Vanakam! (our new word of the day, which means hello! We know it's a bit basic and it is day six, but we'd been using the northern 'namaste' all this time by mistake. Oh dear)
It's been two days of sharp contrasts. Yesterday we were in the newest shopping mall in town in the fanciest cinema we've ever been to watching the daftest ro-com starring Imran Khan, and today we've been at a leper colony - a name we know sounds strange to our western ears but this tiny village 90 minutes away from central Chennai, that is home for many leprosy sufferers and their families, is still known as such.
The leper colony is another project of CMCT, which provides once again many areas of support to those who live there. What we were particularly interested in was the sewing project, which we found fascinatingly similar to what we are part of at home - a group of women coming together to chat, have tea and bikkies, and sew. The difference today was that we were surrounded by banana trees, stray dogs and the tea had a certain kick. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was Jen's first experience of proper Indian chai! Another big difference though is that for most of the women we met today, the items they were sewing to sell (and they were good) will provide their only chance of income. We were met with the warmth and hospitality that we have become quite used to here in India and for some we were a bit of a tourist attraction ourselves(especially for a one year old who looked downright scared of Lynsey and her red hair!).
So two days, two extremes and two sides of India we are privelidged to have experienced!
Now for today's travel update:
Wrong way down a dual carriage way - twice.
Being led accross train tracks with a train coming - again, not once but twice.
Riding on what must be a land speed record breaking rickshaw - once. Thankfully.
It's been two days of sharp contrasts. Yesterday we were in the newest shopping mall in town in the fanciest cinema we've ever been to watching the daftest ro-com starring Imran Khan, and today we've been at a leper colony - a name we know sounds strange to our western ears but this tiny village 90 minutes away from central Chennai, that is home for many leprosy sufferers and their families, is still known as such.
The leper colony is another project of CMCT, which provides once again many areas of support to those who live there. What we were particularly interested in was the sewing project, which we found fascinatingly similar to what we are part of at home - a group of women coming together to chat, have tea and bikkies, and sew. The difference today was that we were surrounded by banana trees, stray dogs and the tea had a certain kick. Yes ladies and gentlemen, it was Jen's first experience of proper Indian chai! Another big difference though is that for most of the women we met today, the items they were sewing to sell (and they were good) will provide their only chance of income. We were met with the warmth and hospitality that we have become quite used to here in India and for some we were a bit of a tourist attraction ourselves(especially for a one year old who looked downright scared of Lynsey and her red hair!).
So two days, two extremes and two sides of India we are privelidged to have experienced!
Now for today's travel update:
Wrong way down a dual carriage way - twice.
Being led accross train tracks with a train coming - again, not once but twice.
Riding on what must be a land speed record breaking rickshaw - once. Thankfully.
Wow,,,what a time. And how contrasting the experiences. Living, loving and learning, hey. Love the way you write...it's an adventure to follow. x
ReplyDelete