Pondicherry

"The period one passes on earth is that in which one can make progress." The Mother

I am in Pondicherry. Pondicherry - home to the Sri Aurobino Ashram, a destination for spiritual seekers from the world over; home to the former French India; home to the mainland scenes in "The Life of Pi." Affectionately known as Pondy. It is a filthy and crumbling city - relics of the once grand French Colonial style of architecture show what used to be, but the lurching sidewalks, the decaying walls, the rutted streets, are currently the norm. A contingent of women trash collectors sweep garbage onto piles of more garbage in the wee hours of the day, their uniform vests emblazoned with the mantra "Keep Pondicherry Clean."

And yet, this coastal Union Territory has some utterly redeeming qualities - namely, its expansive beaches, which wrap the eastern edge of this place in a sunny, sandy embrace. With names like Paradise Beach and Serenity Beach - they are as advertised and are suitable for swimming and water sports. Cool azure waters, golden sands, refreshing breezes - the French Riviera of India is pretty marvelous (albeit still strewn with trash).

Alas, I actually didn't spend much time at the beach! With so many other places on our agenda, hitting up the beach has been a morning fly by, or an evening wind-down from all of the other activities that have kept me busy during the day. Here in the city limits, Promenade Beach is walking distance from our hotel, and is closed to vehicle traffic in the evening, and doesn't open to the melee of cars and motorcycles and tuk tuks until 7:30 the next morning. Being there was a fitting beginning or end to our days - and we are not alone. Thousands of people flock to the Promenade to exercise or stroll in the morning (yoga asanas on the rocky shore as the sun comes up make for a lovely sight), or to socialize when the sun goes down; it is the obvious gathering place for those who live here. Children frolic and scramble on the massive statue of Mahatma Ghandi that anchors the seafront, vendors hawk cheap toys and baubles, and chaat stalls serve up hot and tasty morsels. Last night, two friends and I ordered up some fresh corn on the cob that was cooked to a blackened crisp over an open flame then doused with lemon and chili, then sat on the sea wall and watched the world go by. A stroll today capped my last morning here. Certainly two highlights of my time here. 

Other highlights of my stay in Pondy:

• A visit to the Sri Aurobino Ashram. No cameras allowed, so when in Pondy, do as all the seekers do: meditate. I, ahem, am a little out of practice, so clearing my mind for more than a few minutes wasn't going to happen, but starting my day in the peace and serenity of Sri Aurobino was centering. The ashram is beautiful - and unlike the environs outside its ramparts, it is elegantly maintained.
• A journey to Auroville (City of Dawn): "Auroville aims to be a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities. The purpose of Auroville is to realise human unity." This experimental township is very interesting - all sort of peace, love and tie die for sure. An integral part of visiting Auroville is to take the trek through a canopied jungle to gaze at its golden dome, called Matrimandir. From Wikipedia: "The Matrimandir (Sanskrit for Temple of The Mother) is an edifice of spiritual significance for practitioners of Integral yoga, situated at the centre of Auroville initiated by The Mother of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. It is called "soul of the city" and is situated in a large open space called Peace." 

• A stop for tea at a chai stall. In our wanderings, my friends and I wanted to have a proper street tea. So we looked for the busiest chai stall outside of one of the government complexes to patronize, figuring that a popular location for the workers would indicate quality - and we were right. The chai wallah's preparation of the tea was nothing short of a dance, his expertly choreographed moves on display for our delight. The chai, with the tea biscuits we got for dunking, were ridiculously good. The entire experience (and it was an experience!) cost a mere 8 cents. The best 8 cents I've ever spent. 

• Taking in the rituals and ceremony at the temples. Oftentimes cameras aren't allowed inside, but just observing the flurry of life surrounding the popular temples is a cultural insight all on its own. 

• Discovering the rangoli designs that people and businesses chalk outside the entrance to their home or business, the purpose of which is to bring good luck and be sacred welcoming areas for the Hindu deities. The designs get more elaborate and colorful for different auspicious occasions - like holidays or festivals. 

• Riding in a tuk tuk outfitted with a disco ball! Super fun - there's a short video clip of it on my YouTube channel. 

Brought to You in Black and White

So here are some monochromatic shots from this land of color...

 

Day Two: Mahabalipuram

As mentioned in my previous post, Day Two in India took me to Mahabalipuram, a port city on the Bay of Bengal with an impressive conglomeration of ancient temples. I did see all of the temples, but still managed to shoot mostly people. Maybe someday my bricks and mortar photography skills will improve, but until then, here's a round up of some of the other images from my wanderings today. 

My Welcome to India

So I start this day, sitting in a comfortable motor coach, in my wide, air conditioned seat high above the level of the street. I'm staring out the window. Staring at color - saturated color everywhere. Staring at people - generally the source of all that color. Staring at the thrum and bustle of activity - so early in the day, and yet already moving, teeming. I am staring at India.

My perch is so very different from anything outside my window. My world, this world - not even remotely the same. But I love this - and I'm eager to get down from this high roost and be out amongst it all. Today is only Day Two of my Indian adventure, and Oh. My. God. What an experience it has already been.

To back up: I arrived in Chennai in the wee hours of the morning after more than 24 hours of exhausting travel (kicking children directly behind me on all legs of my travels - how is it that these imps don't sleep?). That was a mere 48 hours ago, and yet Napa Valley and home seem eons away.

After meeting our guide, settling into our hotel, and attempting to catch a few hours of shut eye, our group set out to see what we could see. Indeed, as expected, India reached out and found us right away. Within ten minutes of leaving our hotel, we came upon an Indian Sikh wedding, with all of the full-blown pageantry associated with it: bridegroom on horseback; marching band processional; stunning sari-clad women of all ages, their hands ornately adorned with Henna tattoos. Bollywood-style dancing by all. There was a mass of people accompanying the wedding party, and onlookers and gawkers lining the pathways and stairways leading to the temple. It was loud, it was festive, it was a fitting welcome to this indescribable place. It was also a reality check. As I attempted to frame the festivities in my lens, it became obvious that there is going to be absolutely no way in hell that I'll be able to capture the true spirit of India in my images. There's just too much going on in every direction.

From there, the day proceeded apace. We packed as much into the daylight hours as humanly possible - starting with the barely contained chaos of the George Town Market, and ending the day in a mad dash for light on Marina Beach and its associated fish market on the Bay of Bengal. (It is the second longest beach in the world - it went on for miles, and it seemed all of Chennai had turned out to play in its sands. I will never use the word "throng" again without thinking of what I saw there. Photos, again, will not even remotely do it justice.) There were Hindu temples and failed attempts to find cold beer in between, and lots of wonderful walking.

Sights aside, hands-down the most memorable thing of my first day in India was interacting with the people. In all my travels to Southeast Asia, I was certain I had already encountered some of the most welcoming and happy people in all of the world. I was wrong - dead wrong. The sheer joy that exudes from the people I've met thus far in India is beyond contagious. A fellow traveler rightfully said that her cheeks hurt at the end of the day from smiling so much. People are approachable, open, eager to be photographed - in fact, more often that not, requesting to be photographed. Proud parents thrust their children in your direction for portraits - street vendors break into a grin and answer with an affirmative Indian head bobble when asked to be photographed - rambunctious children eagerly clown around and vie for your attention. There is a happiness here, and it's a delight to behold. I'll take with me always the memory of a motley crew of boys playing cricket in the sand at the beach, but amidst the rubble and stench of the fish market, located mere steps away from the slum they call home. Those boys couldn't have been any more exuberant. Granted, it was a moment in time, but to see them with not a care in the world but to run and laugh and play… it felt pretty darn good. I need more of that in my life, please.

So that was Day One. Today, Day Two, took our group away from Chennai (alas, with so much left unexplored!). We traveled south along India's eastern coast to Mahabalipuram, a port city founded in the 7th century and home to some of the oldest and most important temple forms in all of India. Perhaps my biggest weakness as a photographer is shooting architecture - I love to learn about architecture, especially in places stepped in history - but I can't seem to ever make it interesting in my images. So temple after temple on our agenda today was met with limited enthusiasm on my part, and yet, thanks again to the Indian people, I've had a marvelous day.

And on that note, here's just some parting thoughts on the things I've experienced so far;

• Emirates Airlines is amazing. Even in the lowly economy class where I was stuffed, the service and amenities on the two jumbo jets that got me here were the best I've ever experienced.
• Southern Indian food makes me very happy. Dosa and sambar for breakfast - biryani of all sorts at any meal. Naan. Jasmine rice. Raita and chutneys are the condiments of choice, which I slather on everything. Cold Kingfisher beer - safer by far to drink than the water. Everything can be had or dressed up to have plenty of spice, making the cold beer all the more welcome. (Indeed, traveling to this part of the world is really the only time I ever even drink beer, but damn - it just hits the spot and complements the food perfectly.)
• Yes it's dirty and yes there are slums. The slums seem to crop up along areas where there is water - canals, rivers, the sea - and said water becomes the de facto toilet and garbage receptacle. Not pleasant, but the reality. The slum dwellings are made of many forms: corrugated aluminum lean-tos; thatch roof, dirt floor rooms; abandoned concrete apartment towers. How some of these structures survive the monsoon season is beyond me.
• I think it's safe to say that begging in the streets is prevalent in India. However, I have to say that I have encountered very little of it thus far. Far, far less that what I was expecting, and in fact, the people and children who have approached me are no different than what I've experienced elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Mostly they are attempting to sell trinkets, and their sales tactics are quite emphatic. But the hardcore begging - not so much. I expect this will change as we go along.
• Some good advice from our guide, re: meditation: "Don't chant from your mouth, chant from your heart." Ohm, indeed.

Other stuff:

• To see videos of various and sundry moving images from this journey, visit my YouTube channel.
• To see all of the fun iPhone photos I'm snapping, find me on Instagram (morryanne), or click through to my Flickr account.

Photo sampler from Day One

Destination: Southern India

"Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world." 

- Gustave Flaubert

It's another year, and time again for me to take to the skies and find myself in a land far, far away. I'm bound for India - the land of spice and intrigue, of gurus, gods and Ghandi. Also of castes, call centers and holy cows. Alliteration aside, this place to which I am about to venture is, I imagine without having stepped foot in the country just yet, overwhelming. Anecdotes and research tell me so, and that is exactly why I am so eager to get there. As my favorite SF Chronicle columnist Jon Carroll wrote: "India will find you." I'm due for my annual sensory overload, cultural immersion, artistic outlet. I leave in a mere two days.

My journey will take me to Southern India - alas, no Taj Mahal, Himalaya or the River Ganges for me this go around (saving a Northern India trip for another time when I can also get to Nepal), but rather, a whirlwind two weeks covering more than half a dozen cities and villages starting in Chennai and ending in Mumbai. From there, a week to the southern state of Kerala for some R&R on the famed Backwaters, where kayaking, yoga, massages and naps will fill my days (or so I say now... we'll see what reality brings). The first bit I'll be traveling with my "photo family" - a group of amazing and talented photographers with whom I've had the privilege to see distant parts of the world over the past five years. The Kerala extension will be a getaway with three dear friends from that group. I expect to eat a lot of wonderful meals, take hundreds upon hundreds of photos, be inspired daily, and even have my heart broken with the things I will see. It will be an adventure for certain. I'll document it here, so I hope you'll come along for the ride!