Back to the Motherland

My blogs and notes about my winter break trip back to India, things I thought I'd share :)

[theebzzz]

Temple

Taking an Art and Archeology of Greece History course was out of pure requirement fulfillment. But to my sweet surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed that class as I became increasingly interested in the thought process of archeologists back then. This class allowed me to open my eyes to some of the small details that I wasn’t necessarily noticing before. Especially after coming on this trip and attending the Thanjavur Big Temple also called Rajarajeswaram, named after the first King one of the great monarchies in history of South Indian dynasties who ruled this area during the medieval period, I was dumbfounded by the amount of history that this one area contained. Taking a guide who taught us some of the hidden messages inscripted on the temple stones and other historical values, I learned that the Big Temple took approximately 6000 workers to finish within 6 years of construction and is approximately 6000 years old. To hear about a secret underground passage way that the kings and queens back then used to travel from their palace to the temple in order to worship and pray without the disturbance of outsiders makes me think about all the intricate thinking that went behind its planning. This temple continues to astonish me in its structure, art and the finest details that contributed to the overall construction of this temple. I am always learning something more every time I return to this divine temple of prestigious architecture and remarkable details.

[theebzzz]

Photos

When with my group of friends, I have always had the role of taking pictures like the dad in the family who’s constantly recording memories in the making. My grandmother who lives in another city called Thanjavur, fills her house with clippings of photos taken from as long as the time of her parents' marriage. Looking through the pictures taped to the walls and doors is like walking through a life-sized time line of some of the main events of her kids and grandkids’ lives. It is truly amazing to see the difference in facial features as well as personalities when comparing your last remebering thought of someone to your current time with them. I love seeing the transformation of people whether it’s right in front of your eyes or through the unfolding of memories seen in pictures.

[theebzzz]

Evolution

Returning every 5 years or so, I am overwhelmed with the amount of change that occurs within this short period of time. The metamorphosis that constitutes the evolution of city structure, ways of life and values of society can be seen with the comparison between my last visit and my current time spent here. The addition of several buildings, change in roads, the construction of skyscraper malls and office buildings seem to take over the already limited space of Chennai. As I sit here, I can't help but think of the atmosphere if it were to have minimal transformation. What would life be without the constricted and over populated areas of the city? Would this lack of change cause a rise in the technological advances of society? Perhaps, but the answers to these questions will remain unanswered with a definite truth. With all this being said, my love for the city will still grow to infinite boundaries as my childhood days were engrained from the birth of Chennai.

[theebzzz]

Idlys

If anyone asks me what's my favorite Indian food, I only give one answer... and I've only ever given one answer: idlys. Uncommon to the American culture, idly's are basically "rice cakes" made to look like half-spherical soft sponges that rip easily into smaller pieces. The taste of my first meal in India was incredibly splendid as I ate it on the traditional banana leaf at the dinner table of my grandparents house. And when these idly's are taken with a spicy powder called podi, my taste buds react beyond belief. The typical-traditional ways of eating ignites a spark of enjoyable experience of my love for indian food. This spicy, mouth-watering meal makes me thankful for the my ability to taste because honestly who doesn't love food. I am excited to taste even more foods from different restaurants and looking forward to the freshly cooked home-made meals created daily from the hands of my grandmother. Boy am I loving every bit of it.

[theebzzz]

Beautiful Cincinnati <3 on my flight to India 

[theebzzz]

Airports

I find airports to be one of the most intriguing places on earth. Its the one place you'll find people from all sorts of backgrounds, ethnicities, and personalities wandering about in one area. One of my favorite things to do here of course is people watch. It may sound a bit creepy as I speak about it now, but who isn't guilty of this act. Watching people of the type of clothing worn, the way they tend to communicate with others, and their kind acts of helping someone with their luggage or guiding someone who has lost their way to their designated gate assignment. As I awaited to board my flight from Doha International Airport to Chennai I began writing about some of the types of people I came across.

To all the businessmen with their freshly shined shoes, blacks dress pants and blue striped button-down shirts that sit with their Macs snug on their laps to profusely write their last few emails to send before boarding their planes. Scratching their heads every once or so, deliberating about their use of wording in proposal of a requested meeting with their collogues. They check their watches as if a timer is set and about to ring at any moment as they fix their glasses to push it back up to its comfortable sitting spot.

To all the older grandma’s and grandpa’s traveling to visit their grandchildren or just now have come back from their visit. Whatever their reason maybe, I find old people to be the cutest things ever. I adore the way they take their good old time to stroll down the terminal with their all-wheel-luggage easy to push with powerful four-wheel all-around spin drive. I find that to them, time is of patience. They are never in a rush to catch their plane because as their kids may have booked their flights ahead of time for them, its spaced out enough that they are able to take all the time in the world that they want. Either that or they’re completely clueless of the fact that their flight has already departed and is nearly half-way back to destination.

To all the infants and toddlers screaming at the top of their lungs, throwing a temper tantrum to get that milk shake from McDonalds they've been craving since the arrival of their flight or to get the SpongeBob squeaky toy back from their mom who took it away because of its constant noise pollution during the 13 hour flight or simply because of how irritated they've become from being tied down to one uncomfortable seat with a tiny monitor screen and only a few selection of kids movies. 

Whatever it maybe or where ever they may be headed next, there are so many more personalities to write about, but I find if I were to do so, I would be writing a detailed encyclopedia about nearly a thousand different personalities. So for my day one of traveling, I’m grateful for the airports way of bringing together different characters of unique individualities all for me to see in one gathering.