Traveling to Karaikal

We have not had internet for four days, so are doing some catch-up today. The internet is very slow so pictures will come another day.

AGK’s uncle , Kumaran picked us up on Monday morning at 7 am. We had been up since 3 am since our bodies had not quite adjusted to India time. Kumaaran is very kind, generous, and patient. And lucky for us he is a very skilled driver.

The road from Chennai to Karaikal and then to Podanur is two lanes. The road is shared by trucks, buses, cars, auto rickshaws, motorcycles, ox drawn carts, pedestrians, and of course cows, goats and dogs (and occasionally chickens and pigs). The larger and faster the vehicle means all others yield to them and their warning honking. There is a lot of passing in the middle of the road along with constant honking to warn people that you are there and passing. It takes a lot of skill navigating through all this safely.

Muthu, the Director of the school in Karaikal joined us halfway through the day. We visited a government school and then went to Auroville. Auroville is a community that was formed in 1965. It has people living there from 43 countries. There are no nations and no religions. It is a community formed around hard work, helping others and peace. Yoga and meditation is an integral part of their life. They built a large circular dome to meditate in. There is no artificial light. There is a hole in the top which directs sunlight down to as crystal ball which then reflects off all the walls. They took what was a barren waste land and turned it into an oasis with a purpose. Instead of constant erosion, they have been able to contain monsoon floods and use the water in positive ways to help the entire region.

We also stopped at the Chidabaram temple complex of Nataraja which was erected around 1300. There are four main structures called gopurams honoring Shiva and depicting Hindu mythology. The temple complex is enormous with large areas for social gatherings so families and neighbors could sit and socialize after prayer. We walked down the main corridor to observe the fire ceremony where worshipers light goblets of fire while bells clang. There was another ritual where a statue was cleansed with young coconut milk which is clear liquid. The tops of coconuts are chopped off with a long curving knife in quick motions. It is a very holy place so everyone must enter with no shoes.

The next day, we visited the school in Karaikal. They just opened their new building. Before they were renting space at $2,400 per month. A rotary in West Virginia raised $40,000 for them to build the school on a piece of land next to the village where the children live. There are about 800 families living in the village. They live in huts with thatch roofs, dirt floors, no electricity, running water nor plumbing. A typical monthly salary is 3000 rupees which is about $65 US (48 rupees to $1 US dollar. Most of these families are rickshaw drivers, day laborers, fishermen. The work is very sporadic.

The staff at the school had to go door to door recruiting the children for the school even though it is free. The families did not see the value in going to school. After several visits to some families, staff simply showed up to escort the children to school.

Muthu was a lawyer who left his job to run the school. His wife, Uma, is an Ob-Gyn doctor at a government hospital. They contribute a lot of their income to keep the school running and send their own daughter there too. Uma’s dream to is set-up a health clinic next to the school so they can treat the families and children with good health care as well as education.

They had a big ceremony for us including singing, dancing, drumming, poetry and music. One of the dances the girls performed was done with a large, heavy brass pot on their head. What an amazing sense of balance. The older boys performed a dynamic dance while drumming with drums that are made of cattle hides. There is a string mechanism to adjust the tone of each drum. Other times they are glued and fired to get the proper tone. Each drummer uses drums that are in a range of tones.
The most noticeable thing about the school is how happy and excited the children are to be there and learn. You can feel all the energy and love they get at school.

The school uses the writings and beliefs of Thirukkural who wrote a treatise on Social Life which is considered the lighthouse guiding the ships of virtue, wealth and love. It is not based on any religion instead it uses a practical, analytical, scientific and worldly outlook to mould virtues of aesthetics, kindness, hospitality, sociability, service, etc centered on family life. They gave us a copy of the book translated to English with an inscription from Uma that says, “When love and skill work together, expect a miracle.” They are quite remarkable people.

Muthu and Uma graciously hosted us in their home for breakfast and lunch. Meals are served on plantain leaves and eaten with your hands. You use our fingers shaped in a scoop so it is similar to a spoon. What delicious food. Breakfast had rava upma (a soft rice mixture with nuts),idly ( rice that is steamed and baked in patties like little flying saucers), and dosas (similar to a crepe only crispier). All of these are dipped into coconut or cilantro chutney or sambar. On one edge was set a variety of fruits – grapes, plantains, pomegranate seeds (different, smaller yellow fruit with more translucent and sweeter seeds), and a fruit I forgot the name. Looks similar to a pear but is very different. Lunch was rice with seafood curries – fish and crab, chutneys and sambar. It was all so incredibly good.

That evening we went to the beach in Karaikal and walked around there. It is a very large beach where families gather, but swimming is not allowed. There are treacherous currents. Then we went to the temple that honors Saturn. It has a large tank outside which used to capture monsoon rains and worshippers would wash their legs before entering the temple. This temple was brightly colored. The temples are all remarkable in so many ways: architecture, artistry including intricate stone carvings, communal gathering spots, and sacred and holy places. The scope and size are massive especially considering when they were built over one thousand years ago. Sand and dirt ramps were built to reach the great heights and it took 25 years to complete one.