Tamil Nadu 2006 |
 |
Week 6March 13, 2006 |
I finally got to Anna University this afternoon. Miss Gnanapagiham went with me which was the best thing because I would never have been able to find my way around otherwise. It is quite close to here and is an impressive campus. General traffic is kept out, so it is a remarkable peaceful area in the city. I went to the Institute for Remote Sensing which is where they teach GIS on their Geoinformation courses. I had an interview with Dr. Ramalingam who is the professor in charge, and was then shown around the department. Impressive facilities and some interesting projects on natural resource management. This is the main engineering and technical university in Tamil Nadu. The other two major universities are the Indian institute of Technology (IIT) and Madras University, which is the major arts and humanities institution. I hope to get to each of them if I can, but I don't have an introduction yet.
This evening I walked up to Adyar and wished I had brought my camera. There was a column of men on the side of the road with three portable shrines. Two required twelve bearers and one four. They set off down the road with shawms, drums and flaming torches in front and priests behind, waving burning trays. The inevitable rickshaw with generator and high powered floodlights was pulled in front illuminating half the city and there were great fringed parasols swaying about over each shrine.
After that I passed another temple where they were pulling an enormous floral array around on a truck with more musicians than I had seen anywhere else. One of them was working a portable drone, a simple hand pumped organ that just played one continuous note. I had heard this note on several other occasions, but it was always produced by an electronic black box. This was the first time I had seen it produced by an instrument, and one that I reckon even I could play. One continuous unmodulated note is just about within my capabilities. Why did I leave my camera behind? There is nearly always something to see even on the most unlikely walk.
I finished my book chapter this morning, but will not submit it until the end of next week just in case I get any more information to add to it. It will be a relief to get one publication out, although it will still need to be refereed before final acceptance. I have started on a paper on GIS work in south India, now that I have two case studies. Just hope I can get a bit more and some photographs.
Went into town by train this afternoon and spent some time in the main temple, Kapaleeswara. A great show was made of walking a tray of green leaves around the compound before taking them into the main shrine. They were carried by a priest under a huge coloured parasol, which flaming torches before and drummers leading the way. No one paid the slightest heed, it obviously happens all the time.
I walked down to T. Nagar through one of the bazaar areas. There was a complete power cut, but within a minute every shop lit up as they started their generators. Obviously this was a regular occurrence. The exhaust fumes were almost overpowering. I'm sure they must kill people on a regular basis. The throb of the generators is just more noise, and no one seems to mind that.
I've joined the local economy. I buy a lot of second hand books from roadside stalls. I've found an old man who buys them back. Someone is making a profit, but it's not me.
 |
There are flower seller everywhere. Usually women, but not always, and the really big garlands seem always to be being made by teams of men. Most women wear fresh flowers in their hair, often great lengths. All of the temples and idols are also covered in fresh garlands, which must be replaced every day. The sellers have trays of flower heads of different types which they tie in long strands at lightening speed. People stop and buy lengths which are cut off with a bare razor blade. There are great numbers of sellers by every temple and all over the town. I'll pass dozens just going out to get dinner. The scent is wonderful, but swamped by the traffic fumes |
Very quiet day. I have been working all day and just went out for dinner in a local restaurant this evening. Little walking, no shopping, no temples. I begin to despair of every really engaging with staff at MSSRF. All along they have found me hard to pigeonhole. I suspect that they have never had a one-off visitor like me before and they really don't know what to do with me. I have tried to arrange meetings to discuss collaborative work several times, but tomorrow would always be a better day. I have decided to prepare a full paper on using GIS for identifying areas of rural deprivation, which they can do with the data they have got, and present it to them. If they can use it, great. If they can't. it will make an excellent case study for my own students back in Cirencester.
The papers are full of yesterday and today being the festival of Holi, when people spray everyone with coloured waters. Sadly there has been no sign of any activity at all around where I have been. It is meant to signify the end of winter and the beginning of Spring. Here in the south that is rather meaningless. They don't have a real concept of winter. It is hot all the time and very hot some of the time.
I've seen two snakes to date in the grounds of MSSRF. One two foot long, very thin, like string, and bright green with a swollen head area. Raced across the path into the grass. Thoughts of little green cobras crossed my mind. Next I saw a serious one, four feet long, about 2 inches diameter, dark brown. again sliding rapidly into the undergrowth and I seriously thought "cobra". They do have them around here.