10.19-22 - "Looming" large in the land of silk

I wasn't sure how to attack...

          Things were pretty laid back at MCC this past Wednesday and Thursday. I kept up my post-lecture routine of going for a run around campus. I'm just now starting to get used to the thick humidity. I have a feeling the air in South Carolina is going to feel thin and crisp when I return stateside in December. While on my run, I saw a mongoose dart into the woods, which brought back childhood memories of watching the cartoon adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. We also ventured over to the athletic fields to play ultimate frisbee. Multiple MCC students stopped to watch us play as they were walking by. A large group of Americans running around and tossing a disk must have been an exotic sight. We'll have to teach the students how to play eventually.

          Teatime is one of the best parts of the day. Every afternoon around 5 PM, our cooks put out a thermos of hot, subtly sweet tea. The tea is accompanied by an assortment of Indian cookies including "Good Day" and "Nice Time." Oreos are also served occasionally. Instead of "milk's favorite cookie," Oreos in India are marketed as "the world's most popular biscuit."

          This past Friday was one of the best days of the trip so far. We finally got a taste of Indian village life got the chance to interact with the locals. We left MCC early in the morning and traveled to the famous silk selling town of Kancheepuram. The girls spent the morning shopping for their Diwali sarees. After the final selections were made, we stopped at a local vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Suresh recommended that I order the dosa and I was shocked when the massive, crepe-like creation was placed in front of me. After several awkward attempts at mastication and deglutition, I resorted to the break-and-dip method. 

          Lunch was followed by a stop at the small village of Cheyyar, where we got to go on a tour of the place where the silk becomes sarees. It was amazing to see the expert weaver skilfully operate the loom with machine-like precision. The saree that the weaver was working on when we arrived was being made of bright pink silk and gold thread. Apparently, sarees of this quality can take up to 50 hours to complete and sell for around 2,500 rupees ($500).

          The next stop in the village was a pottery/brick making area. After the potter gave a demonstration of his craft, he let Tori and Alexa try their hands at the wheel. I could tell that the locals who had gathered around to watch were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle based on their toothy smiles and hearty laughs. It was  nice to hang out with local Indians who were genuinely interested in interacting, not pandering for handouts like the people in the city.

          We drove from the village to Suresh's in-laws house for a quick snack and then went to watch a live dance drama performance arranged by Suresh's father-in-law. The rooftop performance was colorful, lively, engaging, and enjoyable. 

          Throughout the day, we saw hoards of men dressed in white standing in the streets, waiting to hear the results of the municipal elections. I was impressed by the intense commitment to political activism. Even when we were driving back to MCC at midnight, hundreds of men lined the streets of every town we passed through. 

         Saturday was a dramatic change of pace from the relaxing village vibe - we traveled into the bustling heart of downtown Chennai. I was expecting the city to be brimming with trash and refuse, but the wide city streets were surprisingly devoid of trash. Immense construction projects were underway including a gigantic cricket stadium and impressive music auditorium. I was Sony, Adidas, and Nike stores as well as BMW, Mercedes, and Audi dealerships. We eventually rolled up to the largest mall in Chennai. With Diwali next week, we were essentially shopping at a mall in New York the week before Christmas - lots of people! It was impressive to see an urbanized center and I was finally able to see why India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world.