A walk in the garden

I love Chennai, but one of its shortcomings is the lack of outdoor space that's safe for walking, running or playing. We're lucky enough to have a long driveway and a bit of green space (beware the snakes) around our house, but try riding a scooter down the street and you'll be dodging insane traffic (motorized, pedal-powered, bullock-drawn and pedestrian), hanging wires, holes in the sidewalk and street, not to mention cows, goats, dogs, and even the occasional pig or monkey.

That's what makes the Theosophical Society's Huddleston Gardens such an oasis. The Theosophical Society  (and here) is another group dedicated to finding Truth and Oneness and all that stuff. Mind-blowing, I'm sure, but I'm just there for the gardens, really.

Samuel and I joined some other kids and moms for a nice little outing last week. Sam brought his scooter. Note to self: DO NOT bring the scooter again unless I have my own wheels on which to keep up ...

 

There are art pieces and little temples and houses of worship representing many of the world's religions throughout the gardens. The members of the society believe that all religions can be distilled down to basic, universal truths. Members can follow whichever spiritual path they choose (or no path at all) as long as they agree to follow the three Objects. (Despite my earlier flippancy, I actually find this kind of interesting.)

Samuel and his friends were fascinated by the red bugs we saw everywhere ...

I was more interested in the flowering trees ...

Here are Sam and Owen taking a little break from their explorations ...

There were all kinds of trees, many of them marked with scientific names. I like this one for its shape ...

... and for the ant castle at its base ...

Mom ... could you stop with the paparazzi thing?

This is a big banyan tree, but it's not the famous and even bigger big banyan further into the gardens ...

Indian banyans everywhere!!

 

 

This is why I need my own wheels ...

 

We got caught in an unexpected rain shower ...

... but we did get to see the big banyan, which is said to be 450 years old. The main tree was uprooted in a storm in 1989, but the weakened trunk and its shoots form a grove that covers about a quarter mile. Samuel and his friends were very excited about the cows grazing in the grove (as if we never see cows, but whatever).

At this point, the unexpected rain shower became a downpour and I put the camera away and tried to keep up with Samuel's scooter as we headed back to the car. We were soaked, but it was a lovely day anyway.