chennai

By noon i was at Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram. A temple town famous for rock temples that were created by Pallava Dynasty who ruled this region around 7th century. Pallavas were mighty rulers and this region used to be an important port. Incidentally Bodhidharma the founder of Chan Buddhism which later became Zen Buddhism in Japan was most likely a Pallava prince.

I was looking for cheaper accommodation; the fellow quoted a higher price. I told him “that price is meant for people who carry dollar, you tell me the Indian price. I am not a rich man”. Well when it comes to money i am very straight in dealing, never be ambiguous on these matters is my policy. The man who was showing some respect shifted his attitude towards me, he turned condescending even mocking “ayo cyclil thaan vandriku”. I kept a straight face, he realised it’s not working. Instead of showing me the top floor rooms which were mostly occupied by foreigners, he took me to ground floor rooms that were dark and damp. Most rooms seemed to be occupied by couples looking for “quickie”, it is likely the fellow charged the room on hourly basis (atleast that’s what i eavesdropped). I absolutely have no problems with these but for godsake why put used condoms under the bedding (it sickens me). I generally carry my bedsheets and pillow cover-and a bottle of dettol, so i am quite equipped to handle these. Also carry mosquito mats, must say mosquitoes of Tamil Nadu are persistent lot that have even worked out the secret of repellents-it seems to have no effect. They were happily buzzing around my ears all through night, adeptly avoiding my attempts to smash them. The more I missed more I ended up slapping myself, once i was even startled out of sleep, for a moment i thought i was at school getting another tight one from the woman who called herself teacher and i staring at her navel all through the ordeal. Mosquitoes have made a nut of atleast one more man; it was reported in the news that a burglar was caught. Now you might think what is new about this? Well our man apart from stealing money and jewellery from the houses had a penchant for mosquito repellent. The fellow stole mosquito mats along with valuables from whichever house he burgled!! That was his undoing it made the job of cops relatively easy as he was linked to all the crimes where repellents went missing, he confessed. I am reminded of a scene from Rajnikant movie ‘Endhiran’ where mosquitoes were asked to apologise, it is no laughing matter.

Since it was happy mix of festive and foreign tourist season there were cultural programs organised, dancers from all over the country performed on the stage that was aesthetically done with rock carving of Arjuna’s penance as back ground. Saw this blond woman who i thought was enjoying the dance and song that she hit her thighs often, soon realised she was trying to keep the mosquitoes away. Geez it’s the mosquitoes again. Went for fish curry rice dinner, the restaurant turned out to be run by malayalee. Few foreigners turned up and explained that they want to see real Indian food, the one that was not served at posh hotel they were staying (it is called “experience”). The malayalee added many yah yahs while he spoke, the foreigners looked at the menu keenly and left without eating. The malayalee fellow was understandably furious and told another of his countryman “evidunna vanada evirekke. Chettagallu”. The other fellow said mockingly maybe they eat pig. When malayalees speak i find it difficult to keep quiet. I informed them that pig is referred to as ham. “Haammo” he laughed loudly, i found him still smiling as i was leaving.

Early next morning much before the sunrise i was at the rock temple, i wanted to take the picture of the temple with rising sun as background, after initial threat of clouds the pictures came out quite well. These temples were redone after it was damaged in cyclone decades back. Later cycled around the place and went to other temples. Many of the carvings are exquisite. The pair of antelopes at Arjuna’s penance impressed Mrs Indira Gandhi so much that it was put on currency notes, they are incredibly beautiful. What makes it charming is the way the creature is rubbing its nose, it is almost alive. The artisans were not only talented but had their sense of humour intact. On the bottom corner a replica of the way Arjuna was doing his penance was recreated except that this time instead of Arjuna it was full bellied cat surrounded by gullible rats. Beware of false saints being the message. The baby elephants are so very delicate. At one corner a saint was giving sermons to headless students, a woman asked the guide what happened to the heads. The fellow said it was ‘destroyed by Muslims’. I was shocked to hear this, the man was giving wrong information, that is not how it is. Atleast from what i know the saint cursed the students for their ignorance and wayward ways which as the story goes exploded their heads. There should be strict training for guides, unauthorised ones shouldn’t be allowed.

All these created on a rock was most amazing, what made it remarkable was the delicate and deft handling needed since if you give one wrong chisel everything could go wrong. Surely these artists spend their lifetime creating these beauties. These sculptors and temples are considered as early form of Dravidian art that was to blossom to its peak during the later Cholas. By noon i was observing Mahishasura mardana. A boy in late teens saw the bull headed human and said it is a matador, his elder brother said in an American accent “no man it’s a greek god”. Their parent laughed and his mother clarified in what sounded like alien Tamil “what da what you are talking these are Hindu gods. This is narasimha avatar da”. Their father was seen hugging and clutching the boys. It seemed like small happy family out for quality time. Happy family all right but their dimwit conversation got hold of me. I said rather loudly staring at the sculpt that it is mahishasura, “Narasimha means nara that is man, simha that is lion and i don’t see any lion here”. I couldn’t control my sarcasm, it came out of irritation, the family went silent and observed me keenly. I looked away and saw a Coucal sneaking across the bush and decided to pursue it.

Next day i was at Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, there is no direct bus so you have to go to Chengalpetu (takes about an hour) and from there it is another hour, buses are not very frequent. Vedanthangal is the oldest bird sanctuary in the country, steps were taken as early as 1798- with much insistence from local community- and by 1858 it was fully established. Variety of water birds and storks could be seen on trees and bushes dotting the lake, visitors can walk about half a Km stretch, there is a watch tower with a binocular. It is difficult to take photographs though i did see lots of people carrying fancy cameras. It is a popular tourist spot for people from Chennai. Had to wait for the bus for an hour so, the boy at the shop was keen on my camera, and asked me how it works. I thought he was a precocious kid, observant and inquisitive but rarely smiled, he got me concerned that one.

Phase III : Towards Matrimandir

I started from Mamallapuram much before the sunrise, my destination was Marakkanam located at about 70Kms. intention being to cover the distance by noon and anchor for the night. Some search in the Net as also talking to people suggested possibilities of lodges at Marakkanam. Thought of going parallel to ECR along the backwaters but again ended up at a dead end, this time vowed to firmly stick to ECR from now on. Sadras had some colonial Dutch forts that I was keen to visit but somehow missed it and by the time realised it i was at Kalpakkam. Kalpakkam of course is the town that has Nuclear power plant, the fast breeder Nuclear reactor-the one that uses Thorium. Thorium is obtained from Monazite sand something that is found in abundance along the beaches of Kerala, specifically Kollam. A place i have spent some time when i was kid, I recall many decades back while i was walking along the coast of Kollam i had this black coloured sand sticking to my leg, i was told it is monazite sand from which thorium is extracted. This sand is also rich in ilmenite that contains Titanium. Much later while i was doing a project at Titanium Factory i saw these black sand being converted into talcum powder! It was an amazing experience. Incidentally studies along these coastal regions have not been able to establish any definite link between cancer and Monazite.

Track from Mamallapuram to Puducherry is quite popular among bikers and cyclists. A British couple overtook me (could make out from the accent as they wished me), they were in full cycle gear and customary helmet. The cycle must have cost a fortune, they had bags carefully balanced on back carrier. Their pedalling synchronised as if floating like a pair of cranes within moment they were out of my sight. As pleasing the sight maybe i wonder why couldn’t they use treadmill at home! I came across a shallow lake along the sea and saw some fishermen wade the knee deep water spreading their net, stopped to watch their catch. These lines from the poem The Coromandel Fishers by Sarojini Naidu (more about Sarojini Naidu at iseeebirds.blogspot.com)

Rise, brothers, rise! The wakening sky
pray to the morning light.
The wind lies asleep in the arms of the dawn
like a child that has cried all night.
Come, let us gather our nets from the shore
and set our catamarans free,
To capture leaping wealth of the tide
for we are the kings of the sea!

Watching the catch by the fishermen returning from deep sea early morning is something i always do whenever i am around the coast, to see the variety of fishes and trying to identify, indeed i used to spend hours walking around the Chinese fishing nets in Fortkochi, every time they pulled the net i would be the first few to check out the fishes. Must say the catch have dwindled quite significantly in recent times. Since Chinese fishing nets are also a tourist attraction this blogger thinks that the government should extend help to these fishermen to maintain these nets. Indeed Kochi is known for Chinese nets, a gargantuan conception that was introduced by Chinese traveller ZhengHe in fifteenth century. ZhengHe is an interesting character, he was captured by Ming invaders when he was just eleven and made into eunuch, he rose to become the trusted aid of the emperor and was appointed to lead voyages. He is believed to have died along the Malabar Coast.

Along the way i saw atleast five snakes crushed under speeding vehicles, even an owl-that really was a surprise: how did that happen? It got me thinking. My conclusion was that the unfortunate bird might have broken its wing or got immobilised in some way and landed straight on the road most likely at night. Another theory was the bird was already dead while it landed on the road since even with broken wing it would have struggled away. Sight of crows pecking the crushed mass was gruesome. The route was mostly isolated with occasional vehicles, the morning after a major festival is generally rather quieter this has been my experience all these years. And yesterday was Pongal festival, one of the most auspicious day for tamilians. Forgot to mention that just outside Mamallapuram i came across a village that proclaimed itself as “Sweety and Lovely village” in English, must be expressing their disappointment and showing that they aren’t behind compared to a nearby village that was declared as ‘tourist village’ and so foreign tourists were herded to experience the countryside. During pongal there were big celebrations specifically meant for foreigners. Some years back i happen to attend one near Madurai.

Few children waved one boy asked “what is your name?” in English, i found that question puzzling. Why would a kid like to know my name? Then tried to put myself in the kid’s shoes and presto the revelation: he was trying to work out his English (most likely he mistook me as some elite guy who generally converse in english). I would do the same at that age!! Much further I realised i had a puncture, fortunately for me a village was nearby. The repair shop also sold framed pictures of god. There were too many of them in varying size hanging the shack. The old man took his job seriously and with his thin dextrous fingers repaired it in few minutes. It seemed he was affected by hundreds of eyes staring from the frames. I accosted a man “which village was this?” though i was at an audible distance he preferred to shout back “Kuvathur”, ironic since kuv means shout!! Soon i was back on the main road, a gang of bikers sped at a very high speed later followed by thundering of dozen bullet bikes. Quite a sight that one, bullet bikes always remind me of my childhood when during army celebration a must show was acrobats on these bikes by ‘uncles from signals’, I recall a boy whose father was a member of this team, he used to be very proud and boast about his father being more powerful than hanuman! It is only when you are travelling in cycle you realise how fast these vehicles are and how marvellous these inventions. How much convenient they have made our life. The IC engines, the Carnot cycle-the PV and TS diagrams, the adiabatic compressions and isothermal expansions, i had mugged up these so many times before exams without realising their significance. It is now I realise how beautiful these theories are. What amazing conceptions, it is humbling.

I stopped to have many tender coconuts along the way and skipped the breakfast. Kanchipuram district is demarcated from Villipuram by a lake that extend to the ocean, as soon as you cross this lake the terrain changes to shrubby and hotter. It’s a region marked by sparse vegetations and isolated stretches, that it was mid noon added to the discomfort. Soon i realised i am not enjoying the ride and was getting annoyed. People do put themselves in discomforting situation voluntarily, i was thinking of stampede deaths at Shabrimala the day before. But people do it for gratification from god or later gains mine didn’t seem to be falling into any category, that got me concerned. Actions need to have justification is it not? But i guess these never occurred to me, and sometimes create uniquely difficult situations for myself. I have been in such situation many times before! As i was thinking these i saw acres and acres of land stretched on one side of the road that were filled with shallow water, it shimmered in noon sun and could make out few men at work, about half an hour later i was in their vicinity. I approached them on foot. They were making salt, there are few ways to manufacture salt this one was by drying sea water. The man (forgot his name) said that their work was similar to farmers “farmer produce vegetable we produce salt. But there is a difference farmer need rain, for us rain is catastrophe” (translated from Tamil). This one cultivation that needs harsh sun and no rain! Even now what is supposed to be winter the temperature was more than 35*C, in summer i am told it reaches about 50. My god what a tough job. Incidentally India is the third largest producer of salt, bulk of which is from Gujarat. This process of salt production is also referred to as ‘solar salt’ and is being practised from ancient times.

Marakkanam was about five Kms away, unfortunately for me there weren’t any place to stay. There is a government guest house that wasn’t open to public. I decided to cool myself and sat next to a shop and had ‘colour’-sweet carbonated drink that cost 5R. Found myself conversing with a man, as i talked to him i came to know that he too worked in salt pit. His name was Pakri and seemed to have come in terms with his harsh realities. He said he gets 180R per day. For a gruelling days work under the harsh sun this was too paltry. He said he doesn’t have any choices furthermore his expense are also less so manages it quite well. He was fascinated by my camera, and was excited about pictures of birds and could identify most of them in Tamil. That i thought was remarkable. I spent about an hour talking about odd things mostly he was keen to know what i do, he seemed to have an open mind about things. He thought keralaites are adventurous lot-well i have reservation on that. As i was leaving he told me to “travel a lot that is best thing to do”. Suddenly i realised how immensely lucky i was. There weren’t too many eateries around and those present were all closed except a small one next to the highway, hygiene was a concern but what the heck i was famished and could eat a truck. Food was really bad, couldn’t manage and decided to give up. But since people were found enjoying the food and i had already become an oddity i decided to pretend i am eating all the while dropped it to a rather excited dog under the table.

Puducherry was still about 30Kms away. I must mention that much before Marakkanam there is a small town that has moghul fort, i guess it is till here that Moghul rule extended, most likely led by Malik Kafur- a hindu convert. Someone mentioned that next to the fort there was a place to stay, so took a diversion for about three Km and found that it was a well furnished house and they only rent to actors and ‘famous people’ who come for shooting. Since i wasn’t both i cannot have it, anyway there wasn’t any need for them to mention all these the lodging was beyond my budget. But the best part was i found a small rather cozy alley surrounded by trees and shrubs. I sat under a tree for some time, and tried to take pictures of a very shy brown barbet. Further down some children were playing cricket under hot sun and it seems were short of a player, they insisted i should join. Found that extremely amusing, any other day i would have joined but this was getting bit sultry and i had to reach Puducherry or will be stranded on the highway that i realised didn’t have street lights. All through the route saw umpteen number of one room churches, being Sunday the mass was in full swing-louder the better being the motto.

Two mosques stood facing each other and the road went through it, followed by rows of double storey houses that were painted in bright colours. The toll roads exempt cycles, there was a mention of need for creating eco friendly surroundings. But must say highways aren’t traveller friendly at all, they seem meant only for fast moving vehicles. There isn’t any space for stopping; many accidents are reported as people park their vehicle on sideways or if there is a breakdown. I was watching this TV programs on car chase videos the other day (the one where cops chase over speeding or stolen vehicles and then pass it as entertainment for TV audience...it’s a cottage industry in US) and found that there is something called ‘service lane’. If not service lane atleast some space for people to park and stretch themselves. Few centuries back roads were sensitive to the needs of travellers there were trees to provide shade, sheds to relax. With increasing speeds of vehicles- that reduces surroundings as objects, highways have become impersonal. I happen to see many families stop their car to spread out for lunch and so on, wherever they could find space. Car manufactures are smarter lot but don’t know whether they have thought of introducing some design innovation to include converting the rear part into table and so on! It isn’t a funny matter many families use car (the lower end smaller ones) for travelling and picnic. Saw few middle aged men drinking liquor inside the car. I don’t believe these people, why would anyone drink and drive knowing fully well that their chance of survivalability is rather low. I do drink once in a while maybe on Saturdays that too very occasionally- a peg or two, but not very keen on these matter. I think most people don’t like these things in the first instance it’s the company you keep. I have tried all that could be tried...even drugs and found absolutely no fun, it’s quite dumb these things. Though i strongly suggest brandy with pepper in hot water for any ailment. It works miracles, don’t waste your money on doctors. Red wine and kerala Kallu (with kappa meen) top my list.

On the way i saw posters of politicians, i guess Tamil Nadu is warming up to forthcoming elections much earnestly. Mr. Chidambaram’s face in many of the posters made me smile, he looked a cross between amul baby and hema malini with ominously coloured blood red lips and an extra dose of mascara, the effect was hilarious. Don’t know how much will these influence voters!

By about five i was at Puducherry and had cycled almost 100Kms, something didn’t intend to. Auroville is like a home to me, this being tourist season i didn’t go to the ashram cottages expecting it to be full. After a quick bath went out for fish and rice curry. I need to mention here a thing or two about fish curry. For last many years i have been not exactly ‘Following Fish’ but yes Fish curry!! I have become quite an expert. Fried fish in potato gravy of Bengal, a rather pungent tasty mustard paste based fish curry of Orissa, tamarind flavoured succulent fish along Telangana, a simple coconut milk laced Mangalorean fare, spicy Kudumpulli fish curry of Travancore as also Raw mango flavoured ones of Kochi, fish moilees along kottayam, peppery Chettinadu fish curry, tomato fenugreek seeds filled kuzhambu fish curries of Chennai-a kind of thickened rasam, Goan style fish floating in thick tomato gravy.... have tasted all. Only area left is coastal Maharashtra-the Ratnagiri side. Don’t know whether coastal Gujarat is known for fish delicacies. Though i avoid fishes when i am in the interior part of the country nor prefer river fish neither fish fries but yes i do recommend Amritsari fish fry-it’s quite chatpata, as also fish fingers from carts of Pondicherry streets! And yes I also strongly recommend parsi Patra fish-steamed in green chutney, i do try to work it out in my kitchen once in a while. Fish is a serious part of my diet, and do spend a fortune. Though i prefer Pearl spot (karimeen) and Salmon, Sardine and Tuna are cheap and best. When housewives in small towns of Kerala meet they don’t ask how are you they ask what was the fish today!!

Despite strong presence of French for centuries fish curry around Puducherry has not even the trace of the much famous French culinary influence. Clearly people don’t like their food bland there are limits of accepting things and when it comes to food the lines are clear. I was reading “Following Fish” there is a mention on these lines about fish curries around the town of Tuticudi (Tuticorin) that once was a Portuguese colony “Puzzlingly, throughout the Portuguese presence on this stretch of Tamil nadu, its cuisine remained as untouched as its religion stood transformed. I came across no Portuguese influences in my meals in Tuticorin and its neighbouring villages, but, thinking, I’d missed something or simply eaten in all the wrong places, i later sought the wisdom of Jacob Aruni, a food consultant and researcher in Chennai. ‘its true, and it’s a mystery,’ Aruni said. ‘In Goa, for instance, the use of cinnamon, garlic and wine in food caught on from Portuguese. But in the coastal area around Tuticorin, they still use salt, tamarind and coconut more dominantly-the ingredients they were using even before the Portuguese arrived.’”. I think there cannot be two views on this: curry should be spicy, and is meant to blast in your mouth and open up senses. That is food and it better be that way. Europeans can take a break.

Samanth Subramanian-the author of the book, must say hardly a name i would associate with someone writing about fishes! But yes it is a well written book and I strongly suggest. Though lines like “we were not in Kansas anymore” seemed to be meant deliberately for international audience, obviously I cannot be against these but just couldn’t get the joke. I have seen enough western movies to understand “last chance saloon”, thought it was quite hilarious and apt description of toddy shops around Kumrakum, some are in middle of paddy field. There though is a correction needed: Kokum is not same Kudampuli, there is a mistake here. Even reputed recipe books tend to make this mistake, i think it is time to clear this once forever. Kudampuli or Malabar Tamarind also called Gambooge in English (Garcinia cambogia) is a small round orange like fruit that when dried becomes dark. These are used in ayurveda quite extensively. For culinary purpose except for keralites these find favor with Coorgis (where it is referred to as Kachampuli), and nowhere else as of my knowledge. While Kokum (Garcinia Indica) is obtained from a fruit tree endemic to Western Ghats, the outer cover of the fruit when dried is referred to as Kokum. They too have wide medicinal and cosmetic use. They are popular as drinks-a darkish red colored sweetened in water, also used as substitute for tamarind in Konkan –Maharashtra even Gujarat region. I guess it is also used in Rogan Josh from Kashmiri wazwan. Kokum and Kudampuli therefore are NOT same and cannot even substitute each other (ask me i made that mistake once while in delhi where getting Kudampuli was a task). They don’t look similar, the texture smell are world apart. Kokum gives a sour taste and exudes red color when put in water, while Kudampuli is acidic and much bitter gives faint brown color.

Puducherry beach is a pleasing place to be in, towards the south part of the beach the French influence is apparent and posh while the other part buzzing with life. I recommend fish curry rice at Aristos, though the service is bit tardy and chaotic the food-fish curry rice- is tasty and filling. Better would be to get it parceled since the place does get crowded, eating in relaxed ambience is what i prefer but rarely get the opportunity. It is sad to note that Indian Coffee House has closed down and moved to much smaller basement.

Next day i was up and cycling Auroville, the auroville bakery is my favourite, had raisin croissant and mug of hot coffee. Auroville is an agreeable place, started in 1968 as a settlement- a universal town, where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, politics and nationalities. Founded by Mirra Alfassa (since referred to as The Mother) as a project of Aurobindo society, the ideals endorsed by Government of India as also UNESCO. Mother gave Auroville its 4-point charter setting forth her vision of Integral living:

1. Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be the willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness.
2. Auroville will be the place of an unending education, of constant progress, and a youth that never ages.
3. Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realisations.
4. Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity.

Miira Alfassa or Mother (1878-1973) was born in Paris. She came to Puducherry and founded Aurobindo ashram (Aurobindo was an interesting man, a revolutionary who turned into spiritualism...more about him in iseeebirds.blogspot.com), she was immensely respected by people around. I went to Matrimandir (Mother’s Temple), soil from 124 countries are placed in lotus shaped urn here. It is a place meant for mediation. Sat for few minutes. That officially ended my journey. Though it was meant to be from Chennai to Puducherry but somehow became Banyan tree at Theosophical society to Matrimandir at Auroville. It connected Annie Besant and Miira Alfassa, two remarkable European women who chose to settle in India. If I had cycled further towards Tutikudi i wonder what else i would have discovered...maybe some other time.
I leave with these words from The Mother that i read at the reception

A dream
There should be
somewhere on earth
a place which no nation
could claim as its own,
where all human beings
of good will who have
a sincere aspiration,
could live freely as
citizens of the world and
obey one single authority,
that of supreme truth;
a place of peace
concord and harmony...