… finding diamonds in the dog poo
I’ve arrived safe and sound in Chennai … bit of a struggle to find cheap hotels … seems to be a bit of a peak season. First arrived Chennai airport christmas night, nearly 11:30 by the time the baggage arrived. Can honestly say that Chennai airport does not look like a shopping mall. More like the foyer of a skyscraper called India that is bigger on the inside than it is on the out. Left is right, up is down, no is yes, yes is yes. I can see how people get their head done in here, but it seems ok.
Chennai is quite hard core and in your face. Lesson one. Watch out for the auto drivers. I’m sure most of them are cool, many are hustlers, the meters don’t work. Perhaps I’ve just had bad experiences, but I got into a messy ambiguous situation that cost me 500 rs to get out of. Bewre of hidden agendas and loaded help. Lots of great people though, and in spite of the pressure here, I’m getting around without getting badly screwed so far. Lots of people picking up commissions and pressuring you for stuff. Just say no forcefully and politely and consistently.
Then there are the diamonds. Saw a free performance from the Ramayana yesterday. Amazing the way the performance transitioned from recitation to carnatic song. The phrasing and intonation of the spoken parts melded into song truly seamlessly. Entertaining even without a knowledge of the language and only a vague idea of the text. Many of the music lovers have been totally open and friendly quite quickly (as have many of the folk on the street).
Then (with another bit of stress from an auto driver), a performance of Kadri Gopalnath at Sidhi Vinayaker Temple. Just amazing. He has a solid full tone and a warm wonderful presence. The temple setting gives the Karnatic music such a wonderful context. Fortunately found a bus route back to the ramshackle egmore room.
Have had a beautiful morning of walking around… a study in urban decay. Beautiful moments of light and love in the chaos here. There are chalk drawings on the ground, like mandalas on a lot of streets. Chatted with a bicycle water carrier about it. It sounded like he said it was done for passion. Even if I’ve misheard him, I’d let it stand. The overwhelming feeling here is of life in multiple conflicting manifestations: hard, beautiful dangerous, gentle, loving – resolved in some strange way. The smell is quite special. It was described as a blend of urine diesel and flowers. This is close, but something like dung would have to be added. It’s heady and you get used to it. A bit thick though and it stings the eyes after a while.
Just to give you an idea of what it’s like, here are a few adjacent shots from a single spot on a bridge in Sindrapet where Anna Salai (one of the main roads) crosses one of the two main rivers through town. It’s kinda Heironymous Bosch. As soon as the kids see you, they want you to take a photo … after you’ve done that, they want a few rupees…. the traffic is behind me is full on, but the scene on the flood plain of the river could have been unchanged for hundreds of years.
