Home in Mylapore

Mylapore is the oldest residential section of Madras (Chennai). This is where most of my time in India was spent. As soon as I got out of the taxi Sharanay's mom hugged me and welcomed me home like a long-lost relative.

"Karie," she said,"I will treat you like my own daughter. Don't be offended."

Well said. She was astute. After all, our families are often the people who bug us the most, but I knew what she was saying. Guest are treated with distance, family with closeness. That is exactly how I was treated while I was there; like family. It was comforting, happy, stressful, generous, silly, frustrating, charming and enlightening all at the same time.

I got scolded just like a daughter, I got fed, I got cared for...I got an experience most tourists never get. Real home cooked meals, chat's with the neighbors, reading the news in the morning with Tata, watching the kids go to school, laughing with my Desi mom and lots of hugs. Like all families, I wouldn't say that it was un-stressful, but, like real families, it was with the best of intentions and affection.

There are not many things to do in Chennai of major historical importance except live. So, I consider that I got the best of what Chennai has to offer: a family. Here are a few pictures from some unhurried days in Madras...

Relaxing.

Tata on the roof after taking me to visit the neighbors up stairs. I wish I could have taken pictures of them. She is an accountant for an international firm, he works for the World Bank and they have one child. Unlike Westerners they choose to live with their parents in an average, middle-class apartment upstairs from Sharanya's parents. The day we went to visit I sat and talked with the men (and young boy), all in their Doti's   (what Sharanya's Tata is wearing in this picture). Not only was the World Bank employee wearing his Doti, he was shirtless, covered in strips of white ash and wearing his Brahmanical chord and designer specks. 

Children headed to school across the street. I really enjoyed just listening to the goings on and children laughing outside the windows. Every afternoon some of the school boys would strike up a game of Shuttlecock (Badmitten) in the street. 

To say this is the kitchen would be mis-leading. This is more like the dining area. There was a proper kitchen for cooking and a small, separate closet for doing dishes next to this room. But, like any good kitchen, it was the heart of the house and where many of the best conversations took place. 

A huge amount of time was spent at the table relishing Padma's delicious cooking. Now those are some Dosa! For those of you who don't know, Dosa are savory, eggless pancakes. As Brahmins and vegetarians, Sharanya's family does not eat meat or eggs. 

Doing some shopping and going to Parthasarathy temple. I will have more pictures of this temple and of Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore soon.

At the grocery story. Wow - where is all the packaged food? There was a little bit, but nothing like what we have here. 

The pace of life in Madras was very different than the pace of life in the US. Although it is busy, it was not as hurried as here. And Padma and Rajagopal did an amazing job of making us feel like we were not tourists or even guests, but like we were home.