Gotta Run!

Kanyakumari: get your fortune read by parrots

A small little town at the southern most tip of India where you can see the sun set and rise at the convergence of the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. I was too tired for to wake up to see it rise and had to leave before it set so that was a fail. I did happen to see another puja honoring Durga (I think anyway) at the temple. The torches caught my eye first but the elephant had my attention the rest of the night. Have you ever seen an elephant crying? It's just as heart-breaking to watch, and perhaps even more so when I thought how a man, over ten times smaller than this giant creature, could cause it so much pain. It took me a while to discover the cause but some teens were brave enough to practice their English and tell me. It was beacuse the elephant would not stand for the puja so the captor decided to beat him. So what I don't understand is if they consider the elephant to be sacred, god-like in fact, why would they treat it in this manner? If this was your god, would you beat it too? I guess the same goes for their cows. If they are so sacred in their religion, how is okay for them to graze on the trash in your streets and survive on eating billboards? Religion unquestioned is blind faith.

Sorry for the rant. Enjoy the photos!

On the train ride to Kanyakumari.

The elephant and his captor.

I'm very sorry.

The procession with torches and diety idol in the background.

Before catching the ferry over to the Vivekananda rock and Thiruvalluvar Statue.

The parrots that I didn't get my fortune read at.

Paying repects to Gandhi at the Gandhi Mandapam.

Pondicherry: une petite France

After being in India for so long, it was a pleasant surprise to find this city. Actually, I disbelieved I was still in India walking from Rue to Rue. Well, almost anyway.

It felt like La Rochelle again.

It would have been more French without the banana leaves and blessing marks :P.

Another festival to celebrate the every day: Manabasa Gurubar (part of Festivals of Odisha).

Lakshimi. the elephant, blessing an Indian after receiving money on its trunk.

Sunrise, over the Bay of Bengal. Yes I woke up for it, you should be proud :D.

Auroville: the not a golden golf ball city

I met three girls back in Varkala that had volunteered with the Sadhana Forest in this aspiring universal city. I only spent the morning here before catching a bus to Chennai but it felt closed off to the uninitiated. I couldn't help comparing it to the Sakigake in Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. If you want to visit here, I suggest joining a project like the Sadhana or visiting after you've met an Aurovillian willing to take you around.

A model of the city after completion.

The great bayan tree at the center of the city.

The twelve meditation rooms are represented by flowers, each corresponding to an attribute of the Mother. You see them on these slabs of stone on the way to the Matrimandir.

The main attraction of the city, the Matrimandir.

Chennai: the big toilet

I have to honestly say I didn't remember much about this city except that it smelt really, really bad. You would think I would be accustomed to it by now but if something stinks, it stinks. I think this was the only place in India where I saw men, children and women openly urinating in the streets. I even had a cold but the scent wasn't dulled.

Actually, I lied. The airport was very memorable. The transportation options took you literally to the doors of this wonderful new building. I must have been in a lot of awe because I forgot to take a picture.

Anything wrong with this picture? Yes, that's right folks, the clutch to the bus broke on the way to Chennai. Just another ordinary day in India.

Cassava! Okay, Chennai wasn't all bad.

This merchant was selling these for the festival. I don't think she could believe I was taking her photo.

Inside the Kapaleeshwarar Temple.

Next stop, Sri Lanka. After first considering to come here three years ago, I'm finally going!