Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Karunanidi's sunglasses or the gekko's scream
Yesterday was sunday.
I woke up in my bed in the morning. "Sunday, holy sunday" was singing an irish band last century. The only day when I can stay in bed but I don't feel like. Strange, no? Many things to do. When down the building, gave some shirts for ironing to a guy on the street who does it on his small chariot with an iron heated with burning coal. I caught the watchman cleaning my bike and realized it was month end and I had to pay him for this regular activity. I jump on my bike, kick-start it and the fun begins. I know I want to go to the north, but so many ways. I cross the small slum and drive further straight. Intense light, many colors, morning small businesses, let's go this way. A crossing? Hmm...straight, I don't know, but will se. No? Already Mylapore temple, with its multicolor gopuram? Yes...Go around clockwise and further north. Cool, a fly-over, one of the greatest pleasure by bike, permanent roller-coaster. Up... and down...The traffic is dense, slalom between other two-wheeler, three wheelers (rickshaw)and four-wheelers, left, right, left, left. At each traffic light, a count-down. The motorbike struggle to get the pole position and often the start comes 3 to 4 seconds before the 0. A real Grand Prix fever. Turn left, Amethist passing by, a nice colonial style coffee house, yellow with columns and surrounded by a pleasant garden. Such a pleasure to find again (recognize?) the city, to notice that your landmarks are still there and that you still feel comfortable to navigate through the tiny streets of this green labyrinth, get lost for a moment and then find your way once you reach a bigger street or a well known crossing. Each day your discover new streets. And yet there seems to be an infinity of them. Coconut stop! Four wheels, a wooden plate and a pyramid of green coconuts ont it. A many in dothi (looks like "couches-coulottes") takes a nut, cuts-off one end with his sickle in a fast and accurate movement (I always checks whether all his fingers are still there!), pierces the small white area and drops a straw in it, drink is ready. Delicious! Whenever there is enough white "flesh" on the inside walls, this jelly-like food gets prepared and you eat it with a piece of nut skin as a spoon. Believe me, impossible to be hungry after that. And the thick fiber protection around the nut has such a nice wood-leaf smell.
The hindu festivals season seems to have started again. But for the first time I saw a crual one on that day. Driving through a small street, I was stopped by a crowd gathered in front of small temple, witnessing some noisy preparation...A few men, covered with a lemon made coat of arms and with many more decorations (I'll send you the pictures), were waiting in front of the god(...dess here, maybe Ganga). My neighbour starts talking to me. "Stay 10 more minutes and you will see!" pointing with his forefinger to his cheek and pulling away some imaginary thread from the opposite one. I have to stay. When the intensity of the drums rises and I see sharp hooks and picks circulating in the crowd, I understand. Should I stay or go? It is stronger than me. Will the guy faint? Or die? How bloody will it be? The priest looks at the guy in the eyes during some seconds, then takes a first hook, moves in his back and plunges it deep in the left side of the lemon-man's back, who doesn't move. Nothing can be read on his face. The end of the hook comes out. The priest performs a mechanical test by pulling hard the hook. Same thing on the right side. Then with a 2 meter pick through the man's cheeks. A old woman performs a crazy dancing in front of the lemon-man, probably under the effect of some drug. Then he takes position in front of a small car that looks like a christmas tree, but in fact, carries a picture of a god. Some knots and he starts pulling slowly the god. People start kneeling down in front of our lemon-man, worshiping him. He is now the god. And the crowd moves through the district, with a drums orchestra ahead and kids dancing with random and crazy movements to open the way to our strange chariot. By the way, not even a single drop of blood...That happened not in a remote village deep in Tamil Nadu. It was in the middle of the city of Chennai, 200 meters away from the Park Sheraton. You can't imagine bigger contrast...AMAZING!!! INCREDIBLE INDIA like the add says.
About the tittle? Mr. Karunanidi is our freshly elected chief minister. 83 years, impossible to ignore it, the state budget is used to glorify him on big posters through the city, 5th mandat and two particularities : always smiling and never drops his sunglasses. I decided today to find the brand and to get the same for me. I'll keep you posted about the progresses of this quest...(Go and discover : www.dmk.in : it's he, on the left who waves to you!)
Have your ever heared a gekko screaming? Try, you will never believe it. Many nano-lezard in my flat these days. So cute : body of 2cm and tail of 2cm also. And squirrels climbing the external building walls...
Agenda of coming week-ends :
-In 1 week : Munnar (In Kerala state, 1500m of altitude, in the middle of tea and cardamom plantations, with my production team)
-In 2 weeks : Madurai (India's most beautifull temple, people here say), to check the moral of Valerie, Balto et Aurelie
-In 3 weeks : Kochi (Cochin, again Kerala, a harbor this time, with old dutch / portuguese area) to meet again our 3 french globe trotters...
So quite a lot to tell about in next blog!!!
I woke up in my bed in the morning. "Sunday, holy sunday" was singing an irish band last century. The only day when I can stay in bed but I don't feel like. Strange, no? Many things to do. When down the building, gave some shirts for ironing to a guy on the street who does it on his small chariot with an iron heated with burning coal. I caught the watchman cleaning my bike and realized it was month end and I had to pay him for this regular activity. I jump on my bike, kick-start it and the fun begins. I know I want to go to the north, but so many ways. I cross the small slum and drive further straight. Intense light, many colors, morning small businesses, let's go this way. A crossing? Hmm...straight, I don't know, but will se. No? Already Mylapore temple, with its multicolor gopuram? Yes...Go around clockwise and further north. Cool, a fly-over, one of the greatest pleasure by bike, permanent roller-coaster. Up... and down...The traffic is dense, slalom between other two-wheeler, three wheelers (rickshaw)and four-wheelers, left, right, left, left. At each traffic light, a count-down. The motorbike struggle to get the pole position and often the start comes 3 to 4 seconds before the 0. A real Grand Prix fever. Turn left, Amethist passing by, a nice colonial style coffee house, yellow with columns and surrounded by a pleasant garden. Such a pleasure to find again (recognize?) the city, to notice that your landmarks are still there and that you still feel comfortable to navigate through the tiny streets of this green labyrinth, get lost for a moment and then find your way once you reach a bigger street or a well known crossing. Each day your discover new streets. And yet there seems to be an infinity of them. Coconut stop! Four wheels, a wooden plate and a pyramid of green coconuts ont it. A many in dothi (looks like "couches-coulottes") takes a nut, cuts-off one end with his sickle in a fast and accurate movement (I always checks whether all his fingers are still there!), pierces the small white area and drops a straw in it, drink is ready. Delicious! Whenever there is enough white "flesh" on the inside walls, this jelly-like food gets prepared and you eat it with a piece of nut skin as a spoon. Believe me, impossible to be hungry after that. And the thick fiber protection around the nut has such a nice wood-leaf smell.
The hindu festivals season seems to have started again. But for the first time I saw a crual one on that day. Driving through a small street, I was stopped by a crowd gathered in front of small temple, witnessing some noisy preparation...A few men, covered with a lemon made coat of arms and with many more decorations (I'll send you the pictures), were waiting in front of the god(...dess here, maybe Ganga). My neighbour starts talking to me. "Stay 10 more minutes and you will see!" pointing with his forefinger to his cheek and pulling away some imaginary thread from the opposite one. I have to stay. When the intensity of the drums rises and I see sharp hooks and picks circulating in the crowd, I understand. Should I stay or go? It is stronger than me. Will the guy faint? Or die? How bloody will it be? The priest looks at the guy in the eyes during some seconds, then takes a first hook, moves in his back and plunges it deep in the left side of the lemon-man's back, who doesn't move. Nothing can be read on his face. The end of the hook comes out. The priest performs a mechanical test by pulling hard the hook. Same thing on the right side. Then with a 2 meter pick through the man's cheeks. A old woman performs a crazy dancing in front of the lemon-man, probably under the effect of some drug. Then he takes position in front of a small car that looks like a christmas tree, but in fact, carries a picture of a god. Some knots and he starts pulling slowly the god. People start kneeling down in front of our lemon-man, worshiping him. He is now the god. And the crowd moves through the district, with a drums orchestra ahead and kids dancing with random and crazy movements to open the way to our strange chariot. By the way, not even a single drop of blood...That happened not in a remote village deep in Tamil Nadu. It was in the middle of the city of Chennai, 200 meters away from the Park Sheraton. You can't imagine bigger contrast...AMAZING!!! INCREDIBLE INDIA like the add says.
About the tittle? Mr. Karunanidi is our freshly elected chief minister. 83 years, impossible to ignore it, the state budget is used to glorify him on big posters through the city, 5th mandat and two particularities : always smiling and never drops his sunglasses. I decided today to find the brand and to get the same for me. I'll keep you posted about the progresses of this quest...(Go and discover : www.dmk.in : it's he, on the left who waves to you!)
Have your ever heared a gekko screaming? Try, you will never believe it. Many nano-lezard in my flat these days. So cute : body of 2cm and tail of 2cm also. And squirrels climbing the external building walls...
Agenda of coming week-ends :
-In 1 week : Munnar (In Kerala state, 1500m of altitude, in the middle of tea and cardamom plantations, with my production team)
-In 2 weeks : Madurai (India's most beautifull temple, people here say), to check the moral of Valerie, Balto et Aurelie
-In 3 weeks : Kochi (Cochin, again Kerala, a harbor this time, with old dutch / portuguese area) to meet again our 3 french globe trotters...
So quite a lot to tell about in next blog!!!
