Doors and doorways

Bellur village, Karnataka

Russell Market, Bangalore

Raghurajpur, Orissa

Mandu, Madhya Pradesh

Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu

Pondicherry

Shivajinagar, Bangalore

Russell Market, Bangalore

Lakshmi the elephant

One of the most popular tourist sights in Pondicherry is Lakshmi the elephant. Lakshmi stands outside the Ganesh temple on Manakula Vinayagar Koil Street for a few hours every morning and evening. A local celebrity, she gets many visitors who come to receive her blessings and feed her treats like fruit, bunches of grass and sugarcane they buy from the stalls outside the temple. If you offer her a coin, she’ll take it with her trunk, hand it to her mahout (keeper) and give you her blessing by lightly tapping you on the head.

I found this short article which tells Lakshmi’s story.

I took this picture of Lakshmi in early 2003, almost ten years ago.

Lakshmi was smaller then, and noticeably thinner. As you can see, the same mahout is with her (he seems to have changed less than Lakshmi).

Meet Lakshmi the elephant:

After the storm

Driving down the East Coast Road from Chennai to Pondicherry, it wasn’t until I was 30 kilometres away that I started to notice the scars of the cyclone that hit on December 29^th. From the road I saw fallen trees, damaged houses, and palm trees leaning over at 90 degrees.

In the city the destruction was visible everywhere. Dead tree branches littered the sidewalks, many new stumps marked where trees used to be, compound walls and fences were broken, many roof tiles missing and thatched roofs completely gone. Bharathi Park was closed: many trees were uprooted and the paths obstructed with fallen branches.

In nearby Auroville, there was still no electricity or water supply in some parts two weeks after the storm. Electrical wires lay on the ground while the sounds of generators, chain saws and earth movers resonated in the air. It’s estimated that Auroville lost more than half of its trees. Many houses were damaged and the windmills which were used to harness wind energy were destroyed.

Having experienced violent storms in the past, many people told me that they knew a cyclone was on its way but underestimated its violence. It will take several more weeks to clear the debris and repair roofs, buildings and windmills. But apart from these reminders of the ferocity that was cyclone Thane, life seems to go on as usual with no damage to people’s spirits.

Happy Pongal / Sankranti!

Two days ago I was on a bus travelling through Tamil Nadu from Pondicherry to Bangalore. I passed villages where the preparations for Pongal were visible. Markets were bustling and crowded, sugar cane was for sale everywhere, as well as colourful ropes and bells. I assume the bells (and maybe the ropes too but I’m not sure) are for the cattle who are revered on the third day of Pongal, to thank them for their help with the harvest.

Watching the scenes going by, I remembered that I had been on a bus at this time of year nine years ago, on my way from Villupuram to Tiruvannamalai. It was early morning and from the bus I had seen people drawing huge, elaborate rangoli designs in front of their houses, with drawings of sugar cane stalks and overflowing pots, symbolising abundance and the words Happy Pongal! written in Tamil and English. In Tamil Nadu this must be one of the most important festivals because it last three days, while in Karnataka it seems to be more low-key.

In Karnataka and other parts of India this harvest festival is called Sankranti. This morning I took a walk through my neighbourhood and here's what I saw:

Sugar cane for sale!

This man goes door to door with his cow, playing an instrument called Nadaswaram. I see him often in the neighbourhood, not only on festival days.

A rangoli with drawings of overflowing pots.

More overflowing pots, lamps and sugar cane stalks.

I had posted pictures of Sankranti rangoli I had taken a previous year here.

Merry Christmas!

Nature’s perfect drink

One of my favourite drinks is tender coconut water. Tender coconuts are young, green coconuts and are on sale on almost every street corner in every city in South India. The coconut water is slightly sweet and a refreshing drink on a hot day.

I often see heaps of green coconuts piled up on the sidewalk or on a cart by the roadside. The seller uses a small machete to hack away the husk and then uses the tip to make a small hole in the top where he inserts a straw.

Once you’ve finished drinking the water (I’ve discovered that even small coconuts can contain a lot of water!) the seller will chop the coconut in half so that the flesh can be eaten. He cuts away a piece of the husk which is used as a type of spoon to scoop up the flesh. The flesh is soft and jelly-like and delicious. (Above image: Wikimedia Commons)

You can also ask for a ‘parcel’ and take tender coconuts home with you. In this case, a hole won’t be made in the husk after it’s hacked away. With the tip of the machete, a thin strip of the husk is cut on each coconut and then they’re tied together so that you can easily carry them home! Once home, I use a knife to cut a hole and then empty the liquid into a pitcher. If I don’t do this right away, the exposed husk gets tougher and afterwards it’s too difficult to cut a hole! Then I put the pitcher in the fridge because I think tender coconut water tastes best cold.

Coconut water is also the ideal drink because it’s good for you. It contains sugars, fibre and protein and provides vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. It’s also an isotonic drink, similar to a sports drink, because it contains electrolytes. (Above image: Wikimedia Commons)

No wonder I feel instantly refreshed after having some tender coconut water. This is nature’s perfect drink!

Beware of chain snatchers!

I saw this poster in Indiranagar metro station. It features the mug shots of chain snatchers caught in my area.

Chain snatching is very common in India. Why? Because married women wear a traditional necklace called a mangalasutra, which is a sign of their married status. These necklaces are made of pure gold and are very expensive, often costing at least 100,000 (1 lakh) rupees (1435 EUR / 1933 CAD / 1878 USD). This also makes them an easy target for thieves.

Reports of chain snatching in the newspaper are common. Here are a few examples:

Chain snatched

A gold necklace reportedly worth around Rs. 1.25 lakh was snatched away from a woman in Akkipete here on Sunday morning. Around 5.30 a.m., Rathnamma (62) was drawing rangoli in front of her house when a stranger distracted her by calling out, said Cottonpet police. When she turned her head, the man, who appeared to be around 20, snatched the chain and fled.

Chain snatchers at it again

Two women lost their gold chains to snatchers here Wednesday morning.

The first victim, Kumuda S. Udaykumarshankar, was accosted by two men near Ambarish Park when she was returning from her morning walk, J.P. Nagar police said.

The duo grabbed her chain worth Rs. 1.12 lakh and fled.

The second victim, Puttamma Nanjappa, was waylaid at 6.20 a.m. in Jayanagar 9th Block by three men in an autorickshaw, who snatched her chain worth Rs. 50,000, Tilaknagar police said.

Chain-snatchers tear woman's ear lobe

Two motorcycle-borne men allegedly on a gold-robbing mission in Rajarajeshwarinagar on Friday night ended up tearing one victim's ear lobe.

Their first victim was Shambhavi (42), walking around 8 p.m. in BHEL Layout II Stage. The police said she was wearing two necklaces — one of gold that was left untouched while the other, a gold-plated one, was stolen.

Later, around 9.30 p.m. in the nearby BEML Layout, Vijaylakshmi was returning home from temple when one of the two riders got off, lunged at her and pulled her gold earring. The two hastily sped away when Ms. Vijaylakshmi, whose ear lobe split open, screamed for help. The two got away with one earring, worth around Rs. 10,000.

The police suspect that the two robberies, with similar modus operandi, may involve the same culprits.

Chain snatched

Police are on the lookout for those who snatched Rs. 2 lakh worth chain from a lady on Monday morning.

Police said youths, who came in two bikes, snatched the chain, weighing about 10 sovereigns, from Sheela Selvaraj of Maharaja Nagar even as she was returning home after buying vegetables at ‘uzhavar sandhai' on Monday around 8.45 a.m. The Palayamkottai police have filed a case.

Miscreants reportedly duped two women in Namakkal town and fled with 15-and-a-half sovereigns of gold jewellery worth nearly Rs. 3.2 lakh on Thursday. Namakkal police who registered a case and are investigating, said they suspected the hand of the same duo in both the incidents. According to police, V. Pongodi of NGO colony was drying clothes in the portico when two men came near the gate and asked her something in Hindi. She came near the gate to send them away but the duo grabbed the five-and-a-half sovereign gold chain from her neck and escaped, police added. In another incident, during the late hours of the day, two youth grabbed a ten-sovereign gold chain from N. Tamilarasi of the same locality when she was returning home from a temple. Police said that she also claimed that two men spoke something in Hindi and came near her when she was walking with her neighbour, grabbed her chain and fled.

Two chains snatched in Hassan

In two similar incidents, two motorcycle-borne men snatched gold chains of two women in Hassan city on Tuesday evening.

In the first incident, Prema (35), who was walking with her daughter near her house at Pragathi Nagar, lost her gold chain worth Rs. 90,000, according to the police.

In the second incident, Nagamma of Vidyanagar lost her chain worth Rs. 1.1 lakh.

The Extension Police have registered the complaints.

Spate of chain snatching incidents

K. Vijayalakshmi (53) lost her two-sovereign chain to chain snatchers while she was walking on Second Avenue Road, Besant Nagar.

South zone Joint Commissioner K.P. Shanmuga Rajeswaran, who met media persons here on Thursday, said special police teams had been formed under the leadership of each Assistant Commissioner in south zone to deal with incidents of burglary, robbery and chain snatching reported in the area.

On the various incidents of chain snatching reported on Wednesday in some parts of south Chennai, he said the police had obtained the details of the registration number of the vehicle used in four incidents and were trying to identify the suspects. The police have also asked the victims to go through the database of photos of suspects, Mr. Shanmuga Rajeswaran said.