Tamil Nadu, the South Indian state on the Bay of Bengal, includes Chennai, Mamallapuram, Chengalpattu and Kanchipuram. Here marked the start of my 18 day visit to South India and Sri Lanka with Stalin,
a magnificent guide, and six truly experienced travelers. Our trip, so abundant in its events and aromas, its sights and tastes and textures, goes well beyond my ability to document or encapsulate it. One blogpost will certainly not do.
I’m not going to begin with the beauty shots or even the exotica. I’ll start with just a few images and a very few words taken from Chennai’s George Town, an area of dense and intense wholesale, retail and distribution activities. More than the sounds or the smells or the jostling I experienced here, the attitudes–yes! attitudes–I encountered here foretold all my subsequent interactions with folks I’d met or just rub up against in the rush of life in this remarkable tropical world. Everywhere–even in Kerala, the Upper West Side of South India–people were simultaneously humble in their lives and proud of what they did, determined to get things done but willing to pause when pausing was the only–or most desirable–option.
Yes, I’d return in a minute.
100 kilos
balanced above his grin–
“I work in George Town!”
Age–
and I hope it is not you–
is not me.
The English drive on the left
Americans drive on the right
We drive wherever we can.
You travel so far
to watch me work—
I am honored.
Welcome! 