Evie's Eats

Evie's restaurant is still going strong! She started playing this game shortly after we arrived. She finds flowers and leaves, tears them to bits, sorts them by color, and then serves them up on a banana leaf. Tasty!

 

Egmore Museum: Simply Spooktacular

John and I just got back from a dream of a trip to the Andaman Islands. You'll have to wait for photos, though, because our weekend is looking impossibly busy and I'm not sure when I'll have time to sort through everything.

 

While you're waiting with bated breath, may I present to you ......

 

the Haunted Musuem

mwa ha ha ha ha ...

 

... otherwise known as the Government Museum in Egmore.

 

My kids have been to some pretty incredible museums: most of the Smithsonians in Washington, the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio (If you haven't been there, get yourself to Dayton ASAP.), the British Museum, London's Natural History Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, various and sundry childrens museums around the United States, etc.

 

What's more, they actually love going.

 

So when Johnny came home from a field trip to the Egmore Museum last year, raving about the wonders there to behold, I thought it must be a pretty great place. Then he told me it was haunted, and I started to wonder ...

 

A few weeks ago, we had the rare occasion of a holiday for the Consulate, the American school, and Samuel's Indian preschool ALL ON THE SAME DAY. Miracles sometimes occur. We decided to seize the opportunity and head to the Egmore Museum.

 

We didn't have time to see everything, so at Johnny's suggestion we headed to the zoological galleries. It's all housed in beautiful old buildings. Unfortunately, the emphasis is on old. Things are sort of crumbling, and as soon as I saw the exhibits I understood why Johnny says the place is haunted.

 

It was spectacularly creepy! Dried up animals hanging on walls, jars full of weird creatures suspended in fluid, skeletons and flea-bitten taxidermied animals ... It reminded me of Snape's dungeon office.

 

Our photos are appropriately awful for this post, as we had to rely on John's Blackberry. Here we are upstairs, with dried marine animals pegged to the walls.

 

 

I love Evie's face in this shot of the reptiles.

Here's a frog caught in the act of swallowing a snake ... I think this calls for another mwa ha ha ha ...

... And weirdest of the weird, a human skeleton that looks like it's about to fall under a horse's skeleton.

We didn't have time to see the art and bronze galleries, which I have been told are much nicer than what we saw, but we plan to get back to the museum as soon as we can. Who can resist this stuff?

So, if you're looking for a great place to get your Halloween spook on, I'd suggest a trip to the Egmore Museum's zoology section ... if you dare ...

Celebrating Gandhi



Gandhi celebrations continued with an Overseas Women's Club party for the 5 and under crowd. Evie just barely qualifies!

 

Here are Samuel and Evie admiring the amazing kolam at the party's entrance. 

 

 

Photo credit: Evie Hall

Festivities included a craft corner, where the kiddos made these awesome elephant masks ...

... and got decked out in tri-color garlands made of paper chains.

Much time was spent running down the incline just outside party headquarters. I'm afraid Samuel and Evie lured many kids into ruining their Indian finery with grass and dirt stains. But it was FUN.

Evie was mesmerized by a Panchatantra story ...

... told in a booming English accent ...

 

... and accompanied by a puppet show.



 

Evie showing off her traditional dress ...

And here are the two partiers waiting for Ashok to come pick us up. Yay Gandhi Jayanti! Yay OWC! Yay India! Woot!

Party-goers also donated to the OWC's social welfare committee, which supports several charities around Chennai and is one main reason for the club's existence. Another purpose of the club is to provide support and social opportunities for expats in Chennai. I regularly go to the play group and the book club, and I've somehow been put in charge of a fledgling writing club (the actual founder left Chennai suddenly).

I think I'll join the OWC or its equivalent at every post. It's a great way to get out of the Consulate bubble and get to know people from around the world who are sharing the expat experience. Plus, there are parties!

Peace and non-violence

Every year the American International School in Chennai celebrates the International Day of Peace by hanging peace flags made by the students. The flags mimic Himalayan prayer flags. The belief is that as the wind blows the flags, it also sends the message on the flag throughout the world. I think it's a beautiful idea.

 



 

The Day of Peace (on Sept. 21) is only a few days before Gandhi Jayanti (on Oct. 2) (and here), which is the celebration of Gandhi's birthday and a national holiday in India. The United Nations has also declared Gandhi Jayanti an International Day of Non-Violence. The kids spend a nice couple of weeks learning and talking about peace and non-violence. If only it translated into peace and quiet at home ...

Johnny gave a short speech about Gandhi's early life at the elementary school's Gandhi Jayanti assembly this year. He did a great job, speaking slowly and clearly. I was proud of him!

At the same assembly, the kindergarten sang a cute song about how "Gandhi-ji said see no evil," then hear no evil, then speak no evil. In the last verse they "Spread love and peace around the world, because Gandhi-ji taught us this." It was really cute, but I was totally hung up on the fact that the song was to the same tune as the completely non-PC "10 Little Indians." Does anyone else see the irony here? (I recently learned that the original tune is actually to a song called "Michael Finnegan.")

Here's Evie "saying no evil." She's the cutest and shortest blonde in the front row, wearing purple and gold.

When the assembly was over I went to the cafeteria for a croissant and saw these collages on display. I especially like the quotation on the first poster: "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

I love that my kids are getting the opportunity to celebrate the lives of good, inspired people from all nations. It's hard to overstate the influence Gandhi and his principles of non-violence have had in India and throughout the world.

Mahabalipuram: Ancient temples are hot

 

You're not allowed to come visit us without a stop at Mahabalipuram (and here). It's just too cool to miss. Ancient temples to explore, fascinating geology to discover, good food. The only drawback is the unbelievable heat. It always seems to be at least 10 degrees hotter there than it is in Chennai.

 

When I went with my parents and aunts, it was hot as usual, but for some reason it was far less crowded than it's been other times we've visited. The sites are usually packed with Indian tourists and a sprinkling of foreigners. This time we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

 

Our first stop was Pancha Rathas, built in the 7th century. One theory is that the Rathas were part of a school of architecture, which would explain the different temple styles and the fact that this shrine's top mimics the elephant rump right next to it.

 

No one really knows how the ancient Pallavas used the site. It could have been a holy site or a children's play area for all we know.

This shrine features a carving of Ardhanarishvara, the god that is half Shiva and half his consort Parvati. You can see it in the bottom right corner here, though I've got better pictures in previous posts. One idea behind the image is that the divine feminine (or shakti) is inseparable from the male form of the god.

Our intrepid travelers taking a break at the Rathas. (Shout-out to Kathy: Samuel just saw this picture and said, "There's Grandpa ... and Aunt Kathy." I asked if anyone else was in the picture. "Nope. Just Aunt Kathy." Not to worry, Mom. You are favored in plenty of other photos.)

And here's Aly impressing us with her fierce planking skills. I didn't time her, but she held this for quite a while.

Me and my Mommy and Daddy! (Mom: Samuel sees no one but you in this one.) Please ignore my horribly unflattering outfit. Did I mention how HOT it is here? Baggy cotton is a must ...

One more view of the Rathas, looking remarkably tourist-free.

Next we headed over to the Shore Temple, which is right on the beach near this fishing village.

 

Most of the shrines and monuments in Mahabalipuram are monolithic, but the Shore Temple is built of individual stones that were taken to this spot. There are lots of things to love about the Shore Temple, but what I love most is the mystery surrounding it. Marco Polo wrote about it, as did other early European explorers, and it's thought to be one of the legendary Seven Pagodas (and here and here). The 2004 tsunami uncovered evidence that the legends could be true after all.

 



This was my favorite of Aly's plank shots.

Here we are walking the path around the central shrine.

Dad on the stairs leading up to the shrine that houses the Shiva lingam. The Shore Temple is part archealogical site and part working temple. I'm not sure whether it's open to worshipers regularly or only on special occasions. There was a priest working at the inland-facing shrine during one of our visits, but this time all the shrines were locked up.

Three Carter sisters (plus one in spirit).

View coming around to the exit.

After seeing the Shore Temple, we took a lunch break at the Radisson's beach-side restaurant.

Then we went to see Descent of the Ganges, which is part bas-relief and part cave temple all carved out of one enormous rock. This image of Krishna holding up a mountain is in the cave temple. I couldn't remember the story while we were there, but Johnny filled me in once we got home. What would I do without my gloriously nerdy children? Villagers in the town of Brindavan neglected to worhip Indra, god of rain, who felt insulted and so sent devastating storms. Krishna lifted the mountain Govardhan to protect the village. Here's one version of the story.

More from the same relief. I especially like the flute player in the upper right and the mother and child in the center.

Looking out of the cave temple to a more modern, working temple across the street. By "modern" I mean it was probably built within the last three or four centuries.

The life-size elephants at Descent of the Ganges.

Aly and I found this small cave temple, Varaha cave temple, around the back of Descent of the Ganges. I had never seen it before. I couldn't get a good photo, but the ceiling is decorated with gorgeous patterns that reminded me of kolams.

Now don't you wish you lived this close to a UNESCO World Heritage site?

It's been a difficult week for our household.

On Monday, Ashok lost his brother to a heart attack. He got the news while driving John and me home from a crafts exhibition, so we were witness to the first shock of grief.

We witnessed it again when Joseph got a call on Wednesday afternoon. His wife, seven months pregnant, was admitted to the hospital because the baby wasn't moving. Joseph went to be with her, and two hours later he called to tell us the baby was dead.

Mothers and fathers and brothers are the same all over the world. Please keep all of them in your prayers.

Shoppers extraordinaire

While Mom and her sisters were here, we did a lot of shopping because ... well, it's India! To be fair, this photo was taken after a grocery run, but it is representative of the general state of things. Actually, things were usually more packed ...

 

Making good choices ...

While we were at Johnny and Evie's school one day, Kathy noticed a banner in the main courtyard that does a good job of defining what it means to make good choices. She asked me to write it down for her the next time I was there, and it's so good that I thought I'd share it with all of you.

This is what's on the banner Kathy noticed:

What does "making good choices" mean?

• Making a decision that keeps you on the path of what you want and where you want to be.
• Being responsible for your own decision.
• Making decisions that have positive consequences.

I noticed a second banner hanging in the locker area upstairs. It says:

I am "making good choices" when:

• I consider other people's feelings and reactions and the consequence that my decision will have.
• I ask careful, thought-out questions and evaluate my decision.
• I learn from my mistakes and make better choices the next time.

It's all good advice, but I especially like the first point on the first banner we saw. If we can think about our choices in terms of where they will take us or what path they will put us on, the right choice becomes clearer.

I plan to use these points in a family home evening soon. We've been talking in Primary about choosing the right, and I'm glad to see the idea reinforced at school.

St. Thomas Mount: Merriment is Forbidden

John took Mom, Dad, Kathy and Aly to visit St. Thomas Mount (and here) on Sunday afternoon. St. Thomas Mount is recognized by the Catholic Church as the spot where Thomas the Apostle was killed.

 

The church at the top of the hill is designated as a national shrine, and many local Catholics worhip here. Others come for the views.

 

 

 

If cuddling is on your agenda, though, you'd better find another spot. No merriment allowed here.

There's a little cemetery on the mount, as well.

The sun was setting as John took these pictures of a congregation preparing for a worship service.

As has happened everywhere else in the world, Indian Catholicism has taken on a local flavor. The Catholic weddings we've attended here have more in common with Hindu weddings than they do with Catholic weddings I've attended in the United States. Statues of Mary, too, are often dressed and garlanded like idols in the Hindu temples.

Christianity has an ancient tradition in India, though there are several theories as to why it's been around so long. It's another face of India, one that I had no idea existed before I lived here.