The next morning, while Michael worked, I headed out for another super day of sightseeing with Rashid Ali of Chalo Heritage & Nature Walks.  I spent time with Rashid last year and had one of the best days of sightseeing that I have ever had…..check it out HERE.

Today the plan was to finish the tour that I started last time….apparently I spent too much time enjoying myself and we didn’t get finished with everything!!!  Then we were going to add a few new places as well.

As Rashid picked me up, he told me that this was a holiday in India….the festival of Dahi Handi, with Dahi meaning curd and Handi meaning bowl.  The story behind the festival is this……

When the Indian god Krishna was a little boy, he loved to eat butter (or curd) and he would always find pots of such and empty them out.  His parents would try to hide the pots in out-of-the-way places, but he always found them.  This Festival celebrates that fact by hanging a clay pot high up in the air and forming human pyramids to retrieve the pot.   The one that retrieves it is awarded a cash prize.

Rashid told me that this year might be a bit different because the Indian Supreme Court had just issued a ruling set to protect the revelers.   The height at which the pot could be hung was limited to 20 feet and the minimum age of the person in the pyramid was also being regulated.  Since this was a fairly new change, he felt that it would be interesting to see how many people actually followed the new law.

He had picked me up early so we could beat the traffic but since it was a holiday, there WASN’T any traffic.   The plan was to park his car and take Auto Rickshaws for our journeys but when we arrived at the place where he had planned to park we found that the deck was closed.   Never deterred, Rashid made the call that we would drive to all of our destinations.   The driving was easy but finding places to park was a bit of a chore.  It was funny to watch people say “no you can’t park here but you can park over there” and then after moving over there, someone would say “no you can’t park here but you can park over there!!!!”.  Eventually the car was parked and we began our tour!!!

The first stop was the temple of Shiva’s Wife, (Parvarti) located at the top of Parvarti Hill.  The temple is the oldest heritage structure in Pune and was built during the rule of the Peshwa dynasty. 

The climb up Parvarti Hill (supposedly 103 steps) was punctuated with goats….

….pigs…..

…and stately trees, both indigenous and introduced. 

We did a quick tour of the Peshwa museum which contained some interesting items, but they were not well displayed.  The museum was dark and with little explanations so the tour was short, sweet and to the point!!

But, just beyond the museum we started to see the splendid structures of the temple…..

There was a lot of bright colors which greatly appealed to my senses!!!

We passed into the courtyard featuring the “Shri Kartika Swami Temple”, having to leave our shoes at the door step.   This temple wasn’t large…

but the multi-colored dome was entrancing…..

Rashid has training as a biologist and provided an informative guide to the trees in the temple area.   I found this one to be intriguing as the branches grew downward rather than up to the sky……

It is called a False Ashoka  or Buddha tree and is native to India.

Rashid talked about the Tamarind tree which is not native to this country, but he said that, in environmental circles, it had received “it’s green card” because it has worked it’s way into Indian tradition, culture and cooking.   I thought that was a great description!!

He also talked about the Neem plant (tree) that is used for medicine, insecticides and pesticides.  It is also used for  tooth-brushing.   You pull off a twig, bite it apart, use the twigs to clean your teeth and then throw it away.  Interestingly I had seen a lady do that on our trip this morning and had wondered what she was doing…..now I know!!!

The best thing about the Neem plant was looking down on the leaves….

….and the wonderful whirled pattern!!

The next temple courtyard allowed us to walk up on the wall surrounding the temple, although the following warning was given….

The view from the terrace was terrific, although the haze over the city reduced the view some……

Rashid came prepared with a city map to allow me to orient myself….

The view of the temple was superb…..

….especially as it allowed all of the high-line wires to be out of the photo!!

We left the temple area, returned to the car, finally found another parking place and entered the “Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum”.    According to the entrance sign, Dr. Kelkar had a lifelong obsession for collecting artifacts and art from all around India.    Since this collection takes up MANY galleries, I can just imagine what his house looked like!!

It is an interesting museum and here are a few of my favorite things…..

This tall lampstand was intriguing as I looked at it closer.   Each of the reservoirs circling the base held oil and each of the petal shaped appendages held a wick….

Wouldn’t it be beautiful when fully lit?

These wooden boxes held “kumkum”……

Kumkuma is oxidized turmeric that is used in social and religious ceremonies.  The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color.  It is often used for the “third eye” that Hindu’s often wear and, when placed in the part of a woman’s hair, can indicate that she is married.

There was a replica of a classic Indian house, complete with Rangoli.  This design of the two feet…..

is representative of the goddess Laxmi (or Lakshmi) who is the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity.  The feet are always pointed into the house as they want her to come in and make them wealthy.

If you are like me, you will never figure out what these are……

They are hair dryers!!!   I am guessing that they are used to “brush” and separate the hair so that it could dry.   Given the intense thickness of most Indian women’s hair, I cant imagine how long that would take!!

And then there were these super fine toothed combs…..

…that were used to remove tiny livestock from hair!!

There were several areas devoted to sculpture and I was captivated by this group of women…..

I asked why they each had a hand over their head.  Rashid asked the museum docent and she replied that they were looking in the distance for their husbands to return!!

We entered an area that held kitchen utensils.  I loved these Chapati presses….

….such wonderful designs!

This kiln was extremely functional as it had three different cooking areas.   The fire could be placed in the open area and it would heat all three burners…..

I liked this horse pitcher…..

….but even more when I peeked around the back and saw the rider forming the handle…..

Moving into an area that held weapons, we found this protective armor made out of Fish scales…..

I have to wonder if it could stop a sword or knife??

This powder horn was an interpretive rendition of an animal….

However, it was a bit freaky to see that the stopper was a person’s head….

Entering the fiber room brought some exquisite designs….

This exhibit displayed a rather strange set of dolls where the torsos, legs and heads can be interchanged……

I loved this hanging acrobat lamp…..

My interest increased as we entered the instrument area.   There were a number of flutes (Shehanai) and several “Sitar-like” instruments in the shape of animals.   This peacock was wonderful…..’’

 

….as was this cleverly shaped instrument…..

I was fascinated by this “Triple Tambura”…..

Rashid told me that the Tambura is an accompanying instrument much like a bass and that it produces a steady drone.  We figured that each of the three sides had a different tuning so that different tones could be heard at the same time.

Have a look at this door…..

…..and then look at the detail in it…..

I left the museum, marveling at the treasures there and wishing that our souvenir collection was as wonderful!!!

We returned to the street, stopping to purchase some raw peanuts……

….and passing a store that sold modern “make-your-own” dolls…..

 

Rashid asked if I was ready for tea and cookies and, since I STILL remembered the cookies from last year, I said a hearty yes.   He led me down one corridor to a seating area, but then stopped short and said “I don’t think that they want us sitting here”!   The reason was obvious……

We visited another local temple…..

….and then had a walk around the shops associated with the temple….these specializing in kitchen and religious items. ie…lots of flowers…..

….and cooking pots…..

This young man spent a lot of time telling us the difference between the copper and the stainless pots.

Next we passed the wedding paraphernalia street where you can buy everything that you need for a good Indian wedding……

One of the traditions is that bride and groom tie their clothes together and then walk/dance around a fire made from the wood of 9 sacred trees.   They have made this easy by selling small packets containing sticks of all of the needed wood…..

Our final destination was to a large food market that centers around an octagon with “tentacles” radiating from the center.  Each stall has a display platform and a lockable storage area. 

Most of the vendors sat on their platform and sold their wares……

I loved seeing the shopkeepers sitting, with their legs crossed,  as if they were ruling over their kingdom…..

It was also fun to realize that they were using a basic scale and iron weights…..

Unfortunately it was siesta time so many of the stalls were closed and we passed a number of keepers sleeping on their platform.

Rashid then led me to a vendor who sold disposable plates, but these were different because they were made out of leaves and bark (truly recyclable)…..

I particularly liked the ones that were molded with compartments!!

There were also some that were simply leaves that had been stitched together or pinned together…..

As we exited the market, we passed the “Paan” area.  Paan is a preparation that combines Betel leaf with various items that are chewed for its stimulant and psychoactive effect.  The Betel leaves were beautiful as they were displayed….

As we left, Rashid suggested that we get something small to eat.  I let him order for me and he selected this “pizza-like” bread that was amazing…..

My drink was a lemon/lime soda.  It was brought in a tall glass with a small amount of pure juice in the bottom.  The soda water was added and then I was handed a sugar water solution that I could add to get the perfect mix of sweet and sour.

As we left the restaurant, I could see that the holiday celebrations were starting to heat up…..

….and we passed this group preparing to hang the curd pot…..

As we drove back to the guesthouse, Rashid gave Michael and I the best compliment….he said that we would be the “perfect candidates for Holi”, the Hindu celebration where dry paint is thrown on everyone and everything!!!    I am thinking that he thinks we are a bit crazy!!!

Dinner that night was with Sutirth and Michael and I requested that he take us back to the Tandoori restaurant that we had visited with him last year.    We enjoyed our dinner and then walked to a Kulfi vendor just down the street.   Kulfi is much like ice cream and is packaged in long tubes…..

The vendor (who was also the owner of all of the Kulfi stands around) cut out our selections, weighed them on a leaf, and then put it onto a plate for us to enjoy….

It was the perfect ending to a great meal and a very fun day…..

On Wednesday it was time for us to reluctantly leave our hotel in Trivandrum and head to Pune.  But first, a couple of comments before we move on…..

One of the things that we have noticed in the hotel is that the Indian guests carry a LOT of large suitcases.  It got us to wondering about the sheer volume of the clothes that they wear.  I can imagine that the Sari’s and other items take up a lot of space!!

We have had a wonderful driver while we have been here this week.  He was always on time, or a few minutes early, and he has done his best to make things easier for us.   There is one thing that we have laughed about with him, and Michael sent me a text on the first day to make this point….”He’s a honker”!!!  I had pretty much figured that out since he had honked 3 times while getting out of the parking circle as Michael was leaving.    Of course, one person commented that “some people will honk at potholes”!!!

Also, I was reading a story in the India Times about an elderly couple, aged 50 and 52!!   That was a bit shocking as we realized that, according to this standard, we had vaulted over old and straight into “damn-near dead”!!!

Finally, our sweet room maid, named Sreeja, continued to entertain us with folded towel masterpieces like this Elephant…..

….and these sweet kissing swans…..

I caught her in the room  with one of her creations and she shyly posed with her art…..

I sent this photo to the hotel office and told them that she had taken good care of us.   She came to the room the next morning and thanked me profusely saying that the photo was now on the employee bulletin board!!!

Our last morning brought yet another wedding to the complex and this one was a blow-out!!!   It was set up outside with this being the main tent….

….complete with air conditioners at each corner!!

The  mat (made of flowers) was beautiful……

….and the white and purple tables were strewn around the tent…..

The music started about 10:00am and, when I left at 3:00, they were dancing drinking and having a wonderful time!!!

This morning I also headed down to the beach to view the fishing nets again.   It was a bit different this time because the tide was in and there was absolutely no room for them to work on the beach so they simply pulled the cord over the walkway and continued pulling on the other side…..

There were a few extra working spots with this set up, including a set of men who were charged with keeping the rope from rubbing along the rocks…..

There was also another man in the ocean who held onto the rope (between waves) and wound the floats and sinkers around the rope so that they didn’t get stuck on the rocks either.

At some point, these men moved over the walkway and down on the beach to be closer to the other side of the net…..

The last guy here is the one tasked with rolling the ropes but every so often he had to anchor the pulling.   Here, all of the men are being pulled by the waves going out and trying to take the nets with it.

And then it happened!!!   I first noticed a lot of yelling and that the men were no longer tugging on the ropes…..

Yes, the net had broken and was being washed down the beach.   Lots of men ran after it…..

….but it was gone.   I had wondered exactly who was in charge of the process and soon found out that it was the man in white…..he yelled instructions for several minutes after the break.

It was sad to see all of the net pullers standing around, forlornly contemplating the loss of the catch!!!

We left the hotel about 3:00 and flew to Pune (via Bangalore), thus completing the 11th and 12th of our 19 flights.  We were met by a driver and taken to the Guest House at the IISER campus.

Tomorrow is a new day in a new city!!!

On Monday, Michael was picked up and headed to the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) to give the first two of his 8 talks.  As he drove off, I decided to take a stroll around the hotel complex and ended up at the beach.  I could see a large crowd on the walkway (including the contents of a small tour bus) and being a true “sticky beak” (Australian for nosy person), I hurried to see what was happening.   I was NOT disappointed!!  The crowd were all looking down to the sea…..

…watching a large group of men pull in and clean out a fishing net.  At one point, I counted 58 men working together on one of the nets.

They were in the process of cleaning out one of the nets that had already been pulled in and it was fun to watch them discard the jellyfish out of the nets….they were flying EVERYWHERE!!! 

The fish were loaded into the orange bins and then the prawns were picked up separately and loaded into another bucket.  Many of them were mixed in with the jelly fish and the men were carefully picking them out.

After the net was empty an even larger crowd gathered to buy the fish that had just been caught……

I saw one man receive 5 or 6 small fish (presumably payment for his help) and then roll them into his dhoti (skirt like thing), tuck it at his waist and then walk over to help with the next net coming in!!!

Meanwhile, a second net was beginning to be towed in so I waited happily to see the entire process.   Expectedly, I gathered a friend…..one who had a cousin that could give me a massage and a brother that could take me to the Backwater!!   After I assured him that we had all of our sight seeing adventures planned and under control, he just started talking to me about the fishing process. 

He said that the nets were set by the row boats that you could see in the distance . Initially, there would only be one or two men holding the ropes but eventually they would be joined by more…..

….and more men, finally splitting into two groups, each pulling on one side of the net….

Then a group of men waded out into the ocean to help guide the ropes and nets further.  If you blow this photo up, you can see the boats in the distance and can follow the white buoys (Styrofoam) that indicate where the net is…..

More and more men climbed down the rocks and  joined the pull as they were needed……

One older gentleman stood nearby and I was amazed at his toes…..

Eventually my entrepreneurial friend figured out that I wasn’t going to buy anything and left to focus on the next group of white people who showed up!!!

As the nets are being pulled in, there is one person who is tasked with rolling the ropes and nets without getting them tangled.  It was quite a process….

In this  video, you can see him rolling the rope with the three men in front of him guiding the rope into his hands.  You can also see the men in the water and the boats in the distance.  Also, notice that as each man gets to the end of the queue, he returns to the front to continue to help with the towing process…..

Kerala Fishermen #1

In this second video you can see that the rope has now given way to the net and that they are carefully pulling the nets in to shore.  You can also see how the current pulls them back toward the ocean and that they use the incoming waves to help them…..

Kerala Fishermen #2

The singing and chanting got more intense as they became  closer to fulfilling their duty and that just made for more excitement on shore as well.

The nets had both sinkers (rocks tied at intervals to the rope) and floaters (bags of Styrofoam to keep the net above the water.

At one point a hefty rope was placed around the net to help with the pulling process.  In this last video, the net is safely on shore and all of the workers stand on it to keep it there…

Kerala Fishermen #3

I loved this photo showing their intense concentration as they pulled….

As this final drama was playing out, I looked over at the first net that had been pulled in and found that they were now washing it out in the ocean…..

….and then pulling it back in to get it ready for loading on the boat tomorrow….

This is QUITE a process!!!!

I looked at my watch and realized that it was time for me to go for my scheduled massage so I left before the second net was unloaded.  My friend told me that they do this every morning so I hope that Michael will be able to join me on the walkway to watch this drama unfold on another day

Now, I had never done massages prior to this year but one of my clients gave me a gift certificate for Christmas and I enjoyed it so much that I pledged to get one every 2 weeks during tax season.  I went to Kaylee at our gym and I honestly believe that she helped my tax season go easier just with her magic fingers!!

So, at this hotel and spa they have two different types of massages and I decided to try something new.  The state of Kerala is known as the home of the Ayurvedic Massage which is a specialized massage that makes large use of therapeutic and herbal oils.  So, when in Kerala…….

They had over 15 different types of massages and I was having trouble deciding which to do but the “Rejuvenation Massage” looked interesting as it was a mixture of a general massage and  foot massage.  I booked my 1-1/2 hour massage (for just $US28) and waited excitedly for my appointment.  When I got there the clerk emphasized that it was general and foot massage and was that ok.   I answered in the affirmative, remembering an enjoyable  foot massage that I had received in Bangkok.

I was introduced to my masseuse….a TINY lady….just over 4 feet tall.  When I sat on the stool  I was still taller than she was!!!

I entered my room, expecting low light, a comfortable, warm  table and some soft music….WRONG!!!!

The thing that concerned me most was the rope hanging from the ceiling!!!!

ShuRan (my trainer for the morning)  gave me my instructions and had me sit on a small stool and…..we were off.   Now, Kaylee normally asks if I am worried about my hair.  No such question here!!  She filled her hand with an oil (smelled coconut-ish) and slathered it directly on the top of my head.  She then worked it into my scalp for about 15 minutes.

Next she turned on a propane stove and heated a small bowl of oil (no idea what kind this was….could have been vegetable oil for all I know)!!!  She took a handful of this delightfully warm oil and started working on my back and shoulders…..it was heavenly.

Then she asked me to lay down on the floor mat and, as she removed her shoes and washed her feet, I realized that she was going to use her feet to do a portion of the massage!!!  She hung expertly onto the rope and carefully continued the massage adding more oil at every turn.  About 10 minutes into this I realized that when they said “FOOT MASSAGE” they didn’t mean MY feet but HER feet!!!

I then moved to the table (NOT soft by the way) and she finished the massage, ending up with a sweet smelling cream on my face and neck.

There was no soft music, but it was fun to listen to the ocean waves and calls of the birds as I relaxed.

All thru this I was wondering exactly what this oil was going to do to my clothes when I re-dressed, but I shouldn’t have worried about it.  She provided a heavy robe for me to dress in although I did feel a bit weird walking back to the room with my clothes in a bag under my arm!!!

After looking the mirror and seeing that I did indeed look like a Lobster dipped in butter……

….I hopped in the shower and tried to get the oil out of my hair, ears, nose, eyelids and between my toes!!!  

The experience was so much fun and I am glad that I did it. 

One thing that surprised me is that I have not been sore at all.  Often at home, I am sore for a couple of days and since this was a much deeper massage, I expected to be really achy for the rest of the day.  Instead, I just felt relaxed and comfortable!!!

So, once again, while Michael worked, I got to experience a wonderful slice of this amazing country!!!

On Saturday we flew out of Guangzhou and slowly made our way to Trivandrum, India, completing legs 8, 9 and 10 of our 19 journeys!!!

We arrived at our hotel, the Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel and Spa.  This is a beautiful complex with several different buildings housing rooms, suites, and apartments.  The furthest set of buildings look out on the Arabian Sea although the actual beach is almost unreachable due to rocks along the ocean walkway.

We woke up Sunday morning, ready for a day of relaxation and enjoyment.  When we went down for breakfast, there was a sign posted……

…giving us our first indication that something special was happening here!!

After breakfast, Michael decided to sit on the balcony and relax while I chose to find an unobtrusive spot to sit and watch the celebration.  I say that I was unobtrusive as I sat on a low ledge behind a seating area and a palm tree, and Michael did have  trouble finding me when he came down.  BUT, I imagine that I was NOT unobtrusive to the rest of the guests!!!

I spent a marvelous 3 hours watching the comings and goings!!    A steady stream of cars indicated that the guests were arriving, but I can’t imagine where they were parking the vehicles.  The hotel has a metal detector that each guest had to walk thru, but it ALWAYS went off so I am not sure exactly how much good it was doing!!

The women were dressed to the nines!!  They had beautiful Saris…..

….feathers in their hair……

….and imaginative Henna tattoos…..

The men’s clothing ranged from jeans and a short sleeve shirt to the very popular tight legged pants and long jacket (called an Achkan or Sherwani)…..

Several even wore the “turned up” shoes…..

As the guests arrived there was much smiling, touching of hands, and head waggling.  Interestingly there was no hugging and very little kissing.  I noticed that when the men would shake hands, they would start the shake as we would, but they would end the shake and separate from each other with their hands at a low level…..

I enjoyed doing some “character studies” of various attendees.  This older woman sat quietly with her son for much of the time…..

…and this gentleman seemed to be enjoying himself…..

These two little girls enjoyed watching the tiny fish in the pond…..

If you ignore the empty water bottle in the foreground, you can see that this woman was wearing some amazing jewelry…

As the morning wore on, people would wander in and head slowly upstairs for a drink and to visit the large meeting room…..

Then they would wander back down again to mingle more with the other guests.  I really had no idea exactly what was going on!!

Around 11:30, things started happening!!!   First of all, there was an upsurge of people to the big room and our (Michael had joined me in my surreptitious seating)  excitement level rose as well.  Then a drummer and flute (called a Shehanai) emerged and played their way down the stairs, past us and toward the front of the building. 

They were accompanied by a group of mostly young women carrying a tray with a candle on it…….

There was also an older woman carrying a large tray filled with limes or lemons.

They formed a circle toward the front of the building ……..

….and waited for the groom to arrive.  When he did arrive, they anointed him with some sort of oil and then escorted him up the stairs….

At this point the hotel staff were busily cleaning the oil off of the floor and I was excitedly waiting for the bride to arrive but finally asked one of the hotel staff and they said that she was already in the room upstairs.  Well, that was a switch….the bride waits for the groom and not the other way around!!!

SEE (and hear) THE  PROCESSION

But there was still more to come.   The music started again and the light bearing women came downstairs, this time to meet an older man and escort he and a young woman up the stairs.  When I asked who this might be, it was suggested that it could have been the Father and Sister of the groom.

Since I figured that the “service” would be starting, I wandered around to photograph the banquet area.  We have seen on TV that a traditional meal would be served on a Banana leaf with the guests sitting in lines on the floor.  This meal was updated a bit as tables and chairs were used but everything else was as we had seen.

The banana leaves each contained a couple of pieces of fruit and something that looked like a fried bread.

In the photo you can see that people were only sitting on one side of the table, with the next table sitting on the opposite side.  This allowed the servers to walk down the aisle and serve both tables at the same time.  

The meal looked simple, probably just a Dahl, rice and some bread and the servers carried huge pots between them as they used saucers to heap rice onto the leaves.  Then came large buckets (literally) of Dahl that was ladled onto the leaf as well.

Interestingly, people started coming downstairs about 5 minutes after the last procession so I am not sure exactly what happened in the room during that time.

Later that afternoon, I finally got a photo of the bride and groom.  She looked a bit tired between poses  and I couldn’t blame her…..it had been a LONG day!!!

We had lunch on the complex, with the chef coming out and giving us a personal tour of each dish in the buffet line, telling us if it was spicy or not.  He also suggested that we add some Roti to the meal which was the perfect suggestion.  I think that he was pleased that we were excited about the food and that we enjoyed our meal!!!

We returned to our room to find that our maid had given us a special treat and left a “folded towel” peacock on our bed…….

The detail was amazing, down to the tiny flower used for the eyes…..

The only problem with this wonderful art display is that we had to take it apart to be able to have our showers!!!

As we headed to bed that night I could only think that “I ALMOST got to see an Indian wedding”!!!