Wow, how time has flown. It seems that Pondicherry and my work here has been all consuming and extremely rewarding. There is not much to say. Pondicherry is a small city that lies on the South East coast of India. It has a strong french association and has to be one the prettiest cities in India and the cleanest !!!I would recommend flying into Chennai and then staying in Pondi to those who would like to start an Indian trip with a gentler introduction. The food here is heaven, or should I say western! Don't get me wrong, I like my curries but the Tamil Nadu district curries are rough and excuse the frankness, taste like vomit. So I was over the moon to find dishes like fish pie, bangers and mash, hash browns, etc......
Kai and I started work at IVC [Indian Volunteer Company] We were asked to put together a play for the remedial school in the evenings and to visit Baby Sarah's Home during the day. Up at 7am, out the door by 8.30am, 10min rickshaw ride to the bus stand and then half an hour drive to Veerampatinam to the orphanage. I can't describe this place because it is bursting with so much love/joy and desperation/pain, that words just don't do it justice. It has been the biggest gift of my trip and even though I spent a meager 3 weeks their, it made a lasting impression. The orphanage holds 105 boys and girls, with a range of disabilities from mental to physical. They are under staffed and therefore rely on some of the more able bodied children to help out and of course the volunteers. My job was simply to interact with the children and listen to them and give them some love. Occasionally I would try teaching a little English, which the boys loved, especially working on diction and making funny vowel sounds. We would leave the orphanage by 3pm and head back to our accommodation for a 2 hour break before heading to the remedial school for 6pm.
The remedial school was great fun and exhausting. The Indian kids lack in the discipline department, especially when it gets so late. Our job here was to rehearse and put on a play about hygiene called, "I'm a germ and I get everywhere!"The kids came up with a simple story and in week 3 we presented it to their parents, who were over the moon to hear their kids speaking English !!
So, it was with great sadness, Kai and I left Pondi and our beautiful kids.
I am not writing too much as I am still processing the time. Will add some more details, perhaps at a later stage.
We left Pondi and headed across India by plane to Trivandrum and then Varkala, a small resort perched on a cliff top with amazing views of the ocean. I have spent the last four days writing my screen play, fighting off a chest infection and scraping the skin off my right shoulder, after a fight with a wave and the sea floor !!! Tomorrow we leave for an Ashram and if I have the strength, will stay there for 2 weeks !! Ugh !!! All in the name of script research.
I will add some pics later but until then goodbye and hopefully write again in 2-3 weeks. XX
No comments:
Post a Comment