The Journey

Last weekend was amazing. It began by me traveling solo from Mysore to Madras. I plonked my bags at my best friend's place. Her roomie, she and I headed to Mahabalipuram where we saw the famed sculptures carved out of single boulders. The carvings are pretty intricate and the sight is very pretty but the highlight of the visit was a monkey. While we were leaving the place we saw a troop of monkeys and one of them immediately took a fancy to my friend’s roomie. Now this girl is scared of almost every animal. It became very obvious to her that the monkey was eying the bottle in her hand. She threw it at the monkey. The monkey picked it opened the bottle and gulped the juice and looked so pleased! It was a sight. It does not seem hilarious in print but it was incredibly funny.

But before going to Mahablipuram we stopped at the Crocodile Park where I learnt to hold a baby crocodile and also a python. I actually felt the crocodile gulp when I was holding it. The place has hundreds of crocodiles. They look like magnified lizards which they actually are but they don’t make a pretty sight when they are all together. They look rather lazy, content and harmless. Life is so easy for these crocodiles. They sun themselves, dip into the pool, and are fed at intervals and best part is that they don’t have to bother about where they are to live or what they have to do for a living. I wanted to be a crocodile. [Silly whim.]

Haggling comes so naturally to my specie and I mean really. Because women never give into women while bargaining, but the men just accept defeat and I love that about being a girl. : ) After our success at the stores we hit the beach. Every time I am at the beach I just don’t feel like leaving it. I could just stay there for eternity. But we had to head back which we eventually did.

The next day we tramped all over Pondycherry. Which is an amazing place and has some super sights. Starting with Auroville, which is a small place where The Mother saw a vision and hence the Mtramandir[dome] came to be. Now this dome is a very beautiful piece of architecture both inside out. Inside the dome is a meditation room. At the centre of the room a glass dome is placed. From an opening from the top of the dome the sunbeam hits the glass dome which brings in sufficient light for the room. The room in itself feels out of this world. Everything about it is so alien. Since it is the meditation room strict rules on silence are followed. Even the slightest movement made echoes around the room. We are allowed to meditate in there for 15 minutes but even before the time was up I was feeling claustrophobic. But what makes the whole dome prettier are the marble lotus petals that form the base of the globe where the sun beam from the top of the dome hits a smaller globe. [Auroville is an ambitious project. People there are deluded and are hoping to create utopia. But at least somebody is trying.]

We visited a temple famous for its collection of Ganapathi Murthis. There are over a 100 of them. Did you know he was famous all over South East Asia? They have sculptures from different centuries and countries displayed in the temple. But nothing beats the elephant out side the temple. You give it a coin and it will bless you by tapping your head with its trunk. I loved the elephant. She looked so pretty. She had anklets on her fore legs and had a bell necklace and had the prettiest eyes ever and such mighty long lashes. I was more pleased with the elephant than the interiors of the temple.

After that we just went walking all over the place till it was time to finally head back. My week had an excellent start, but that was just the beginning. On Monday my final semester results were finally declared and unlike in the 9^th semester where I did well in just one subject, I aced all papers this time. There is a long story behind how I managed to get things together in the last semester. But that will involve me talking about my lecturers and classmates. Muhahahahaha… not anymore. They are all random people; their existence makes no difference to my life. Technically they are no longer lecturers or classmates ;)

And it is Independence Day today. Could I ask for a better way to end the week?

Jai Hindh people.

P.S: In my current state of euphoria which is not induced by any illegal substance I discovered The journey by Karl Jenkins. I LOVE this song. Love it love it love it. I am just very HAPPY :)