Soul of India : Part 3

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When we travel to any region in the world, the warmth we get and the experience we savor is often linked to the history of the place, and the culture, cuisine, and language and human behavior, are often derived and polished and adapted, ?across centuries.

In continuation with Part 2 of this series, this one is a narration about the personal warmth we experienced, during our Tamil Nadu trip:

The previous article is referenced here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/sou-india-part-2-ullas-ponnadi/

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Trichy or Tiruchirapally, has a special place in Mini’s heart. Her father used to work for Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited(BHEL), a well-established Public Sector company, in India, that clocks about 3 billion USD revenue now. They lived in the BHEL integrated Township, and her early schooling was in the same township. A visit to the township hence was a must, for her.

We reached the hotel quite early, our check in time was 12.00 NOON and it was a Sunday. The lady at the reception requested us to wait and said we can get the room by 9.30 AM, after they complete the room cleaning once the overnight guests had vacated.

At about 9.45 AM, we checked in , a nice clean room, sufficient for the two of us. The staff helped with our luggage; pleasant behavior, ?and ?in a whiff, the frustration of the wait was over!

After a decent breakfast, and some rest after lunch, we decided to go shopping, and defer all sightseeing to the next day. Fortunately, we were just behind one of the buzzing commercial areas, and most shops were within walking distance.

Thus started an experience of a few hours, where Mini stepped into a few shops, purchased fancy jewelry from a mom-and-pop shop, that was infinitely patient to her choices, and believed it was a bargain, when we paid the bill. I was not too sure, but then, the spouse is always right!

An early dinner at the restaurant attached to our hotel ensured that we get quality rest, before the travels planned for the following day.

Breakfast was at the same restaurant. We were a little late, the restaurant was almost empty, and as we were seated, we heard a couple, speaking about music, and trying to understand Indian music from the staff at the restaurant. Mini and I are great lovers of music, so we went near them, and then realized that it was a French elderly couple, who explore India on and off, and happened to be in that region, this time of the year.

Well, we spoke for quite some time about various forms of Music of India, Classical, folk, South and North, instruments that are native to India, and the structure of music and music creation. They were fascinated, and promised to share some of the work they were involved with. And I guess they were happy and were kind enough to invite us to France, and spend some time with them, when that happens.

We parted after our breakfast and then took an auto rickshaw to visit a few temples.

The auto driver was our first guide, who gave us some insights into the city and its culture, and since we understood Tamil, it was easy for us to follow. It was a lean morning, we were lucky, and could tour the first Vishnu temple very quickly. As most temples in India have, they had a delicious assortment of fresh food, at very reasonable prices, Rs 10 per dish. Mini wanted to try them all, and I decided to try a few.

No restaurant or hotel can serve such tasty food, this is what I have noticed across temples in India, fresh, delicious, tasty food, simple, served with utmost love, and simply satisfying! Mini was happy, and I need not say, I was too.

Our next destination was the powerful Shiva temple. This temple was crowded, and when we reached, it was closed for the morning Pooja. We waited patiently for about an hour, and then were let in. The entrance to most of such temples inner sanctum is narrow and small, and one can only spend a few minutes inside. We did enter, prayed, and then exited by about 1 PM. That done, we purchased some prasadams(offerings to the deity) and started back to the hotel.

Well, I forgot to tell you that when I was to undergo a surgery in the month of August 2022, I got connected to Dr Vijay, a young, dynamic, empathetic GI surgeon, who had done his PG in the same hospital where I was to undergo the surgery. He became my advisor, mentor, friend, and guided me sincerely through the entire process, and the help I needed during the recovery phase. ?Dr Vijay was Trichy based and had taken up a position with Appolo Hospitals there, prior to our visit. His intention being to give back to the region and community that he grew up in, and the fact that his parents lived there. He insisted that we visit him when in Trichy, and we had to!

Dr Vijay, and his parents, live in one of the best parts of the city. A beautiful house, with lush greenery all around, they welcomed us with open arms, as we reached their house in the evening. We were for sure in for a few surprises.

Dr Vijay’s father was a professor in one of the best engineering colleges of India, that is based out of Trichy. He is now on his own, has about 60 people working with him, and primarily helps with soil and environmental testing related work. Into his 70s, a dynamic person, with whom I had long conversations around Academia, Learning, Teaching and Entrepreneurship. Mini also bonded well with them, and we had wonderful conversations all along.

The surprise in store was what his mother had personally cooked for us. Dosa, with a variety of side dishes, some that were exclusive to that region, and all made at home. That we overate, and they did not want to stop feeding us. Possibly the tastiest dinner I have ever had, for a very long time. We ended with a ?dessert that is the specialty of the region, and then bade goodbye to them. They insisted that when we visit Trichy next, we must stay with them, for they had ample space and a large heart, to accommodate people, and host them well.

The following day, we had booked a cab that would take us to Kumbakonam, the other beautiful temple town. On the way, we spent about two hours in BHEL township, searched and found the house that Mini had stayed in as a kid, generally toured the campus, and then drove to Kumbakonam. Nostalgia for her, and I could see the gleam in her eyes, as we took pictures in front of the house she had stayed in as a child. Our Cab driver was patient enough to wait and took us to a local chai shop and serve warm tea.

Tamil Nadu is a large state, and all along the way, as we entered Kumbakonam, I could see lush green paddy fields, banana plantation, mango grooves, and various types of vegetables being cultivated .Acres and acres of rich delta land, spread along the banks of river Cauvery, and one that provides plenty of food to the surrounding regions and states! The driver told us that some of ?best variety rice is grown in this region and supplied to the other states of India from here. The driver thus became our second guide, on this trip.

We reached Kumbakonam just in time for lunch, he took us to an excellent vegetarian restaurant, where we were served on banana leaves, a hot lunch, with great warmth! They call it the unlimited lunch, eat as much as you can, and they would happily keep serving you. Well, we were satiated.

After resting at the hotel for some time, we visited a few temples there. On the way, we dropped in at a coffee shop, possibly one of the finest of that region. The Aroma of the coffee itself is enough to make one addicted to it, and I remember having two glasses of it, along with a local snack.

Since the temples close at 7 PM, and our driver had planned a visit to a weaver’s house, we reached there around 6 30 PM. It was the first time that I saw silk and other sarees being woven via traditional hand machines, an elaborate process, where the best saree could take about 3 weeks to get done! Intricate work of art and craft, that only these trained weavers can do. The one we met was a 7th generation weaver, and this art can only be learnt across generations in a typical Guru Shishya mode, since no formal school teaches this, as I know.

The weaver’s daughter was excellent in English and Tamil, so it was easy to converse. Mini wanted to buy a few sarees. Well, that took some time, they explained in detail the material used and how it was made, and we wound up shopping around 8 PM. As she was shopping, I spoke in detail with the main weaver, who lamented at how this art form could get lost, since the current generation was not keen on picking up this skill and living a hard life. All I could wish was that this art form would survive for many more centuries, and that passionate weavers would pick it up, and make it a global product.

Dinner followed, rested well at the hotel, and after a sumptuous breakfast, we were on our way to Thanjavur, a temple town, and a historical place, which I have covered in brief in Part 1 and 2 of this article series. Since Mini and I had already been there a few times, we did not want to cover the traditional places, and so planned it in such a way that we reach there around lunch time, pick some savories for people at home, and then board the train. It all worked well, the driver took us to one of the best sweet shops in Tamil Nadu, Bombay Sweets, we picked up enough and some fruits for the journey, and then spend a few hours at the waiting room, at the station.

And what a surprise! As we got onto the train, a while later, the same gentleman who was there along with us on our way to Trichy, got in and wished us. He was returning from a business trip to Trichy, and we spoke for a while. He works for the Hotel Industry, and it was fascinating to listen to him on how Covid impacted travel and hospitality and how it is now bouncing back rapidly. He was at Trichy to set up the operations of a new five-star category that his group had acquired and was functional now.

To sum up : A beautiful conclusion to a journey, ?I would say experiencing an artery of Tamil Nadu, briefly touching its heart, where we experience a state rich in culture, and agriculture, and now as I had said earlier, the most industrialized state of India.

Did the rich history of these regions translate to a unique experience for us? Did we for a brief while get ourselves transported to the era of Cholas? Was the warmth of the regions a derivative of its history?

Well, since my intent is pure narration, and not bring in my biases, I will leave that to the readers, who would want to visit these regions, after reading this article. For those are things that one must experience in person.

What next? Well, either I must wait for another travel, or dig into the past and narrate some of the other parts of India that we have covered.

Until then, happy reading!