David India blog - Mahabalipuram – Erste Eindrücke

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Mahabalipuram – Erste Eindrücke
2ND FEB

Friends picked us up at the airport in Chennai and the first thing we learned was, that the traffic rules, traffic lights, speed limits and similar regulating rules of everyday don’t match the Indian mentality. They really brake only when there’s a great canal-pipe sticking out of the road, which can break every axle, or because of cows. Also many only halfway done streets, buildings, apartments and bounders were noticeable, they made an impression, that the construction workers still didn’t come back from their lunch breaks. Our 50 minute drive to the destination was equal to a Roller Coaster Tycoon Simulation.

We were settled into a house with Klaus, who was a PE teacher at my dad’s school, in a guesthouse. It’s right at the seaside, so our sleep was accompanied by the sounds of the sea the whole night. We share our room, which is pretty simple, but clean. We are sleeping on hard mattresses under a tablecloth. There’s one toilet (the ideal standard) with a bucket (we got ourselves a toilette paper) and one shower, which showers the whole room, typically Indian, how they explained to us. On the wall, there are hanging 3 (again THREE!!) liter boilers for hot water for the shower – which aren’t working. So we shower with cold water, but that isn’t so bad with this temperature – in the night, it gets down to 25°. We both are paying for the room for about 14 Euro.


The first day, we got to know Gopi on our balcony, which is on the right side of Klaus’ balcony and on the left side of Anthony’s balcony, who lives in the room together with Anthony. Gopi left Madurai in the South India when he was 14 years old to Belur Math, the main station of Ramakrishna Mission, north from Kolkata, to be accepted as a novice. At his age, he has already read Vedas like Baghavadgita , now he also knows the writings of Krishnamurtis, he know Dalai Lama and the highest representative Sri Aurobindo-moving in Pondicherry/ Auroville, like of course the actual president (chosen the highest monk) of Ramakrishna Mission. Momentarily he has vacation to end his college studies (and to learn the world more). He’s known as a singer of spiritual songs in India. Other than that, he works as a yoga teacher and he gives courses to the tourists. He’s 19 years old. We get on well with him right away. Shortly after that, comes Anthony, an Irish musician in his 70ies, who can’t play music anymore because of his illnesses. He’s writing a book at the moment, Gopi is helping him do that.


Gopi and Klaus suggest that they go eat Indian breakfast, but we have to wait a bit longer, because Klaus is waiting for someone. It becomes clear, that we are supposed to be invited to an Indian wedding. The brother and the father of the groom come, they put flower-wreaths around us, hug us warmly and they give us the invites. We thankfully accept them.


Indian breakfast, very interesting. They don’t know bread, we get baked rice girdle-cake filled with hot potato-salad instead, together with spicy sauce made from lentils, or water milk rice.
David is full really quickly; I stay strong until my plate is empty. Then black tea, that means steal cup in a little steal pot, filled to the edge with tea, it’s ok, mh. As desert we get a plate of something else filled with herbs, sugar and something else, which you have to put whole in your mouth and chew and chew and chew ..

We’re leaving the restaurant and going to Santosch’s who picked us up from Channai (airport) tonight. Santosch is actually a fisher, but he works at his father’s shop now as a seller and a stone mason. Momentarily he’s sharpening hundreds of small stones, which he gets as 5mm thick raw products, which he converts by hand and some kind of sandpaper to 2mm. We asked him, why he didn't use any machine? He answered, “otherwise they wouldn’t have any soul.”

We spend the day on the beach. We’re constantly being asked by men and women trying to sell something, nice tablecloths (?!), nice wooden pearl chains, marihuana, everything “very cheap”! The sea is very warm, we think it’s like 25°-26°C. It invites to bath in it, but Klaus recommends to go more into the north, because of the watercourses here. But not today. There are some tourists, establishment of Radisson hotel, it’s guarded, other than that cafés, restaurants, there’s fresh lobster or tuna everywhere.

Now we’re going to eat – it’s said, that the hotel is up to the mark – I think we’re going to get several different menus to choose from :) And then we’re going to be ready to go to bed, I’d
say :)

Laudenbonk & Mildus Gibkus
Written By Mildus Gibkus

Translated by www.panik-musik.blog.cz (P.2K)
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