Today's objectives were not only in opposite directions but opposite in subject matter. First stop was Cuddalore to find an abandoned fort and second stop was to visit an enclave that strives to be a self sufficient, cashless society.
My plan to get up early and see the sunrise was thrawted by me not setting my alarm like I thought I had. I woke up late and rushed down to the beach. It was pretty cloudy, so I"m guessing there was not much of a sunrise. What I DID find was the rongola contest was going on today. Wow. The laides were hard at it. Some alone, some with their daughters helping, some with the husband helping, and one poor lady who had two men telling her what to do.
The designs varied from what I'm guessing is traditional, modern, using more than just the colors --- flowers, mini structures, sand foundations, etc. Others seemed to be making a political statements, such as about all the student suicides here and addiction to social media. I can't post all of the photos here. I took so many. I have no idea how a winner could have been chosen. There were so many talented women there with amazing designs. I had to get back to meet Udhi and get on the road.
Cuddalore is not on most tourist visit lists. Its a medium sized, industrial, crowded city. The allure for me was my interest in American Revolutionary War history. When I lived in Delaware I often attended events at the Hales-Brynes house where Layfayette celebrated his 21st birthday just prior to the Battle of the Brandywine. There I learned for instance, that there were 75 generals in the war -- not just General Washington, a spy named Allen McLane from Delaware dressed as a woman to cross enemy lines when the British occupied Philadelphia, and that the last battle of the war was NOT Yorktown as we are taught in school, but in India.
When I was planning my trip, I was delighted to realize that I was going to be close enough to visit Cuddalore wehre that battle was fought. The exact site is not marked but it certainly included a place called Fort St. David. Originally built by the British to protect their southern Indian intertests. It passed back and forth between the British and the French during the 1700s, with General Dupleix, the father of Pondicherry capturing it at one point. At the time of the revolutionary war, the British and the French were combatants becasue the French were supporting America. The French were holding the fort during the war and the battle ensued over several days due to weather that prevented the naval forces from making attacks. Ultimately the French were successful against the British attack in 1783 nine months after the Treaty of Paris was signed officially ending the American Revolutionary war.
The British retreated to Madras (Chennai) and finally word reached everyone that the war was over. The French abandoned the fort within a few years as they consolidated their Indian holdings in Pondicherry, and the British reoccupied the fort. It is not maintained at all, but since it was such a solidly build building much or it is still intact for the local goats to climb on.
After the viewing the fort, I asked the driver to take me to Silver Beach where I was told there were some monuments to the war. I did find a couple, but one was only in Tamil and the other had been wethered illegible by the sea air. As I walked along the beach, I had some interesteing encounters. A young man who had just finished his chemitsry studies was asking me how to finad a job and emigrate to the US, which I had no clue how to help. He suggested I visit a temple in downtown Cuddalore and I had him put the name into my phone becauseI knew I would forget it or mangle the pronounciation when I asked my driver to take me there.
I aslo saw three adorable girls ono the beach. They were excited to see a white person and said hi. Like the dumbass that I am, I did not get a photo of them. I did manage to capture some photos of the cows hanging out on the beach and the momma dog and her puppies. The sea was choppy, and I could see how the weather would need to be just right for a naval encounter.
From there it was off to the temple. I know my driver thought I was crazy going to the fort and now, he has no doubt. But driver here do what they are asked no matter how nuts they think the client is. It's a weird feeling because in the US, you would have to be pretty wealthy to have a chauffeur at you beck and call.
The temple was extremely old -- about 2000 years. It was build solid. Nothing was going to take out this building, and much of it was very plain. Some was decroated with gold or brass, but it was not nearly as ornate as the temple the Moni had taken me in the day beore in Pondicherry. The exterior figures were not well maintained as the famous temple in Mylapore. I suspect this community just doesnt have the funds. No interior photos are allowed, so I have none of either temple except the exterior.
When a little boy came up to me and said happy birthday, I knew what to do. Take a sweet from him and say happy birthday to him. This had happened the day before with Moni, and, of course, being the suspicious American, I thought it was some kind of scam and I was ready to walk away with my don't F with me game face. But, the custome here on one's birthday is to go to the temple and give away tiny sweets and leave some for the gods.
Since we had extra time before my 1 p.m. assignation at Auroville, I asked the driver to take me to the botanical gardens that I had tried so hard to find yesterday. The entrance was grand, but that was about it. The place is a dump. There is no maintenance here. The little "joy" train for kids like the Marshall Steam Traing at Auburn Heights, were I took the girls when they were small, had clearly not run for some time.
The shrub garden had no shurbs, the greenhouse was falling down, the trails were becoming over grown. And they charged admittance to this place!!! I guess I was a sign that I could not find it the day before to not go. The only item
Of interest was the petrified wood.
By now I was pretty hungry because I had had to leave before the hotel served breakfast. Fortunately outside the garden there were some street vendoer. I as able to buy a cup of watermelon and a cup of cucumber slices. I was fortified for Auroville.
We arrived early, so I texted my guide Nirmal to let him know I was there. He found me and said he was planning to have lunch with his girlfriend, could we keep to the appointed time. I said, of course, and prepared to wait for 30 minutes. People watching was interesting because this place attracts Indians as well as lot foreigners. Auroville was the vision of The Mother to create a universal city where everyone lived in peace and contributed to the community. It is sanctioned by the Indian government and operates as sort of its own state, seperated from rules and taxes.
Nirmal arrived at 1 p.m. as we agreed and the tour began. Auroville opened in 1968 when two representatives from 124 countries came and brought a cup of sand that was mixed when poured into one vessel. It was sponsored by Unesco and very well organized, but the next day everyone was gone except for the few people who were to be the first residents and one of the representatives from Germany. He eventually joined the community and is still living there today in his late 80s.
The main draw is the Matrimindir a globe shaped structured covered in glass tiles containing gold. Inside is a meditation area where only residents are allowed or visitors with a special pass. There is no light inside because there is an opening at the top that channels light to a large crystal ball in the middle of the inside. The light travels past the ball to the bottom of the globe and causes enough reflection that no artifical light is needed.
You can only go to a viewing point of the matrimindir without a guilde who lives in the community. My driver took us from place to place. and again, I'm thinking, he is hating having me as a client. Because I was connected and had Nirmal, I got more of a tour behind the scenes. He showed me their workshop aread where they do industries like wood working and masonry with the boal of minimal environmental impact. Thus there concrete is made from top soil that they remove to get to soil that can support crops and just a small amount of sand. They bake in the sun for two months to harden. Their wood products are made from wood of fallen branches or dead trees.
Originally this area was a barren, desert like space, but since Auroville was formed, they planted many trees, now into second growth, that have created a cooler micro climate. They also take their gray water and filter it underground through porous rocks and then force it into a vortex from where it is spun and tehn released to be used for construction or irrigation.
Nirmal also showed me some of the different housing. There were very modern apartment complexes, townhouses and single dwellings. When a person becomes a part of Auroville after going through an application, vetting, and trial time living there, they do need to bring their own money to build their house, but any other money must be left to relatives, given to charity, etc. before joining the community. They get about 100 applications a year since Covid.
We stopped at their cafe where only their internal card work for payment. It was a nice open air space, a big menu, and quite busy. It was interesting to observe the inhabitiants and see how close their community is. We also disucussed politics and I learned that Nirmal loves animals so we traded pet pictures. He would like to travel to the US someday as many of the people I spoke to.
Next stop was the Matrimindir viewing spot. It is indeed an awesome structure. It is quite a walk to get to, as I saw one resident going. They are in the process of building a moat around it, with which Nirmal is not necessarily in agreement. Of all the things they need to do, he doesn't feel it should be the priority. It's a huge job, too.
I couldn't help having some flashbacks to Jonestown here. It isn't a cult and no one is forced to be any religion, infact that is the point. However, it is an enclosed community and their is a communistic sort of philosophy to it, just like Jonestown. They even have difficult soil to deal with just like they did in Guyana. I told Nirmal about a little uneasiness i have about Auroville because of that. He was, of course, too young to know aobut Jonestown. I sent him a link later.
He left me at the boutiques where they sell what they make in the community. By this time, I was beyond buying any more clothes, but I did find some interesting craft items like votive reflectors, Christmas ornaments, and some food stuffs. But I can't tip my hand too much becasue I got some Christmas presents. :)
From here it was back to the hotel to clean up and rest before heading out to the Cafe Veloute another French restaurant for dinner. For a started I had french onion soup which was sublime. It was not smothered in cheese or over salted as it usualy is in the US. I then had cottage cheese and potatoe croquettes, a fish entree and beet and carrot halwa for dessert. No cognac tonight.
Comentários