Survived

If you get my drift....: Apposition#comments: "Constricted francophile byways. The barren sea, the sodium winds of its womb, a dilapidated jetty holding on to hope. Walking within. Jaundiced bars of bonhomie - some canopied, some celestial. Apparitions, renegades, saints and the adolescent moon. Long shadows and dark skins.

Pondicherry."

Over a hundred dead.
I survived.
So did Le Cafe, and Qualite Bar.

Yellowing pages of an old book

A thousand years, you said,
as our hearts melted.
I look at the hand you held,
and the ache is hard to bear.
~Lady Heguri
(Translated from Japanese)

Is there anything wrong?

One step closer....

Was able to stand one full Kareina Kapoor song without nausiating.
Have to do it one more time, with my eyes open, and I can write to Vatican.
My application for sainthood.
~Blessed Neel

PS: The world calls her Mother, why bother for sainthood?
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/10/19/1066502068556.html

Old Man and The Fort

Walking through Gingi Fort we stop near a small temple in front of a huge cliff.
A stone in front of the temple has four human heads, A ram (male sheep) and a buffalo.
Klaus points at it with his umbrella to give his interpretation of it.
(Drawing parallels from account given by an early English traveler, some other place some other time)

"Every year one person was selected to be the Human sacrifice. Supposedly for the prosperity of the entire tribe. The chosen one would live the rest of the year like a king. And then on THE day, he would take a bath put on best of jewelry, climb the cliff and calmly jump. On to the stone below. Head first . Crash. Right in front of the whole tribe."

We go "Oh my god!!!" looking at the distance between the top of the cliff and the rock below.

"He is doing it for the god. For the prosperity of his people. He is happy doing it. HE IS HAPPY. One man jumps of the top of a cliff. Another one spends his retired life 5000 miles from home measuring bricks of a fort under hot sun day in day out. HAPPY. Now lets move."

Shy guy

Klaus, born in Austria, speaks mostly French and a little bit of English.
Employed by the French army, taught French in Afghanistan for 10 years.
Studies forts. Loves India.
Certifies Devi Lodge as the cleanest hotel in the country.
Thinks Hotel Everest's Kerla paratha and Chicken Curry make it the Capital for Gastronomical Excellence.
Learnt AutoCAD at the age of 60 to do his maps.
Mapped Gingi fort, knows the origin of each and every brick in the place.
Saturday 4:00 am we land in Senchi(Ginigi), Klaus is already awake, hands me keys to my Rs 50 a day room.
(I am majorly advertising for Devi Lodge, opposite Indian Oil petrol pump on Bangalore Pondicheri road.)
After a short nap we meet in his room for tea.
And then the stories start.
Narrates the whole story of Malik Ambar African slave sold in India who's the real hero of "Hindu Uprising" in the Deccan in late 16th century 50 years before Shivaji was born.
In between the story diverts to all places and times. Drawing parallels in different lands and different eras.
After 3 hours, he turns to me and says "So young man, I see that you are very shy"
Before I could say "but you never let me speak..."
he adds "Its nice being shy sometimes.... But not if you are visiting an old man with lots of stories who has not spoken for 15 days"


(snaps)

Chatrapati Swapnilraje Deopurkar