Kaleidoscopic India

How does a kaleidoscope work? Many pieces of colored glass or plastic fall against the mirrors inside the tube. I look through the peephole in one end and twist the cylinder to the right or left. The pieces fall into ever-changing patterns but their essential nature remains the same.

Why do I say India is kaleidoscopic in nature? First of all, I see it through my very limited perspective. All that has shaped me affects my perception, binding and focusing it - limiting my understanding. I see through the narrow channel of my western mind.

Rich saffron, cerise, electric royal blue, chartreuse - each color as intense as the next in saris, salwar kameez, children's school uniforms, buildings painted marigold and bubble-gum pink, black and gold bumblebee rickshaws on three wheels. All these fall together and separate in undulating, organic fashion.

Here time is not segmented into chunks but is a tide on which we rise and fall. The kaleidoscope of India turns smoothly, without the rigid jerkiness of regimentation. All the elements are here, and seemingly will remain so as long as time exists.

(Sorry - no photos yet to illustrate. Perhaps tomorrow the internet connection will be kind)

Kathakali Theater

On New Year's Eve we attended a theater performance of 17th century plays which originated as part of Hindu worship. Kathakali is a combination of two Malayalam words: "Katha" which means "story" and "Kali" which means "play". It is a story acted out and contains mime, drama, and music. The stories are taken from Hindu mythology.



Kathakali was developed mainly from one of the oldest classic dance forms of Kerala known as "Ramanattam" which was conducted only in royal places. The decline of royal society also threatened this great art form, which is now experiencing a revival.


We went to the theater early, since the actors sit on stage while applying their make-up, which is fascinating. The movements are highly stylized and there is very little talking. Most of the story is acted out Charlie Chaplin style, through mime. Before the actual story began, and after the make-up had been applied, the oldest actor came on stage and did demonstrations of the miming of all the various emotions. His facial muscles were amazingly well developed and he did things with his eyes that I didn't know were possible.


Here you see a few photos of the make-up session and some of the play itself. Also one of Bronie and me, armed with knitting so as not to waste a precious moment.

Apologies

Christian fisherman uses the protection of the cross for his boat


Women gather to make a fish decision


Huge cargo ships enter port to load spices that once rode the "Trade Winds" on clipper ships, en route to their destinations


I'm sorry, friendly readers. Due to an unreliable internet connection and a lack of time, you have not heard a thing from the Malabar Coast for days. Not to worry - I will continue to write after I return to Portland - at least continue to upload photos of this amazing part of the world. I will give you a short recap of what we did today and then I will upload a few more photos of the fishermen's market down by the water. You will see photos and hear about the following things later.

Today we:
-went to "the laundry" where everything is washed by hand
-visited an ancient castle
-visited a Jain temple
-ate lunch at the Mattencherry Cafe
-visited the only remaining synagogue in the area
-haggled with Kashmiri traders
-visited the spice warehouse where there are gunny sacks and huge bundles of spices
-wrote periodically through all of the above activities
-came home and had class/workshop
-went to a local restaurant for dinner

And now it's time to crash!

Today was a little more intense than normal, but we have been moving along at a clip.

Ancient Traditions

Yesterday we went down to the water where the Chinese-style fishing nets are set up. As you see from the photo, they use a cantilever system that is quite ingenious. We haven’t seen them in operation yet, but hope to one of these mornings when we have recovered completely from jet-lag.



The scene is very lively in this fishermen’s enclave. They pull their long black boats up on shore and lay a tarp on the sand. Then they work together to untangle the net into a huge puffy pile while removing the shrimp and small fish from the netting and throwing them onto the tarp. Some of the fishermen worked on their boats. Others carried fish in huge plastic containers filled with ice – taking them to the market area.


Makeshift tents provide some shade for the fish vendors and their catch. I recognized some of the fish (red snapper, shark, prawns, octopus) but many were new to me. Lots of haggling was going on and people roamed around checking out their options. It seemed like the bulk of the buying may have happened earlier, since not much money was exchanged for fish while I was there.

We writers straggled along the shore with our notebooks, finding shady spots in which to write down a few impressions, reflections, thoughts.