Poppop VI (Thanjavur)

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.