My flight from Turkey to India was interesting in that it passed through the tiny island kingdom of Bahrain which is in the gulf of Arabia. This island is only 20 miles wide by 30 miles long, yet it is a central hub and the gateway to the Arab world. I am also told it was one of the first Arabian Nations to discover oil. The airport was perhaps the most interesting airport experience I have ever had in that people from all over the Arab world were there. The clothing and languages around me were fantastic. The airport features all of the usual duty free stuff you might expect, but also many restaurants and even a McDonald's with the name written in Arabic! Interestingly, the airport also included a prayer room for Muslims who need to pray at specific times of the day. The currency is beautiful and I changed a small amount of money so that I could bring some Denari home! It was an incredible way to spend a three hour layover.
I arrived after an overnight flight in Chennai, which is India's fourth largest city. The air was hot and humid and a rain shower erupted as I left the airport. A simple cab ride to where I was staying was an event in itself! The traffic here is incredible, unlike anything I have ever seen in that there do not seem to be any rules, except honk your horn and go like mad. Seriously, I have not seen any accidents, but I wonder. We raced down the streets between mopeds, bicycles and three wheeled taxis that sound as if they run on lawnmower engines, large Bedford trucks left over from the British days, buses, you name it. Pedestrians of all ages walk in and out of the traffic, and when the light turns, the horns begin to blare and everyone drives into the intersection at once.
This is a place of interesting juxtapositions and as foreign as Turkey seemed this is even more so. Internet cafes and cell phone providers are next to filth in the streets, garbage and refuse. High tech executives and women in spotless sari's walk along with the untouchables, who paw through the garbage, wear rags and have no shoes. Cows wander the sides of the road and one I saw one person milking a cow along a busy intersection. It all blends together into a plethora of sights, sounds and smells that are overwhelming and I am struggling to make sense of it all.
One of the delights of my first day was seeing school kids being dropped off by their parents. It seems that this ritual goes on everywhere, but here I saw a father driving a motorcycle with FOUR kids on it through traffic! Kids in uniforms go hand in hand. Some schools are public, some are private. My first few nights were in the apartment of a friend who has some rooms at the school for the deaf. The kids are adorable and the people here are (in my opinion) among the most beautiful in the world.
I wandered the streets in the afternoon of my first day, trying to take it in and not get myself killed by the traffic. I came upon the Basilica of St. Thomas the doubter who brought Christianity to India in 58 AD. The church houses his remains in its basement. There is also a shrine here where Thomas was martyred in 70 and with his hand print in the wall. I plan to go there too. Alongside the road are small shrines to Hindu gods and they show up in a variety of unexpected places. With literally thousands of Gods, there are so many things about this ancient religion that I am sure it could take a lifetime to understand them. Instead however, I am having the time of my life.
On Friday I was taken by the Rev. Baba Rao to a special prayer service at his parish of St. Luke. Baba is a friend of Randy Giles, whose flat I was staying at and he wanted me to come with him. He picked me up on Friday evening and along with his wife and daughter, we went to the home of a member of his parish whose son was leaving for the United States later that evening to work in San Jose. I watched as Baba blessed the young man and I was honored to be a part of such an intimate meeting. I offered my wishes for him as well. What a different life he will have....outside his home as we left, there were people gathered at a small Hindu shrine, men stripped to the waist, lighting candles in the sultry night air.
When we arrived at Baba's church, I was ushered inside his home (after I made friends with his pooch Jojo). I met Baba's mother and a man named Charlie who is sort of an itinerant musician who moves throughout the South Indian diocese. He was a school chum of Baba's and was going to lead the service. Inside the church, I took my shoes off and went barefoot on the cool concrete floor. The women sat on one side and the men on the other all barefoot which is really the way of doing things here. Chennai is very conservative. Baba opened the service with prayers and then Charlie took over. He has a beautiful "reedy" singing voice that works well with the style of music he sings. He was accompanied by a fantastic keyboard player and a tabla player also. In addition to singing, Charlie preached in Tamil (the language of this region) in a humorous and engaging way and played the flute as well, moving effortlessly between speech and song. He even re-told bits in English for my benefit. There were moments of question and answer and the liturgy was participatory. The time flew by.
At the end of the service, Charlie and the other musicians were brought up and given beautiful silk scarves to thank them for coming. Chennai is the place in India for silk and it is famous in this region. I was not at all prepared to be asked to stand up myself, but I was, and was immediately wrapped in a beautiful orange scarf by the men in the congregation! They then shook my hands. It was a moving welcome to say the least and the symbolism was powerful.
I then met members of the community afterwards who simply wanted to talk and to greet me. Some offered prayers, most wanted to just talk to me and see what I thought. It was great.
After the service, I was asked back to Baba's house for dinner with his family. The meal was delicious and the flavors indescribably complicated. There were at least four courses and each one had at least three sauces to go with it, from onion and yogurt sauce, to cardamom sauce, to sauces with garlic and chili's to coconut chutney. I cannot describe it all except to say that the cuisine is as rich, deep and complex as the culture and society found here. I cannot think of a better introduction!
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