A Thursday evening lecture

Good evening !

I keep meaning to show you where all the action takes place ... The blogging action that is .

That's my mosquito net tent , brilliant unless  occasionally like last night one gets in under the net . I cant always hear the buzz if I have the fan on. Mosquitos are a big pain  here but at least they don't carry malaria in this area.

So this evening we were invited to an evening lecture given by The Association of  Consulting Civil Engineers  held in a meditation centre  locally and was  coordinated by a friend of the Lakschmanans. It was a 6pm. start so no Orphanage this afternoon.

The topic if I got the gist of it correctly was about the power of positive thinking and a positive attitude while facing adversity and how it can alter the outcome of events.

Quote for the day written on the board at the entrance to the centre.

A meditation Room.

None of us had any dea what to expect.

The lecture hall.

What you can't see are the hundreds of huge Mosquitos buzzing about . A man came round and placed coils on the floor but they didn't seem to make much difference. In the end we wrapped Anitha 's scarf around us but at first it felt like they were all over us !

This large group of uniformed men sat opposite  until the talk was about underway then they all trooped out and that was the last we saw of them , very strange.

By which time the important dignitaries had all been seated on the stage and presented with a posy of flowers.

The M C was introducing everyone when a phone went off on the stage . It belonged to this man , our lecturer for the evening . No one batted an eye lid when he proceeded to answer the call .

The lecture was comical . He asked us to repeat phrases , he repeated himself and asked us to smile all the time and we would become contented happy people .He was delighted that the " foreigners " ,all two of us were doing a lot of smiling . Little did he know that it was his delivery we were smiling at . It was like being back at school, he had people standing up introducing themselves and him  then commenting on the lovely names people have in Tamil Nadu . The crowd seemed to like it , it was a real hoot.iI have no idea what the connection was between the Civil Engineers and natural disasters and I am now learning not to question !

When the lecture finished a  "meditation lady "got  up onto the stage and did a 10min.relaxation and meditation session for the crowd. I would have joined in but as it was in Tamil we just closed our eyes and listened.

Lecture over ,they insisted we join in with the photo shoot .

Followed by a light meal 

Rebecca Anitha and me . Not an easy task eating this sort of food with your fingers and on your knee.

Once you were done you took your plate outside and washed your hand.

The people in white are the residents. 

You don't hang about after these events it would seem because we had no sooner finished the hand wash tham we were out the door.

So here is another interesting event to add to the list of firsts and in this case hopefully lasts in Madurai .

A quick update on Pritchin

These were taken today. Oh dear is that really how awful I look ,still managing to avoid lice though .

We have cracked it !

Pritchin couldn't have been on his feet quicker today and the mouth was open straight away.

Not sure how Elizabeth , the Matron feels about me having done this , but she actually came up to me and gave me a ball of the food to give him which I was surprised and relieved about . I am sure she must get a bit fed up at times with all us volunteers with our bright ideas coming in and changing the routine though maybe after this she will see us as less of a threat and more of a help.

He ate the lot quickly so I thought it best  for Elizabeth to feed him so I left the room as after all I am not around all the time.Thankfully she gave him a small amount that he could manage. I think from now on I will hover around but leave Elizabeth to do the job .

This was biscuit time. He actually can't manage to bite it yet but he tried . I will continue to break off wee bits and scrunch them up until he can cope with the lumps .

I have a jigsaw app on my I pad which I have been teaching the children to use . Taking turns is a major issue for these children but even they understand the theat of it being put away so try very hard to control themselves .

The wee girl on the right has only stubs for fingers and found it incredibly difficult to tap the screen but with some help and perseverance the wee soul can just about do it . The smile on her face when she looks up at me speaks volumes and makes all this worthwhile.

24 hours in Kodaikanal

Now where to begin with this novel ? I will make it as visual as possible to save me wittering  on , but stick with it as there are a few stories to tell towards the end .

Waiting to get on the bus only for the 1.5 hrs after we were instructed to be there.

To get to the bus we walked through this filthy wee alley passed this barbers shop. The guy came out and asked if we wanted a massage .. Eh no thanks !

We thought Marion would make a better driver.

Than the actual one

I was really panicking but it was get on or go home !

Here are a few pictures of the drive up.

a very rare sight ! An almost clear road.

We were careering along the road only to have to slam on the breaks for the other road users !

During the journey I got talking to a very friendly Indian family down from Delhi for a few days and that helped to pass the time and also was a great  distraction for me as the driver drove so so fast.

The views were beautiful though.

We gave the lookout tower a miss as it looked distinctly unsafe. This is a popular suicide spot apparently.

Stalls by the side of the road selling carrots oranges and dried flowers, oh and candy floss .

By this time the temperature was beginning to drop as we twisted our way up the mountain , and the road became more and more treacherous . One side hundreds of feet drop and the other a narrow road with" road works "

Then we came upon this waterfall.

Kodaikanal is called a "hill station " where a lot of  British people back In the  day settled due to there being a more pleasant and bearable climate both for growing crops and for people.As you will see later the vegetables look lovey. They also grow tea and coffee, make cheese and make semi decent chocolate .

This was us coming into the town.

We said our goodbyes to the Indian family and made our way to our hotel.It was basic but clean and in a very central location. Recommended to us by Daisy a nurse at the orphanage .There were 5 of us in total.We paid extra to have honeymoon suits which also included hot water between 6-8 both am.and pm. Not one of us managed any hot water at all and if it had been warmer it wouldn't have been a problem but it was bitterly cold with wind howling in the slatted vent windows.I suppose for £ 15 for the room for all 3 of us I shouldn't complain .

We dumped our bags in our respective  rooms and went out for a very interesting Tibetan Lunch.

And this is the  famous Lake that comes from an underground spring and is 60 ft. At it's deepest point. This was not really the kind of countryside I would have expected to see in India ,infact it looks more European I think.It was lovely to breathe in fresh cooler air for a change though.

 We took a boat trip round the lake for the huge sum of £1.65 , that was for all of us plus the rower !

So back to the town which was like this .

We found a butchers shop down a wee lane.Brace yourselves for the next picture and 

Vegetarians may want to look away.

And interestingly it is beef being sold here. When I asked Anita why as beef( or any meat for that matter) isn't widely available in this state. She said it goes back to the days when a lot of British people  settled here and I suspect a lot of Christian influence.

Anita is Hindu but was sent up to  Kodaikanal to an Irish Catholic convent school to board and is very proud of her education  , has given me a rendition of " when Irish Eyes are smiling " and is partial to champ, stew ,custard steamed pudding ....  Brilliant !

Sorry folks but nothing goes to waste in this here butcher .

The temperature  during the day at this time of year is about 18deg. But through the night last night was perishing under 10 deg.. No heater and not enough blankets meant that I had on 3 t shirts, a fleece ,socks ,2 blankets and my pashmina .it was along night .

This is a shop that sells alcohol at the end of a filthy alley and is strictly men only. We felt a bit uncomfortable here so made a speedy exit.

Deep fried samosas and deep fried battered capsicums. Everything is deep fried so I am sure would be fine to eat but haven't plucked up the courage yet just incase.

I guess they are Poussin" but they look frighteningly human .

There isn't anything to do at night in these places as they all close at 9 so there was nothing for it but to go to bed.

Next morning we were up and away to find breakfast , continental preferably for the French contingent . No continental but the next  best thing was a dosai very like a crepe , I had cheese in mine served on a banana leaf with a selection curry sauces. It was delicious. 

We took Anita's advice and declined sightseeing tours and instead chose to make our own way round the tourist spots , starting with Coaker's Walk

This is a very scenic walkway with lots of vendors on one side and these kinds of views to our left

No idea what this mountain was called but I can imagine Tibet or Kashmir looking a bit like this.

Not the most exciting of pictures but it just shows how unlike the India I have seen so far. 

This was a lovely shady walk up to a shrine .

En route these road workers were keen for us to take a picture, only human machines here !

The shrine which was worth the walk. You were not allowed to photograph inside but it had lovely stained glass windows.

I sat and watched some families performing the hair cutting ritual. As it's by the church Anita said the hair will be given as an offering of thankfulness to God ...for example if that they have been given a son ,or maybe have recovered from an illness.

The washing afterwards

And finally rubbng the sandalwood over the head to protect it from the sun.

And a horrible bold monkey .

The shrine

We walked on for another couple of miles through some quite Scottish looking countryside 

And another waterfall.

By this time we were getting hungry again so we retraced our steps and headed back to town for lunch in a bakery that had been recommended to us , here it is .

It doesn't look very inspiring but can I tell you it made the most delicious vegetable pastries a bit like filled croissant , sandwiches coffee and  home made ginger biscuits . They also make their own ice cream which was too creamy for me but the others found it tasty. Lunch got the thumbs up from all and set us up nicely for our journey back down the hill .

So the journey home !!!!

3.30 we arrived at the bus stop to find our bus sitting waiting but with a good few people on it . The driver was on his way to drop these people off at a hotel and would be back in 5/10 mins . As we stood waiting the brother and sister I had been talking to on the bus appeared. They are both professionals in Delhi and had liked  the sound of what we are doing as volunteers and wanted to see if they could help the orphanage in any way. I thought that

 was absolutely lovely. I gave them the details and they will contact the orphanage directly, although men are not usually allowed in unless they are planning adoption. I will have to make a trip to Dr. Dodd and see if Phil can get in . That is the whole point of him coming to Madurai !

So one hour later we were ushered down the street a bit to a waiting bus which appeared to be full to capacity. I was first on and the driver shouted at me to sit on the bench seat which where the passenger seat would have been, but as I was terrified I said I would rather go up the back. The seats I front of the back row. Now directly behind us was a very unwell looking elderly Indian lady draped over the top of our prospective seats looking drugged up, Rebecca had to sit opposite me next to another Indian lady who was sitting over her fair share f the seat . The 2 French ladies were then forced to sit on the bench seat at the front , but one has a bad back and couldn't sit there . I had by this time Sussex out that the lady behind was suffering from travel sickness and that was enough for me , I was up the front f that bus like a shot.Me and sick just don't mix especially I had a fear that it might end up all over me.

So there we were all crammed into this 17 seater with the door and windows providing the A.C.

The said bus and all it's passengers. If you look closely back right you can see an elbow .. Well that belongs to the woman that had been leaning over the seat..now heaving out the window ! And it wasn't long before 2 others joined in ,one next to poor Rebecca ( in the white t- shirt ) I didn't dare look back to find the third. I have never been so glad  to have changed seats.I was able to sit with my head out the window only occasionally having to hear the sound of all 3 at once boking out the window. One of the  French ladies had bought the equivelant of olbas oil so they all put it round their nostrils to , well you know why !

My seat next to my new best friend.

Meanwhile up the front almost out the front window my eyes were glued to the road and it's mad drivers.Actually the road on the way down was littered with cars "parked " at the verge with its passengers out throwing up .

 My leg accidentally kept banging against the young lad next to me , I sensed he felt uncomfortable about it so I tried really hard not to touch him. He then turned to me and asked me of I was a Christian...he told me he was Muslim which explained the touching business. Next thing he said was " I like the colour of your skin ". " do you Sean Connery ,James Bond.. I like him very much "he said . And so this went on , questions and statements. My responses were obviously spot on because he thought we could be very good friends and did I know Jalfreizi ( probably wrong spelling ) curry "that's what I am eating eating tonight " he said and that I should come home and share dinner with his family. He asked me how much money I earned , that I must be very rich , and when I said I wasn't his response was " you must be lying ," next question "what kind of car do you have ? "but the oddest question was " did I know Oriflame " ? it's Swedish cosmetics along the Avon line I think but maybe a bit more upmarket. Anyway I said that I did and he said " I only use Oriflame cosmetics , you know all the Bollywood stars use this it is very expensive. Normally I enjoy a chat but on this occasion I was so gld when he had forty winks .

We had many genuine near misses so it was a great relief to make it back in one piece.

 That's me done the India bus trip , next time it's going to be a train and a high speed electric one at that so hoping it will be a little less eventful.. Or at least events of a less stressful kind.