I Dream in Green
25 January 2005
Kodaikanal
well, after a whirlwind weeklong ten-person eurocentric bicycle tour of the weird-yet-inspiring auroville - "the new universal city"- cycling under the guidance of a very french new-agey woman named ambre (say aaaaahmbrra) mind you, i landed this morning in kodaikanal, a hill-station way way up in the western ghats, a mountain range than runs north-south along the border between kerala and tamil nadu, india's two southernmost states. the bus-ride from the plains (a town called dindigal, where i disembarked a train at 5am) to the upper altitudes was breathtaking. it reminds me of umbria, italy (lots of farmland etching patterns across the earth), only with bigger mountains in the distance. i was snapping pictures all the way, while the bus driver performed acrobatics at the wheel (i lost my breath on some of the hairpin curves)... right now, i am wearing three shirts, a jacket, and hankerchief and SOCKS! it's much cooler here.
this place is a dream. i think my heart belongs in the mountains. ¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
well, after a whirlwind weeklong ten-person eurocentric bicycle tour of the weird-yet-inspiring auroville - "the new universal city"- cycling under the guidance of a very french new-agey woman named ambre (say aaaaahmbrra) mind you, i landed this morning in kodaikanal, a hill-station way way up in the western ghats, a mountain range than runs north-south along the border between kerala and tamil nadu, india's two southernmost states. the bus-ride from the plains (a town called dindigal, where i disembarked a train at 5am) to the upper altitudes was breathtaking. it reminds me of umbria, italy (lots of farmland etching patterns across the earth), only with bigger mountains in the distance. i was snapping pictures all the way, while the bus driver performed acrobatics at the wheel (i lost my breath on some of the hairpin curves)... right now, i am wearing three shirts, a jacket, and hankerchief and SOCKS! it's much cooler here.
this place is a dream. i think my heart belongs in the mountains. ¶ 8:59 AM 0 comments
15 January 2005
The Pongal Installment
When I left you last there were big waves. Today there are purple cows.
Saturday. It’s day three of Pongal, a four-day harvest festival here in Tamil Nadu (the state where I’ve been living for the past month). This day is for the cows. The ones lucky enough to live in a village get washed and painted and covered with flowers and bells. !!! Here in Chennai, the animals are grazing in the garbage, as usual, and it’s strangely calm.
Women here draw intricate chalk designs on the street (kolams), in front of their gates and doors—they’re like enormous welcome mats that change on a weekly basis. Usually they’re simply white line drawings, but yesterday they were special: filled in with all different colored dusts, and labeled, “you have happy pongal!” At the Yoga Mandiram, too, there was a special sidewalk design—this one was filled in with flower petals. It was for us--the international students--yesterday was the last day of our month-long intensive.
The program was, well... intense. The teachers were unbelievably dedicated, wise, inspiring. I'll spend the next month digesting as much of what they taught as I can (and in late February I’ll come back to the Mandiram for another course).
Today I’m packing. Tomorrow I leave Chennai, in search of cleaner air.
First stop: Pondicherry and Auroville, a small French town and a “universal city in the making…” just south of here. Next, it’s into the woods I go… back across the country by train into the Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs parallel to India’s western coast. Almost one-third of all the flowering plant species in India are found here, but population growth and tourism has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. I’ll be there for a few weeks, doing some work for a conservation council there—probably some drawings for publications and t-shirts. It’ll be cooler there. Um, I might even get to wear my jacket! ¶ 6:40 PM 1 comments
Saturday. It’s day three of Pongal, a four-day harvest festival here in Tamil Nadu (the state where I’ve been living for the past month). This day is for the cows. The ones lucky enough to live in a village get washed and painted and covered with flowers and bells. !!! Here in Chennai, the animals are grazing in the garbage, as usual, and it’s strangely calm.
Women here draw intricate chalk designs on the street (kolams), in front of their gates and doors—they’re like enormous welcome mats that change on a weekly basis. Usually they’re simply white line drawings, but yesterday they were special: filled in with all different colored dusts, and labeled, “you have happy pongal!” At the Yoga Mandiram, too, there was a special sidewalk design—this one was filled in with flower petals. It was for us--the international students--yesterday was the last day of our month-long intensive.
The program was, well... intense. The teachers were unbelievably dedicated, wise, inspiring. I'll spend the next month digesting as much of what they taught as I can (and in late February I’ll come back to the Mandiram for another course).
Today I’m packing. Tomorrow I leave Chennai, in search of cleaner air.
First stop: Pondicherry and Auroville, a small French town and a “universal city in the making…” just south of here. Next, it’s into the woods I go… back across the country by train into the Western Ghats, a mountain range that runs parallel to India’s western coast. Almost one-third of all the flowering plant species in India are found here, but population growth and tourism has wreaked havoc on the ecosystem. I’ll be there for a few weeks, doing some work for a conservation council there—probably some drawings for publications and t-shirts. It’ll be cooler there. Um, I might even get to wear my jacket! ¶ 6:40 PM 1 comments
