6/feb lenguages & the party

Here, people speak tamil, and I was told that is one of the oldest ones in india. So, Tamil in tamil nadu (state), malayalam in kerala, telugu in andra pradesh, or a.p., kannada, telegu and urdu (muslim people) in karnakata, oriya in orissa and bengali in west bengal. So these 6 are the states I’ve already been in india, and in all of them. Even if more in the north, hindu is widely spoken. Or at least that’s what they say. English is better in the south than in the north. Or at least this has been my experience.
A part from the huge temple, there are so many other smaller ones in madurai, and most of them in this dravidian style, so colorfull and elaborated. And so kitch! In the street I’ve seen so many women, from all ages, with arms and faces painted in yellow, and that’s quite weird. I’ve been asking, and no one is giving me an answer sure 100%. Some people say is for the heat, other for religious reasons. I would easily believe the 2nd one, but it’s so hot in here!!

Yesterday, while I was writing my paper journal, in the stairs of the golden lotus tank, in the temple, I met an indian couple. They would be around their 40ees. Where are you from? Or maybe, what’s your name? The husband asked me. And then we started talking about madurai, indian family patterns, with the male and female roles in relationships, in divorces… traditions… and also about the good vibrations that this temple has. The special air you breath in it. They came very often. The woman is cute, very small, with a very dark skin. They told me that madurai has a nick name; the city that never sleeps, because you can always find a few restaurants open after 12 o’clock!! And that’s funny, and true. Almost everywhere, or at least in the smaller or less touristic places, it’s impossible to find food after that time.I bought a couple of books, I would say new. ‘Interpret of maladies’, from an indian writer and fury, from salman rushdie, also Indian. And I payed 50 rs each, less than a euro.

It’s funny to see that here in the south, almost all men dress that kind of skirt, called dhoti. They can wear it long, reaching the feet, or short, till the knees. In this second case, it really seems that they are wearing swaddling cloth (volquers).

Today, after having seen all the madurai ‘highlights’, I went to walk in the less central area, where medium and pour people live. There I had a great breakfast, and very very cheap, of course. Houses here are one, or maximum 2 storey building. White, with a flat roof, and with a very long corridor in the entrance, that goes to the veranda (pati). It’s still dirty, but as far south I go, the less rubbish I see. I don’t know if people cares more about that, or that I’m getting used to it. There are also cows, children…

And all of a sudden, I heard music coming from a house. I went there and checked it. There was a family party, of a huge family, and they invited me to go in. They were celebrating the 16^th anniversary of one of the daughter. This date is supposed to be very important in India. So they gave me an India coke, a rose carnation (clavell), and drew an orange dot in my forehead. They didn’t speak any English at all, so communication wasn’t that fluent. But they were smiling at me all the time, offering me food… anything!!! I asked if I could take a picture from the daughter, since she was wearing a traditional dress. And that was… everyone (mostly children) wanted to be in the picture, since I have that digital camera and they can see themselves at the moment. So I took so many pictures, try to speak a little bit, always surrounded by children, drank my cola, and left after a while. That was an interesting thing to live, an Indian party from the inside.

After that, I went to the temple, and on my way there, I met a tailor. He promised me clothes at a very good price. I was a little bit suspicious, but I followed him. They told me I could have a shirt for 35 rupees. And after saying ok, choose the material, mesure me… they told me that I had to pay 100 extra for the fabric. It use to be like this many times, so you get used to it. And then I told him, ok, 120 rs for the shirt and a pair of pants. If it’s no possible for you, no problem. And they find the solution. Every time the take a tourist to a shop, they get 20 rs. So he offered me to visit 3 shops, in order to get 60 rs. It was quite fast, and everyone was happy! But the fabrics they use are not very good. It’s cotton, but very thin. So let’s see how long will I be able to wear it!! Oh, I forgot something important!! Pants are blue, and shirt orange (brown). I feel I have to wear color in india
!!! It’s also good to forget the wonderful black for a while! Today, I’ll go to trivandrum, one of the very southern places of India. And it’s getting so hot in here!!!!

13/2/05