Jai Mamalallapuram!

After a week of Indian city life, I was ready to take a holiday from my holiday. Luckily Brian and Glenis, two South African classmates of mine proposed we hit Mamallapuram, a beach town an hour south of Chennai. Brian didn't have to finish his sentace, explaining the trips details before I had already started planning what to pack in my overnight bag. FYI! My roomate Nicole in S.F. gave me a fabulous blue cloth bag (www.enviorsax.com) that worked wonders for this occasion, thank you Nicole. So I packed up the little bag, and moved the rest of my stuff into an apartment with the German girl (we've become like sister's yet doesn't compare to my actual sister Maddy to whom there's no competition). So Saturday morning we all met up at KYM for an hour long lecture with "Sir," otherwise known as Desikachar. Immediately afterwards we hopped into Babu's car (the driver we hired for the day) and were off. A few oranges later, we were there. Mamallapuram is a coastal town known for it's stone carvings and tourists. This was the first time I had a flavor shot of the tourism industry of India in full affect, and the taste is salty and stays in the back of your throat like a held sob. Beautiful girls with bracelets around their arms, begging you to buy one, and if not that one why not this one. Little boys follow you with an open palm and say, "Ma, please Ma." But equally you can see the starvation in other animals, like the feeding mother dogs, goats, and cows, searching for food to have enough energy to feed their babes. The need is great, and there's no end to it.
Side note: I can't help but think of all the silly accesories we clothe our pets with in the West, and how all that money we spend on needless things could feed whole other animals or children. Regardless...we got there, found a plesant hotel, and hit the temples. The water front where the first temple we visited was located, had been completely submerged during the Sunami in 2004, and 200 years before that had been unearthed by a team of archeologists. Our tour guide told us there were several more temples that have been discovered a bit out in the ocean. This temple had 108 Nandi bulls surrounding it and all the usual deities doing their thing. I was particular fond of Vishnu's permi-repose, taking a rest after feeding all of humanity. Big job, long rest. I forgot to tell you my stomach had been a bit narley since Thursday, so I've been popping my charcoal and it's gotten a lot better. So at lunch on Saturday, I took my pills with a bit of mild and cheesey vegetable gratin. Jai gratin!!! Then we went to the jungle gym which is the 5 Rathas. Apparently Saturday is the day local Indian families hit this historic spots and let the kids play on the rocks/ancient ruins. The children were adorable and are often taken by asking me what my name is or will ask if I want to take their picture. Haven't said no yet! The Five Rathas were carved out of one big rock, so lots of Durga with her tiger, the Shiva family and elephants make their appearance from the rock. Saturday night was a full moon so we showered up and hit the beach to meet the moon. I don't know if you know about my long standing love affair with the moon, but it rips right through me and all I can do is stare with my mouth wide open, mind blank like a chalk board. Witnessing the full moon in India made a woman out of me, and I can understand why all the maidens came running out of their houses to hear Krishna's flute music and see his blue face. I couldn't help but smile with the moon and the waves and the company. And in those moments I'm reminded that yes, life can be this harmonious. It's less about me having the priviledge to walk on this beach with a full moon. These are the simplist gifts from God, and yet the moments I take in my life to actaully recieve them are few. I don't have to be rich to walk in the moon light. I don't even have to know what good for me to recognize this inviting way of being. The very next morning we left the room at 5:30am to meet the sun. Not so unusual in India. The moon was still up when the sun began to peek up from the horizon. God bless this world we live in. I hope to go back to Mammalapuram every weekend while studying in Chennai!