.

Got to Kerala. Holyfuckingshit.

1. Unbelievable scenery.
2. Friendly people (case in point: the schoolkids who took a break from their game of cricket to wave and say the only English word they knew, “Hi!”).
3. Did I mention the place is fucking gorgeous?!

Arrived Tellicherry, my next destination, at 19:45. The $GROUP_MEMBERS there were under the impressions that I’d be arriving that morning, and had planned a day at the beach. oops. So I was whisked to my hotel (yes, hotel), where I took a gloriously hot shower and otherwise cleaned up. Picked up by a member and taken to the Executive Committee meeting. Short speech. Same ol’, same ol’. Afterwards, the bulk of the club retired to a dim back hallway for really cheap Scotch and a hell of a lot of water. yuck. Then, food — had tandoor (which is NOT a South Indian food, thank God). Bed after that.

Tuesday, 30 January 2001

Up at 06:30 (bleah), packed, and out the door by 07:30 (after watching some videos on Channel V for inspiration). Went to an irreppressibly beautiful driving beach — took pics. Then to an old pier to finish that data cartridge. Breakfast (dosa masala), then the train station.

Rode an awesome trip to Kanhangad — I had my own seat near some fascinating/fascinated people, and we sorta conversed. There was a guru onboard in the next little setup, so all those who came for darshan passed by and greeted me warmly.

At Kanhangad, met by 3 men who gave me a rose each. To a restaurant for lunch — They asked if I drank beer. Um, yes? So they conned the waiter into getting some for us, despite the “No Liquors” sign and national ban on alcohol sales (anniversary of M. Gandhi’s death). We had some water before the waiter surreptitiously escorted us to a small back room, where a teenaged boy soon came with a little shopping bag of 3 paper-wrapped Kingfisher Diet 650mL bottles. I smoked these guys — they were toasted after one glass, and I was barely tipsy. (Then again, the alcohol content was “Less than 5%”. ) Back to our original seats — our food was there. (fried rice, ginger chicken, fried fish)

14:00: to my host’s house for a short rest. Up again at 15:00 for the first in an endless series of pictures. I think my host is gay and I have absolutely no interest in him. Then to Bekal Fort nearby. Archaeological site, fort of the rajas and Mughals and British, yeah, yeah. I took some pics and they took even more of me. They picked up on the “digital” part of the camera and got so. excited. I thought they were about to wet themselves.

To a housewarming next — one of the three, the driver, is an architect. Saw his work. Had tea (it was 16:30).

This day’s writings should have included:

• um, the source of this blog’s name. On Channel V (an MTV analogue) I saw a commercial for Nestle Milo featuring a young boy practising for a track meet; he wasn’t pleased with his time until his mother gave him a big glass of Milo and then he smoked ‘em all at the meet. The tagline: “Nestle Milo, with jumpy jumpy vitamins!” (”Vitamins” is pronounced in the UK fashion, where the first syllable holds the emphasis and rhymes with “hit”.)
• The “kyoot Keralites”? College boys. HANDSOME, ATHLETIC, college boys. yowza. Alas, nothing could ever become of our love(s).
• Tellicherry is also known as Thalassery, and is a great little town judging from my limited exposure.
• At Bekal Fort I took some of my best pics of the whole trip. Eventually I’ll have a chance to post them.
• On the way to Tellicherry, the train stopped so that the Muslims aboard could pray (it was that time). Since Kerala is divided evenly three ways between Hindus, Muslims, and Christians, it’s rather important that religious traditions be honored — come to think of it, Kerala handles religious diversity better than the US does, partially because no one religion tries to lord its numeric superiority over the others.

That’s all for tonight. Next up on Friday: the sticks (and the source of this pic above), then to the center of the global spice trade where I had my favoritest food EVAR.

Yesterday we left Chennai for Gobichettipalayam, and learned just how exciting it can be to travel at night in a place where one does not speak the language.

(When we left off, I had just declared that “Gobi is the sticks”.)

<13:51 28/01/2001>
50K people total, in a cramped town surrounded by sugar cane farms and rice paddies. Our first stop was my home for the next few days, a cozy, comfortable place in back of a pharmacy on the main road.

My room was up some stairs and back from the street. It held a bed, table, chair, 2 stools, mirror, shelves, and a rack for hangers. Further back was a small bathroom with showers. They had given me fresh linens, sandalwood soap, towel, and toothpaste, and a new candle (for use during the frequent power cuts). One outlet was occupied by a mosquito-repellant system: the repellant was heated and dispresed by an electric element and air currents. At the top of each exterior wall was a small vent, giving the room great air circulation when the door and window were open.

Once I got cleaned up, breakfast — dosa and potato curry, with chai after. They kept offering a spoon and fork, but stubborn Jim said “no.” and got messy hands.

From there, a quick tour of town. We first visited a $GROUP_MEMBER who was opening a document-preparation business in grand Hindu fashion — he had even built a small ritual fire. (I had to remove my shoes to enter, in fact.) Here I met the movers and shakers of the club — including the mayor, who invited me to his office for tea (despite the fact that it was Republic Day and they were closed). I was served a sweet, cereal-like food and some chai.

From there, to the jeweller’s, where I was given a dark, flawless, 2 ct. turquoise, a Pepsi, and a wallet. Then, to the clothiers, where I was shown fine Kanchipuram saris (one of which contained gold-plated silver threads and cost Rs. 16,630!) and was given a shirt and dhoti of my own. Then to a doctor’s office, where I got the grand tour (I was instructed in the finer points of blood analysis) and another Pepsi before heading back for lunch, a simple dish of rice, dal, and chicken, with more chai. oy. I was given some downtime, good for writing and kicking back.

At four o’clock, we crossed the road (very cautiously) to the municipal building, where the mayor and a photographer were awaiting my arrival. The mayor draped a cloth around my shoulders (click, click) and formally welcomed me on behalf of the Municipal Council of Gobichettipalayam. He showed me around before taking me to his office, where I was served chai and small teacakes as we discussed the town history; municipal, state, and national government structure; the recent elections in the U.S. (I got to explain the Electoral College — oy!); and what he has done for the town (mostly using IMF grants). I was given a lacquered metal plate depicting a peacock (national bird) in full view of the photog, and we made our way out. As I left, I was invited to a meeting of his political party. (I accepted.)

Back to the house for a few hours for more rest, a little writing, and lots of reading (The Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson — I had read and enjoyed it in high school). At 18:30 the mayor picked me up for the meeting. yeow. About 30 people, mostly men, stood outside the office, eager to meet me and shake my hand. We made our way inside (again, no shoes), where I was decked in a garland and handed a proclamation. I BS’d a short speech and was beset with a barrage of questions, about the average American’s perceptions of India, conflict in Kashmir, the BJP (ruling party in Parliament), Hinduism, the participation of Indians in the American software industry, and Indian immigrants in general, as well as about my $EMPLOYER’s programs, my club’s programs, and the recent elections in the U.S. (oy.) I was served ginger tea before photo-session and departure.

Again, to the house for a quick change into shirt and dhoti. (My host helped me.) from there to the club meeting, (19:30) where again, they were waiting for me. To the inside, where I again BS’d a speech, to wild applause. I was given a small Taj Mahal, a bangle box for my wife (um.), and a promise to send a Kanchipuram sari for her. (hehe.) Suffice to say, I was embarrased… Also more pics, for the two daily papers in town, of me in dhoti. Dinner outside, on banana leaves — more rice cakes and curry. Couldn’t carry water around, though, so I had to shotgun some at the end. Met all the club members. all of them. Encouraged a few youth to attend the convention in Sydney next year. Back to the house for 7Up (oy). Saw a Helsinki convention participant, Moby, in whose house I was staying. To bed, exhausted.

Next day (27/01) — up for morning tea at 08:30, a shower, then breakfast (more dosa) at 09:30. The mayor took me to two local temples, one of granite and the other marble, and gave an extensive lesson on Hindu. I was impressed, and took pictures, but they wouldn’t allow photos of any deities in shrines. (No problem.) They were building a new granite gateway, so I got good pics of the carvers at work (even though going barefoot on the granite shards HURT). Back home for a late (13:30) lunch, then rest before Thomas and Moby took me on a tour of the town (rice fields, bus station, wedding halls, etc.). Dinner, socialization with the family, bed.

EVERYWHERE I went in that town I was treated like a celebrity, with flashing cameras and throngs of people cheering and wanting to greet me and shake my hand. It was madness! (Of course, it didn’t help that I was given sugar and caffeine everywhere I went.)

I mentioned the sari offer to Fred… he was not amused. Even though it’s a four-hundred-dollar piece of hand-woven silk. (Fred wishes to clarify: he doesn’t think THEY would be too amused.)

As it turns out, there is a short Wikipedia article on Gobichettipalayam. Turns out the population figure I had been given was from the previous census, and that they had 20,000 extra people in town… not that I’m surprised, given the crowding in town, but still.

There are pictures from this day, but I need to figure out which ones to include. (I have a picture of myself in dhoti, holding Priscilla, but it’s quite blurry and I doubt I’ll post it.)

Next up, on Tuesday: jeem’s adventures in textiles, and a trip to Kerala.

Yesterday was a short post, but we’re starting to catch up today.

<10:36 27/01/2001>
Sanju’s uncle (Mohan) had suggested we visit the state museum. Sad, sad, sad. It was dirty, poorly lit, smelled bad, and it was depressing to see some of those great cultural relics (columns, pottery, bronzes) rotting away neglected.

After that, bowling! It seems that many fashionable young Indians have taken to bowling and techno music. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any good bowling and got a big head from out-rolling my hosts… The alley was on the third floor of a commercial building, with four lanes and fake snowpack on the walls (its name was “Snow Bowling”). The pinsetting machinery was always freaking out, so the game had occasional pauses well-suited for coffee runs (there was a little coffee bar inside). I almost won.

This is the closest I have ever come to winning a game of bowling.

Home to pack, write in here, and get online. I had 2 “Where are you?” messages… Also wrote my mother with a quick summation. Dinner before leaving.

I was sent by private autorickshaw to the train station - J.F.C., that was scary! I thought I was going to fall out… Made it intact, though. Boarded the train, which felt about like I was stepping into a National Geographic. I had seat 21, car A1, on Yercaud Express (#6669), which I would take to Erode, where I would be met by my hosts from Gobi. After the train pulled out, I put the provided sheets on the berth and fell asleep.

Woke up, thanks to the friendly Tamil tapping my foot, as we reached Salem at 04:30. grrr. still dark. However, since I couldn’t fall back asleep, I sat up and watched it become progressively lighter outside. Around 06:15, we pulled into a station, but all the signs were in Tamil and nobody around me spoke ANY English - eek! Fortunately, we arrived at Erode about half an hour later, where I was met by Thomas V* of the Gobi club. We climbed in his Ambassador where he handed me a snazzy “Welcome” and where he asked if I wanted coffee. (Yes.) Drove to a small inn nearby.

In rural India, most dishes are made of metal. Coffee was served in a small shotglass-sized cup sitting in a shallow dish of milk. To mix and cool, one pours the coffee back and forth between the two until the desired temperature is reached. It was S T R O N G but very good. The milk and sugar tempered the bitterness of the coffee to the point that it could be consumed.

From there, we drove to Gobi. Wow. I thought Chennai was different, but it’s a large city. Gobi is The Sticks.

Things that didn’t make it to the journal:

• When I arrived in Erode it was an auspicious day on the Hindu calendar; there was a ceremony taking place in the inn where we had coffee, and later on that day there were other events. It was also Republic Day, so there were a number of official observances all over India.
• There was also a LARGE earthquake that morning in the extreme northwest of the country. Apparently people felt it as far away as Chennai — as far from the epicenter as El Paso is from Seattle — but I didn’t feel it. Unfortunately, the US media did a very poor job of saying “OK, the devastation is confined to this one corner of India”, so most of my friends and co-workers assumed that the ENTIRE COUNTRY was reduced to rubble and that I was either dead or maimed. Of course, it didn’t help that I was in the sticks for several days afterwards, or that I was pretty well shut off from phone and e-mail contact.

Tomorrow: jeem gets the royal welcome. No, seriously.

A short one today: didn’t get much chance to journal that day. This entry was written in Gobichettipalayam, a town so small it isn’t on the map…

<10:08 26/01/2001 Gobichettipalayam>
At the reception, met a bunch of people, some of whom I’d be staying with during my travels. We ate there (21:00, very late by my standards, but average in India).

Home, then to sleep. (yawn)

<18:11>
Next day (25/01), shopping for stuff with Sanju. Bought Mom a blue embroidered silk wall hanging and Dan a carved box. Also browsed some other stuff before lunch with Sanju’s uncle at a restaurant in the Breeze Hotel.

I told you it was a short one. Tomorrow: further putzing, then bowling, then riding the train through rural Tamil Nadu in the dead of night and my triumphal arrival in Gobi.

The temple as a whole

A larger shot of the temple.

(BTW, I’m putting all these pics in a Flickr photoset named “India 2001“.)