Claudia's journal: April 12 was another fantastic day except that I don't even know how to begin to put it into words to start to tell you about it. My mind is racing with everything we saw and did today and the people we met. Jules kept saying that we will never be able to tell people what we have experienced today (or this whole trip) and he's right! But I'll try to begin to scratch the surface. I took more pictures today than any other day in the past four weeks and Jules and I left Miami four weeks ago today. Venkat drove Jules, Nati and I to his village of Chintapally where he was born which was a two hour drive one way but the journey was amazing! Venkat stopped any time we asked him (as always) so we got great pictures. We got to go into a new Hindu temple just before arriving in his village. Before entering, with Venkat explaining every step, we rinsed our feet at the several faucets outside and left our shoes in the designated areas. After we had climbed all the stairs there was an area where Venkat stopped at the entrance and gave Nati, Jules and I each a third eye with the red substance on the table. I have never been in a temple before and it was very large and beautiful and I was shocked to see about 300 people all sitting on the floor. Where were their cars? Ladies were on the right side and men on the left with a small divider in the middle. By the time we got back out to our car my "third eye" red dot was dissolving down the bridge of my nose into a red streak! I think the temperature was over 110 degrees in the sun!
I had packed a lunch for all of us because Venkat told us that there were no restaurants (or restrooms) suitable for us along the way. So we took plenty of tissues, too:) I checked out the restroom on the temple grounds and it had the typical rectangular hole in the floor with a hose nearby on the wall but everything was totally wet in there (that's why they're called wet bathrooms in most of the public toilets) so Nati and I knew we could wait a little longer!
Venkat had told us that his village where he was born and grew up was very poor but we could have never imagined the sights we found. Such poor people but so happy and beautifully dressed and smiling. We met lots of Venky's relatives including his uncle and grandmother and many, many friends from his childhood. Everyone came out to see us and followed us and posed for pictures. It was so much fun. I don't think they ever see any foreigners because Venkey said he was 10 before he saw a foreigner for the first time. It was the greatest experience for us. Kids of all ages posed for pictures and they all ran after us as we walked around the tiny village. The three of us got fantastic pictures. When we left, Venkey's friends and family were all around our car and waved and many held their hands like in a prayer and bowed to thank us. We were greeted like that, too. It's a wonderful country with gentle loving people. Before we left Chintapally Jules, Nati and I all gave Venkat rupees to distribute to his family and they were so grateful.
We looked into the door of his tiny former home where he was born and could see a small room with another doorway. There was no furniture but a cloth spread out on the floor. The kitchen and bathroom were outside. He lost both his parents within just a couple of months when he was 18 years old. I don't know when he left Chintapally but it might have been when he married. His wife is a Christian and he said their marriage wasn't arranged but that it was a "love" marriage.
Venkat had told us that his village where he was born and grew up was very poor but we could have never imagined the sights we found. Such poor people but so happy and beautifully dressed and smiling. We met lots of Venky's relatives including his uncle and grandmother and many, many friends from his childhood. Everyone came out to see us and followed us and posed for pictures. It was so much fun. I don't think they ever see any foreigners because Venkey said he was 10 before he saw a foreigner for the first time. It was the greatest experience for us. Kids of all ages posed for pictures and they all ran after us as we walked around the tiny village. The three of us got fantastic pictures. When we left, Venkey's friends and family were all around our car and waved and many held their hands like in a prayer and bowed to thank us. We were greeted like that, too. It's a wonderful country with gentle loving people. Before we left Chintapally Jules, Nati and I all gave Venkat rupees to distribute to his family and they were so grateful.
We looked into the door of his tiny former home where he was born and could see a small room with another doorway. There was no furniture but a cloth spread out on the floor. The kitchen and bathroom were outside. He lost both his parents within just a couple of months when he was 18 years old. I don't know when he left Chintapally but it might have been when he married. His wife is a Christian and he said their marriage wasn't arranged but that it was a "love" marriage.
Venkat and his grandmother
Venkat told us later that he has never before taken any foreigners into his hometown of Chintapally to meet everyone. We were so honored. And he said that we were also the first people he took home to meet his wife, son, daughter and family and friends in his village of Saidabad when we were invited there for Ugadi last month for the traditional mango naan bread they made us. So sweet of Venkat!!
Next Venkat drove us through fields on a narrow path and when the path got too small due to the overgrown bushes and trees he pulled the car off into the side of an open cotton field. We saw India today like no other tourists ever get to see. Venkat wanted us to taste the fermented fruit that they somehow get the juice to drain into containers high up in these normal looking palm trees. He had been telling us about this for such a long time and we were determined to try it if we had the opportunity. An Indian man suddenly appeared standing in the path ahead of us and we followed him to a spot to pick up his gear for climbing and then farther through another field where he climbed the tree quickly and brought down the juice that had been draining into the containers high above. He poured it into leaves for each of us to taste and kept pouring onto your leaf if you wanted to keep drinking. I just had a taste and it was quite good. Different from anything I've ever tasted. He filled a bottle for us to bring home.
There was a village close to Chintapally called Mall, so we were very amused, and the streets were full of tiny, rustic stores and eateries, none of which we could use, but they looked like the familiar ones that had lined the streets of all the villages we had passed through this past month. Then we stopped on the way home at a school that Venkat knew, where children were outside close to the steps of the building, and Nati and I used the "restroom" which is nothing like you can imagine. There was a row of permanent outhouse type buildings and each housed a hole in the cement filled with leaves and garbage in it. I don't know when they had been used last. Everything was covered in a half inch of red dust. Nati and I had to go so badly by this time because it was 3pm and we had left at 10:30am so we could do this:) The guys had gone along the desolate roadways several times and were waiting out at the car for us. Nati and I had a great laugh and said it might have been easier to go in the field like the guys but Venkat said we couldn't have done that. That wouldn't be "ladylike". That only guys are allowed to do that:)
The last few days of the 4 week stay of Poppy and Claudia, we were driverless :)
The part of town where Venkat, our driver lives, is under curfew as of April 8. The curfew was imposed after communal clashes between arabs and hindus, following the desecration of a Hindu place of worship.
I took advantage of the situation and decided to drive myself. It was my first time driving in India and I actually enjoy it :)
We had such an amazing month with Claudia and Jules, sad it's coming to an end, but excited about our week in Windsor, UK!!!!
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