…pondi and its noisy delights
Sunday, we decided to keep the adventurous spirit of the weekend and venture into Pondicherry. Catching the bus from thee side of the busy road- after a hot walk up the dirt track was simple, standing on the bus was not. We squeezed on and quickly became used to rubbing up very close against our fellow passengers- no issue and for 4 rupees, less then 5pence we were speed into the centre of Pondi. On the way we had the journey entertainment. Signs and advertisements stating ‘123STD’ and ‘Customer is God’
Pondicherry will never be descirbed as a typical Indian city/town due to its French colonial past, but for my first view of city in India, it seemed just as it should be; busy, noisy,warmed and colourful. We explored the streets, visited the ashram and refreshed all of our five sense at Goubert market. We ate in a pure veg restaurant, sticking for once to our vegetarian diets at Sadhana. Then haggled for a rickshaw home.
Full moon Sunday evening meant after dinner we gathered fire wood and met at the mudpool for music and swimming. Squelching our feet into the soft warm mud beneath the cloudy murk of the water.
Health is a big issue here with atleast one person suffering from some form of illness each day,living and working so closely with the earth and within close proximity with a lot of people can spread germs easily.plenty of water is required and and homeopathic remedies are popular on a daily basis, simple things like turmeric in water to improve the immune system
Back to work this week tired us slightly, me especially waking at 5am to mission around the huts to play harmonica accompanied by drums- with the aim of gently waking the rest of the volunteers. Tuesday evening, last nite, with my bike still needing to be fixed we walked up to koot road- the nearest strip of shops and road side eateries. I sampled the things i had been told so much about, chi, dosa and beedie The chi is the Indian tea made very milky and sweet- i swear this one was made with cream- but served in a small glass it was a small sweet treat which was welcomed after the lack of sugar and fat we get from our vegan diet. The dosa didnt impress me much, more of a small thick pancake- though i was told that the better dosa are thinner and crispier.
It was surreal again to be walking through the indian villages under a disapearing moon with a group of fun and interrestinf people from th lodge, with talk mainly of experiences traveling and the differences in how we live back home.
I have been organising the library here and wish i could bring half of it with me on the rest of my trip. Colourful books on topics from anthropology to enviromental issues and novels from the far east. ……a sleep in the hammock with one of the books resting next to me …then when its cooler around 4am a dip in the pool will be very welcome…..
Tags: india, Pondicherry, Sadhana Forest, Travel
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