Janice: (Dec. 30, 6 p.m.)
Another day of just driving from one place to another, except for
some concern raised by the weather. We left Kochi at 9 a.m. and got
here around 3:30. As you may know (or may not), there was a cyclone
in the area around Chennai and Pondicherry, whose effect extended to
Thanjavur (abbreviated T'vur fron now on). When we reached Trichy, it
started raining and rained almost all the way. The drive told us that
access to T'vur may be difficult. But we got here fine and the rain
had stopped. Driving in Tamil Nadu is a lot better than in Kerala.
Kerala is totally congested. A whole series of different towns with
no breaks. The congestion of traffic was the reason we felt quite
anxious about the driving conditions. Today, the driving pattern was
the same but we had long stretches with very little traffic and we did
not feel the same anxiety as we did yesterday.
This hotel about which I had some misgivings (because of its price:
the total cost of two rooms for two nights is less than what we paid
for a single night in Kochi) turns out to be quite nice and it is
centrally located. The beer store is only a block away. A clothing
store (I needed to buy some T shirts, called "banians" here) is just a
few feet away. The staff are pleasant and helpful and the rooms are
reasonably spacious. The lighting is dim, however. The hotel is
Christian-owned. I should have known that from its name: Gnanam,
which means "enlightenment", a term used by the Tamil Christians for
those who have accepted Jesus. I thought it was in honor of my dear
departed sister Gnana (the enlightened one)!
Chandran has a bad cold today. Mine lasted only one day and I hope
he is equally lucky.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Pop pop V
(Dec 29 5:30 p.m.)
The only thing we did today was to leave Kochi at 9 a.m. and drive
to Coimbatore (about five and a half hours). It was scary. The
drivers have no sense of danger and when they decide to pass, they
simply move into the right lane. There were a couple of close shaves.
Our driver was no better than the rest of them. Even though we were
in no hurry at all, he was driving as if we were being rushed to a
hospital. Chandran, in particular, feels that he was putting other
drivers at risk by driving off auto rickshaws and motor bikes off the
road and playing chicken with oncoming traffic. There is no point in
telling him not to drive so fast because it is in his nature to drive
like that. The reason Indians are so religious and have so much faith
in God is because it is only God's will that they do not meet bad
accidents on the road.
Thanks for the pictures of the snow on the deck and Noah and Hannah.
My Indian bank account is working as smoothly as in the U. S. I
went to a branch just a block away from here and withdrew $1000 with
no hitch at all! All establishments accept rupees from me without any
question.
A funny incident: Yesterday, when we were on the boat in the
backwaters of Kerala and stopped for lunch. We were taken to this
little building and sat down at our tables. A guy brought banana
leaves and put one in front of each of us. Nicky asked Sara what it
was and she said it was a banana leaf. And Nicky began worrying that
he was supposed to eat it and started fussing. He was quite relieved
that he didn't have to do that.
The only thing we did today was to leave Kochi at 9 a.m. and drive
to Coimbatore (about five and a half hours). It was scary. The
drivers have no sense of danger and when they decide to pass, they
simply move into the right lane. There were a couple of close shaves.
Our driver was no better than the rest of them. Even though we were
in no hurry at all, he was driving as if we were being rushed to a
hospital. Chandran, in particular, feels that he was putting other
drivers at risk by driving off auto rickshaws and motor bikes off the
road and playing chicken with oncoming traffic. There is no point in
telling him not to drive so fast because it is in his nature to drive
like that. The reason Indians are so religious and have so much faith
in God is because it is only God's will that they do not meet bad
accidents on the road.
Thanks for the pictures of the snow on the deck and Noah and Hannah.
My Indian bank account is working as smoothly as in the U. S. I
went to a branch just a block away from here and withdrew $1000 with
no hitch at all! All establishments accept rupees from me without any
question.
A funny incident: Yesterday, when we were on the boat in the
backwaters of Kerala and stopped for lunch. We were taken to this
little building and sat down at our tables. A guy brought banana
leaves and put one in front of each of us. Nicky asked Sara what it
was and she said it was a banana leaf. And Nicky began worrying that
he was supposed to eat it and started fussing. He was quite relieved
that he didn't have to do that.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Pop pop IV
Janice: (Dec 27. 8:30 p.m.)
Laura wants me to tell you she is having a great time in India and
has made friends here.
It is warm and humid. This morning we went to an area of Kochi (about
a mile away from the hotel) and even though Chandran suggested our
walking over there we took our van. We went to the "Jew Town" (Yes,
that is its official name and there are signs). The Jews moved to
Kerala in the mid 16th Century when they were kicked out of Goa. The
Kerala king gave them asylum and they established an area in town.
When Israel was created, most of them moved to Israel but they left
lots of their stuff behind. So there are lots of antique stores. One
of stores had a reclining Ganesha (not an antique) and costs only
$5000 and I felt that we should have that in a specially designed
platform at Brockport. That is our anniversary present! Chiara, Sara
and Laura went shopping in that area. Chandran and I (and NIcky)
found an excellent book shop. Kochi is a touristy kind of town. The
number of westerners is quite large.
We had an excellent lunch (the best aviyal so far) and then we
returned to the hotel. To say I was sapped and just wanted to lie
down is an understatement. In the late afternoon, there was a plan to
go to a basilica but we wisely decided we won't. We went to a
restaurant called the Menorah for dinner (one of the few places with
wine and beer). As you can guess by the name, there was a menorah and
a rabbi came and said some prayers and lit the candles. The food was
very good. Even the wine was tolerable. Then they had live music
with a flute and tabla.
Tomorrow early morning (6:30 a.m.) we are off on an organized
outing where we first go to an elephant training camp (which is where
the elephants from Trichy are!) and then on a backwater boat tour.
Sara heard from Padma (who is in Kottayam) but looks like we will
not see them.
On Thursday, we are taking off for Coimbatore.
It was really nice hearing from you. Thanks for the pictures.
Couple of things. The film reporter for the Times of India is Mini
Anthkad-Chhibber! Could she be a relative? The couple we mentioned
last night (from Rochester): he is the youngest faculty member in the
department and so you may not know him. His name is Greg Halpern (not
sure about the spelling of the last name). Their parents came today;
they flew from Trivandrum to Kochi and it took them an hour and a half
to get to the hotel from the airport. The father is a professor at
SUNY/Buffalo and he knows Chandran's advisor! At this rate, we may
well find that they are an arm of the Riddle family!
We are generally having a good time. Chiara is a total saint! Laura
is very easy.
Say hello to everyone! Tell Noah that I really missed seeing him
and we will definitely see him in Senegal.
Love
ELH
Laura wants me to tell you she is having a great time in India and
has made friends here.
It is warm and humid. This morning we went to an area of Kochi (about
a mile away from the hotel) and even though Chandran suggested our
walking over there we took our van. We went to the "Jew Town" (Yes,
that is its official name and there are signs). The Jews moved to
Kerala in the mid 16th Century when they were kicked out of Goa. The
Kerala king gave them asylum and they established an area in town.
When Israel was created, most of them moved to Israel but they left
lots of their stuff behind. So there are lots of antique stores. One
of stores had a reclining Ganesha (not an antique) and costs only
$5000 and I felt that we should have that in a specially designed
platform at Brockport. That is our anniversary present! Chiara, Sara
and Laura went shopping in that area. Chandran and I (and NIcky)
found an excellent book shop. Kochi is a touristy kind of town. The
number of westerners is quite large.
We had an excellent lunch (the best aviyal so far) and then we
returned to the hotel. To say I was sapped and just wanted to lie
down is an understatement. In the late afternoon, there was a plan to
go to a basilica but we wisely decided we won't. We went to a
restaurant called the Menorah for dinner (one of the few places with
wine and beer). As you can guess by the name, there was a menorah and
a rabbi came and said some prayers and lit the candles. The food was
very good. Even the wine was tolerable. Then they had live music
with a flute and tabla.
Tomorrow early morning (6:30 a.m.) we are off on an organized
outing where we first go to an elephant training camp (which is where
the elephants from Trichy are!) and then on a backwater boat tour.
Sara heard from Padma (who is in Kottayam) but looks like we will
not see them.
On Thursday, we are taking off for Coimbatore.
It was really nice hearing from you. Thanks for the pictures.
Couple of things. The film reporter for the Times of India is Mini
Anthkad-Chhibber! Could she be a relative? The couple we mentioned
last night (from Rochester): he is the youngest faculty member in the
department and so you may not know him. His name is Greg Halpern (not
sure about the spelling of the last name). Their parents came today;
they flew from Trivandrum to Kochi and it took them an hour and a half
to get to the hotel from the airport. The father is a professor at
SUNY/Buffalo and he knows Chandran's advisor! At this rate, we may
well find that they are an arm of the Riddle family!
We are generally having a good time. Chiara is a total saint! Laura
is very easy.
Say hello to everyone! Tell Noah that I really missed seeing him
and we will definitely see him in Senegal.
Love
ELH
Monday, December 26, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Pop pop III
Janice: (Christmas Eve; 10 p.m.)
We spent 11 hours getting from Trichy to Trivandrum. The first 6
hours were a breeze: it was like driving on the NY Thruway (except for
one bottleneck situation near Madurai). Then we got on this 2 lane
road that went through several villages and we were essentially
creeping; in one town, it was standing for several minutes and then
moving for one. There was also an unnecessary delay at the border
where we had to pay a tax of Rs. 1000 because ours was not a private
car; it took 20 minutes to make the payment and wait for their
computer to print the permit. All this delay paled in significance
when we entered Trivandrum. Traffic was inching along and there were
two sections of the road where there had been flooding from rain today
with water knee deep. People were wading through the water and our
driver was worried about the engine stalling. Finally we got to the
hotel around 8:30 p.m. We were all loudly praising God for getting us
to our destination at last (of course, it was God who also made it
rain!).
Nothing else to report. I hope you are having a very fine
Christmas Eve dinner with the rest of the family. Tell them all that
we miss being there and wish them all a very merry Christmas.
Love
ELH
We spent 11 hours getting from Trichy to Trivandrum. The first 6
hours were a breeze: it was like driving on the NY Thruway (except for
one bottleneck situation near Madurai). Then we got on this 2 lane
road that went through several villages and we were essentially
creeping; in one town, it was standing for several minutes and then
moving for one. There was also an unnecessary delay at the border
where we had to pay a tax of Rs. 1000 because ours was not a private
car; it took 20 minutes to make the payment and wait for their
computer to print the permit. All this delay paled in significance
when we entered Trivandrum. Traffic was inching along and there were
two sections of the road where there had been flooding from rain today
with water knee deep. People were wading through the water and our
driver was worried about the engine stalling. Finally we got to the
hotel around 8:30 p.m. We were all loudly praising God for getting us
to our destination at last (of course, it was God who also made it
rain!).
Nothing else to report. I hope you are having a very fine
Christmas Eve dinner with the rest of the family. Tell them all that
we miss being there and wish them all a very merry Christmas.
Love
ELH
Friday, December 23, 2011
More from Pop pop
Jayanthi has been here all the time we have been here. She is
leaving for Bangalore by train tonight (to visit Venkat's family) and
then fly from there to Hyderabad. Her school starts Monday. She has
received a very prestigious award from the Government of the Andhra
Pradesh state as the scientist with the most significant
contributions. She didn't tell me that of course; Tulasi did. Having
Jayanthi around made so much difference. She and Sara did a fair
amount of shopping today at Lakshmi Silk House and Saratha's in the
town. Saris, blouse, salwar kameez.
This morning, we went and picked up Kalyanam then went to Woriur.
The outside of the house is exactly the same except for a new coat of
paint (light cream color). The octagonal living room and the upstairs
room are left untouched, but just about everything else is being
totally redone. Lot of people working on it. The entrance to the left
half portion (where my mother used to live) has been blocked off with
a new wall. The owners have rented it out to an orthopedist (a "bone
doctor" as he is called) but he has not moved in.
Then we went to the bank. I was able to withdraw enough money to
pay for our van rental. The manager was very nice and extremely
helpful.
Around 11:15 we left the bank, being late to reach Kannan's house
by a mere half an hour. One gets used to not worrying about being
punctual. Earlier I had contacted Jayanthi (by phone) to ask her
whether she wanted to go to Kannan's for lunch; she said no because
she was going to have lunch with her mother (being her last day in
Trichy)! So, imagine my astonishment on entering Kannan's house and
seeing Tulasi there. She was invited by Rajee (Kannan's wife) and
decided to come. Jayanthi did not, however. We had a most excellent
meal. Rajee is an outstanding cook of traditional South Indian
brahmin food.
After lunch, we drove to Tulasi's, dropped her off and picked up
Jayanthi and went into the center where all the shops are. Chandran
took the twins to somewhere where they could run around, while the
remaining four of us went shopping. After shopping, we drove back to
Tulasi's. Tulasi's sister in law came for a visit; she is so nice.
We stayed for a short time and then we returned to the hotel.
The Tamil Nadu Kerala border situation seems to have eased and so
we will be going to Kerala tomorrow.
leaving for Bangalore by train tonight (to visit Venkat's family) and
then fly from there to Hyderabad. Her school starts Monday. She has
received a very prestigious award from the Government of the Andhra
Pradesh state as the scientist with the most significant
contributions. She didn't tell me that of course; Tulasi did. Having
Jayanthi around made so much difference. She and Sara did a fair
amount of shopping today at Lakshmi Silk House and Saratha's in the
town. Saris, blouse, salwar kameez.
This morning, we went and picked up Kalyanam then went to Woriur.
The outside of the house is exactly the same except for a new coat of
paint (light cream color). The octagonal living room and the upstairs
room are left untouched, but just about everything else is being
totally redone. Lot of people working on it. The entrance to the left
half portion (where my mother used to live) has been blocked off with
a new wall. The owners have rented it out to an orthopedist (a "bone
doctor" as he is called) but he has not moved in.
Then we went to the bank. I was able to withdraw enough money to
pay for our van rental. The manager was very nice and extremely
helpful.
Around 11:15 we left the bank, being late to reach Kannan's house
by a mere half an hour. One gets used to not worrying about being
punctual. Earlier I had contacted Jayanthi (by phone) to ask her
whether she wanted to go to Kannan's for lunch; she said no because
she was going to have lunch with her mother (being her last day in
Trichy)! So, imagine my astonishment on entering Kannan's house and
seeing Tulasi there. She was invited by Rajee (Kannan's wife) and
decided to come. Jayanthi did not, however. We had a most excellent
meal. Rajee is an outstanding cook of traditional South Indian
brahmin food.
After lunch, we drove to Tulasi's, dropped her off and picked up
Jayanthi and went into the center where all the shops are. Chandran
took the twins to somewhere where they could run around, while the
remaining four of us went shopping. After shopping, we drove back to
Tulasi's. Tulasi's sister in law came for a visit; she is so nice.
We stayed for a short time and then we returned to the hotel.
The Tamil Nadu Kerala border situation seems to have eased and so
we will be going to Kerala tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
From Pop pop
Janice: (Monday, Dec,19, 6 p.m.)
Good to hear that I am valuable (or more correctly, my absence is
missed). The hotel has free internet cable connection in the room and
it works very well. I am glad I brought my laptop. Sara has her
i-phone and uses it for internet and e-mail, but she cannot use it to
make phone calls.
We did not do anything this morning; the kids slept till 9 and we
had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. If you want to see me eat a
huge breakfast, you should come to one of these restaurants. They had
South Indian dishes as well as western dishes (including an omelet
made to order). Our driver showed up around 1:30 (significantly late
to the point of our getting worried) but when I mentioned the
lateness, he said that the Temple doesn't open till 4 p.m. and implied
that there was no need to start too early). He is very nice and we
like him. He is probably 40. He is going to try to get my phone
unlocked and put a simcard in through one of the many phone stores
here. Right now, we don't have access to a cell phone; only e-mail.
We first went to a shrine near here in honor of St. Thomas, who was
one of Jesus's apostles and came to Madras in 53 A.D. and established
the Christian Church. He was killed in 72 A.D. After the shrine
(which is the oldest Christian church in India), we went and had lunch
at Madras Woodlands restaurant (attached to the same hotel where K2
and I stayed in 2008). Excellent food. Then we went to the
Kapaleeswaran Temple and then came back to the hotel around 6.
Everyone is fine and the twins are coping quite well. They are
watching TV now: cartoon shows with Tamil dialog.
I got Venkat's phone number from Jayanthi and talked to him a few
minutes ago. He is coming here to the hotel in another hour.
Jayanthi also told me that Kalyanam had a fall and hurt his shoulder;
so they are still in Madras and going to Trichy on Thursday (instead
of today, Monday). I talked to Kalyanam. He slipped and fell when he
got out of the shower (at Priya's house). There was no fracture but
his shoulder bone got pushed into a portion of his neck. The doctor
suggested that he needs pain killers and physical therapy. He has no
pain and seems fine. We will see him on Thursday. Incidentally, the
people who bought the Woriur house are not razing it down. The guy
told Kalyanam that they are doing some interior renovations and
leaving the outside as it is. This is very heartening news indeed.
We will be seeing that house on Friday.
Feel free to forward this e-mail and future ones to K1 and K2.
Love
ELH
Good to hear that I am valuable (or more correctly, my absence is
missed). The hotel has free internet cable connection in the room and
it works very well. I am glad I brought my laptop. Sara has her
i-phone and uses it for internet and e-mail, but she cannot use it to
make phone calls.
We did not do anything this morning; the kids slept till 9 and we
had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant. If you want to see me eat a
huge breakfast, you should come to one of these restaurants. They had
South Indian dishes as well as western dishes (including an omelet
made to order). Our driver showed up around 1:30 (significantly late
to the point of our getting worried) but when I mentioned the
lateness, he said that the Temple doesn't open till 4 p.m. and implied
that there was no need to start too early). He is very nice and we
like him. He is probably 40. He is going to try to get my phone
unlocked and put a simcard in through one of the many phone stores
here. Right now, we don't have access to a cell phone; only e-mail.
We first went to a shrine near here in honor of St. Thomas, who was
one of Jesus's apostles and came to Madras in 53 A.D. and established
the Christian Church. He was killed in 72 A.D. After the shrine
(which is the oldest Christian church in India), we went and had lunch
at Madras Woodlands restaurant (attached to the same hotel where K2
and I stayed in 2008). Excellent food. Then we went to the
Kapaleeswaran Temple and then came back to the hotel around 6.
Everyone is fine and the twins are coping quite well. They are
watching TV now: cartoon shows with Tamil dialog.
I got Venkat's phone number from Jayanthi and talked to him a few
minutes ago. He is coming here to the hotel in another hour.
Jayanthi also told me that Kalyanam had a fall and hurt his shoulder;
so they are still in Madras and going to Trichy on Thursday (instead
of today, Monday). I talked to Kalyanam. He slipped and fell when he
got out of the shower (at Priya's house). There was no fracture but
his shoulder bone got pushed into a portion of his neck. The doctor
suggested that he needs pain killers and physical therapy. He has no
pain and seems fine. We will see him on Thursday. Incidentally, the
people who bought the Woriur house are not razing it down. The guy
told Kalyanam that they are doing some interior renovations and
leaving the outside as it is. This is very heartening news indeed.
We will be seeing that house on Friday.
Feel free to forward this e-mail and future ones to K1 and K2.
Love
ELH
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Spotted!: Ricky Gervais
An extremely engrossed Ricky Gervais spotted at the Messiah in Bath!
He got a box. Front left one.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Clever Title
Hi everybody. It's been awhile. I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. It seemed to be a good one this year , from what I witnessed. I know I had a good time. I went to see breaking dawn with my roommate. I can safely say it was as the book. I do have to admit that the actors sucked less than the last movie. Except for Kristen Stewart, I don't understand her. Literally, she can't seem to finish a thought and she is always mumbling and looking at the ground. My favorite part was when Bella goes into labor, it was hilarious. I'm laughing just thinking about it. Taylor Lautner was only shirtless like twice, or not even. It was a little disappointing.
Anywho, yesterday was the last day of classes for me. I have exams relatively spread out between now and the 16th. This semester had its ups and downs, but overall not so bad. I'm really looking forward to going home for Christmas. I have so many things to do when I get home and thankfully I'll have time to do them. Although one of the things is a doctors appointment and I'm not looking forward to that.
Nothing too exciting has happened, unless you count the fact that Susi got an iPhone. If you don't then yeah nothing exciting has happened. Ooo wait I forgot that I got a postcard from Hannah. That was exciting. My first letter. I don't remember what it said. Umm I'm running out of things to say. Hey does anyone know who that person is in Noah's profile picture on facebook. I'm 99.98% sure that it is not Noah.
Ok I'll leave you with a qoute from possibly the greatest book on earth.
"Always."
Five bucks to the person who can guess the person who said this.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
London
We are at the Crescent Hotel, Loved the flight to Toronto, sun was setting, we essentially wenWest over land, river that I did not recognize, edge of the Lake. There were 7 of us on the 18 setter plane.
Got of Oyster pass for the Underground, The Tube ride was almost an hour from Heathrow. We are staying in the same room on the first floor as we did on the trip when Brenda and Don were with us. Nice room.
Got of Oyster pass for the Underground, The Tube ride was almost an hour from Heathrow. We are staying in the same room on the first floor as we did on the trip when Brenda and Don were with us. Nice room.
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