Peacock Trail

Before I start, I wish to sincerely apologize to my sister Caroline. She missed out on a great Chennai experience, because I didn't know about it before she came. Therefore, she must visit again so she can join me on the Peacock Trail.

My friend Kristin has family in town and arranged for a walking tour of the Mylapore neighborhood with Storytrails, an "alternative tour" group. She had an extra spot and asked if I wanted to come along. What a fantastic experience!

The Storytrails idea is that India and its culture should be experienced rather than just seen, and based on this morning's tour I'd say they're reaching their goal. Our walk took us through the oldest part of the city and included a visit to the huge Kapaleeshwarar Temple and its tank, a walk through the home of one of the Brahmin priests, an autorickshaw ride to the San Thome Basilica and a tour of the church and museum there, and a South Indian breakfast at one of the Saravana vegetarian restaurants. I will be dragging any and all future visitors on this tour. Be warned.

The only photos I have are from the Kapaleeshwarar Temple, because I forgot to bring my decent camera and was limited by the space on my cell phone.

Here's the temple tower.

The temple tower, or gopuram, is typical of South Indian temple architecture. It sits over the main entry to the temple complex, and it depicts scenes from Hindu scripture and mythology. The height of the tower depended on the power of the king who had it constructed. The original Kapaleeshwarar Temple was built by the Pallava kings and was closer to the seashore. This incarnation of the temple was built about a kilometer inland in the 1600s after the original temple was destroyed by the Portuguese (or so it's thought ... the history is foggy).

The color, detail and sheer busy-ness of the tower are just dizzying.

closer view of the tower

Chennai must have thousands of temples dotted around its neighborhoods, but most are small and some are tiny -- big enough for a priest and one or two people. The Kapaleeshwarar Temple is huge. I've driven by several times and wondered about it, but this was my first time inside.

The complex has several smaller shrines inside. Though the main temple is dedicated to Shiva, the Ganesha shrine is the first you see if you enter by the main gate.

I'll try to give a short version of Ganesha's story. Like all things Hindu, there are several versions out there, but this is the one our guide today told us. Shiva's consort Parvati wanted to take a bath, but there was no one available to guard her residence while she took the break, so she used some turmeric paste to create a boy. The boy was on guard when Shiva came to see Parvati, and he wouldn't let the god enter. Shiva (known for his short temper, as he is the destroyer god) chopped off the boy's head. When Parvati heard the noise and came to see what was going on, she found her son beheaded. Let's just say that Shiva was in big trouble. To make it up to her, he told his guards to go to the forest and bring back the head of the first animal they saw, which turned out to be an elephant, and then he stuck the elephant head onto the boy and breathed life into him. Strangely, Parvati wasn't placated. To up the ante, Shiva decreed that Ganesha would be the first god worshipped each morning and at the beginning of all other rituals. Hence, his is the first shrine at just about any temple that has multiple shrines.

I've noticed that Ganesha is everywhere, including on my very own front gate. Being the remover of obstacles makes him pretty popular, I guess.

Here are some of the other shrines.

One of the unique things about the Mylapore temple is this "wish-yielding tree." The orange strings tied with bits of tamarind root are placed by women who wish to get married. The wooden cradles are placed by women who wish to have children. Our guide didn't tell us what the other strings and scarves are for, but she did say that this area is extremely popular around examination time.

The tree is special because the goddess Karpagambal (a form of Parvati, I think) came in the form of a peahen and worhipped Shiva in its shade.

If you can't make it to the wish-yielding tree, you can also try whispering your wish into a bull's ear. The bull is Shiva's vehicle, so he can carry your message to the god. Here are some of the temple cattle.

Luckily for you, that's the end of my photos and so the end of my virtual tour. I wrote a bit about the San Thome Basilica after attending a wedding there. The guide today pointed out a lot of interesting ways in which Indian Christianity has absorbed some local traditions.

Kristin and I were so impressed with the Storytrails guide that we're planning to check out some of their other trails, too, including one about traditional jewelry. Woot! I'll let you know how that goes.

Last Christmas post ... promise

Christmas was weird this year. For one thing, it was about 85 degrees outside. For another, our house was full of our still-packed-up household effects shipment and feeling a bit warehouse-ish. Most of our decorations were still in boxes. We'd also been in Delhi and Agra until just a couple of days before Christmas, so I felt like I didn't have a ton of time to prepare. So Christmas was weird, but wonderful anyway.

I'm going to overdo the photos, because I always do. I love the excitement of Christmas morning, especially now that the kids are old enough to start giving to each other. They're dying to find out what they got, but they're also excited to give the things they've chosen for others. I hope this lasts!

Evie found more Indian bling in her stocking.

Samuel's favorite stocking treat? Chips!

Princess Evie has been asking for "Tangled" for months.

Making some music

Johnny nearly passed out with excitement several times, including when he opened this Lego set.

Johnny gave me this tiny carved elephant -- perfect for my shadow box.

This year's "big gift" for Samuel

Breaking in the new road

The "big gift" for Johnny and Evie was a Wii.

Kids busily playing with new toys.

Samuel's all about wheels.

Johnny's Christmas morning tradition is assembling any new Legos that have come his way.

the finished product

Caroline made me this beautiful quilt.

Christmas falling on a Sunday made it extra special. It was a calm, beautiful day. John's the only one who made it to Sacrament meeting, though. A week of traveling and the late Christmas Eve activity had the kids exhausted. We didn't open gifts until late morning, when the kids were up and John was home from church. And we loved having Caroline with us.

It's almost March, but Merry Christmas anyway!

Breaking news

We interrupt Christmas memories to bring you our latest trip to the emergency room at Apollo Children's Hospital!

WARNING: Blood ahead

Evie and her friend Aaron, who lives across the driveway from us, love to play on Aaron's enclosed porch, and they love to try to keep Samuel out. Both sets of parents have warned them over and over that it isn't safe to slam the heavy porch door as Samuel's trying to follow them inside. They've been in trouble over it more times than I can count.

Yesterday, the inevitable happened. Evie and Aaron slammed the door just as Samuel put his hand in the frame, and Samuel nearly lost the top of his finger. His middle finger on his left hand was sliced about halfway up the nail bed, and the tip of his finger dangled by a bit of skin. We wrapped his bloody hand with a towel and an ice pack, and John drove me and Samuel to the emergency room at Apollo Children's.

This time, we knew where we were going and how to get there, and that kept panic levels at a reasonable level. (John did sideswipe a truck in a narrow street on the way to the hospital, but nobody seemed to mind that we kept driving.) Olivia, the local nurse who works at the Consulate, met us at the emergency room and shepherded us through the process. She's an angel. It helped that Samuel knows and likes her, too, because he was not pleased to be back in the ER.

The doctor's first thought was that the finger bone had been broken, but X-rays showed that the injury just missed the bone. The tip of his finger was nearly severed, though, and the fingernail was impacted into the finger well below the nail bed. A plastic surgeon had to reconstruct the finger and nail bed and sew it all back together.

If you hate blood, you might not want to look at these photos. I made the worst photos smaller, so if you aren't squeamish you can click on the photo to see it larger. The first is of Samuel's finger before surgery. The doctor had already washed it and moved things back to a relatively correct position. It doesn't capture how bad things looked in real life, so be thankful.

The next two photos are of the doctor performing the procedure. They used a local anesthetic, so Samuel was wrapped in a sheet to keep him still, and John, Olivia and I tried to keep him calm while she worked. Samuel actually did a great job. He cried, of course, but overall he was a trooper.

The next photo is of Samuel's finger after the procedure is done but before it's been dressed. I made this photo small, too, so you'll have to enlarge it if you can stand the detail. Aside from the swelling and the missing fingernail, it looks pretty normal. The doctor said that his finger should look normal again in a year or two. (yikes)

And here's our sad Samuel back at home. I'm glad he hasn't tried too hard to rip off the dressing, because the solution for that was going to be using a sling to pin his arm to his chest. Having his arm free will be a bit more comfortable.

We have to go back to the surgeon on Thursday to see how things are healing. Never a dull moment in Chennai!

Nativity

Christmas is long gone, but you're just going to have to endure a couple of festive posts. Try to muster some Christmas cheer.

Our branch had a party on Christmas Eve, and I have to say I was dreading it. I thought it would be boring and would go on forever and that in the end it would be too late to do anything fun at home. I was so wrong! The party was just what I needed to really feel what Christmas is about.

Each organization performed a skit, and the Primary topped it off with the Nativity. Then we all ate biriyani with our hands and wished each other a "Happy Christmas." It was spiritual and fun. I'm glad we went.

Johnny and Evie all dressed up for their parts in the Nativity. Johnny was a shepherd, and Evie was the angel.

The Relief Society sisters dramatized the story of the wise and the foolish virgins.

Here are shepherds Shaun, Johnny and Ishak warming themselves by a fire. Very realistic, no?

Here's the holy family with a serene angel standing by. Thila, Brindha and Evie

Christmas train

It was the end of Decmeber and 85 degrees outside. We were really feeling the need to get Christmassy. There are a few Christians in India, so the mall did its best to get decked out, and they didn't do a bad job. We took the kids to see the decorations and to do a little shopping for each other.

While Dad and Aunt Carrie took Evie and Samuel for a ride on the Christmas train, I took Johnny to a toy store to pick out something for Evie. He chose a hair and jewelry kit, which she adores. She wears the plastic ring everywhere. Later, Evie chose a fishing game for Johnny. It was really fun to watch them try to decide what to get for each other.

The train chugged around a Christmas display that featured a large nativity scene. I find it fascinating that India, which has all kinds of religions represented in its population, has so little trouble with public displays of faith. The differences are just not that big a deal to most of them (though you do get extremists of every faith). I think it's something our country needs to learn.

Samuel's first haircut

If you've been following these posts, you've probably noticed that Samuel and Johnny were both looking a little shaggy. When we got back to Chennai, priority one was getting them looking a little less like the youngest members of a boy band.

It was Samuel's first haircut (yes, he made it all the way to 2 before needing a haircut!), and as you can see from his expression, it was serious business.

The green on these walls is killing me!

Birthday kolam

Our friend's housekeeper drew this nifty kolam outside their house for their daughter's birthday. You'll notice their house is pink. Sometimes I don't know what GSO is thinking ...