One Week Down

So where did I leave off? I’ve been so busy finishing the paper for the Trichy conference I’ve hardly thought about blogging. So what’s new? Drove over to West Tambaram middle of the week. We picked up some very nice cotton fabric so I could have some shirts made. It’s always been a rush job with too little time, but with months available…we asked the tailor to make just one at first, a kind of audition. If we like his work, he can make the others, too. How luxurious this feels! Grabbed tea and a snack, and then back in the car for a driving tour of West Tambaram. I saw lots of neighborhoods, rich and poor. This is a suburb that’s growing by leaps and bounds. A number of shops in the city have now opened outlets in Tambaram, so it’s becoming a more diverse and interesting place. Still a lot of hustle and bustle, noise, and smells of all kinds.

Virginia tells me my step-daughters were thinking TMI concerning the bowel stuff. They don’t know that this subject is usually one of the first conversation topics to come up when Western tourists meet in India. It’s gradually been going better, by the way, but it takes time. Good friend Joseph reminded me that neither of us is as young as we once were—I told him I didn’t want to hear about it. Sleep is getting better, too. Last night I actually slept for 6 hours straight without looking up to check the clock! It will be good to feel normal again.

Planning is moving forward for the travel I get to do while I’m here. We’re looking at trips to Madurai, Bangalore, Mysore, Thanjavur, Pondicherry, and, when Virginia arrives, to Ooty and Kerala. Everybody is very helpful. They come from many parts of south India, and they want to make sure I have a good experiences when I travel to their home turf, As of Friday, students and faculty are back on campus, and I’m gradually getting to know more of the faculty. There’s a mid-morning break in the class day, and a lot of the faculty gather in the faculty lounge for tea. It’s a really good time to show up for conversation and to meet new colleagues. I’ll have to make a habit of going!

Had a lovely day Saturday. Got to go into Chennai with Dr. Mathivan, Carnatic classical music fan par excellence. First we went to see what little is left of the old MCC campus. Outside of a few remnants of the old hostels (student residence halls), Anderson Church is the only significant college structure still standing. Tantalizing to think what it was like when MCC was very much an urban campus, right across the street from the High Court complex, a huge red brick relic left by the British in the monumental Indo-Saracenic style they favored. By a delightful chance, we ran into Anne Dayanandan, who I hadn’t seen since my first trip to India in 2005 (her husband is a distinguished MCC professor emeritus in botany). Then it was off to Andrews Kirk, built by the Brits along the lines of St. Martin’s in the Field—which we saw in London in March! It has what must be the only pipe organ in south India. Not large, only about 33 ranks, but it would be fun to hear anyway. The organist, as it turns out, is the son of a highly-respected but long-deceased MCC faculty member. I finally got to see the Music Academy, but as it was Saturday, their digital listening archive closed early. So…we’ll have to go back! Then off to see when our concert would start, only to discover it was just beginning. So we sat down and enjoyed the program. Afterward was a special ceremony to honor three of the young artists who had just performed and a senior violin vidwan as well. This is a fascinating and elaborate ritual. Several older respected artists come in for the occasion and each of them spoke at some length about the honorees, their remarks greeted by much laughter and joviality. Then they presented the honorees with their medals and checks with pomp and ceremony and colorful shawls around the neck. And then…one after another a series of well-respected senior artists came up from the audicnce, often made speeches of their own, and also draped the honorees in shawls. And then…the honorees got a chance to talk. Since 90% of what was said was in Tamil, I had to ask Mathivan what they said after the fact. Still, it was fascinating to watch, and well worth seeing how they do it in Chennai. We left after an hour and a half, and they were still going strong! A shame though…I would like to have said hello to Sanjay Subrahmanian. Then we had dinner at the Murugan Idli Shop. They’ve now opened another 3 locations, but we went to the original one. The BEST idly, dosai, and uttapam you’ll ever have! My J-Term students have to experience this. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

That will have to do for now. Thankfully I finally finished my Trichy paper tonight (phew!). And Tuesday is my first lecture, to a group of philosophy students, this time. Wish me well. Sounds like it’s raining outside tonight!