Day 52, Aadikadalai, Kerala [Tuesday 24th January 2008]
Previous day: Day 51, KK Heritage, Aadikadalai, Kerala [Wednesday 23rd January 2008]
Next day: Day 53, Aadikadalai [Wednesday 25th January 2008]
After an early morning stroll along the beach, and a quick chat with the neighbours, we sit down to breakfast with Ranji — masala omelette, green gram curry, rice dosa and pootu, plus a few cups of chai.
We lounge around on the veranda reading books. Later we amble down to the next beach along, which is a tiny secluded alcove. Two fisherman paddle to shore with a canoe full of mussels.
A German girl comes and joins us when she realises she's being watched by a couple of locals, who are perched on top of a nearby cliff for a better view.
For lunch we go to the temple, where as part of their ongoing festivities they are cooking food for everybody. The whole village is here, queuing for food and lined up at tables eating. We get a plate piled high with boiled rice, sambar, coconut chutney and pickles, and a bowl full of kheer (sweet rice pudding). Afterwards we take our plates to the water tap to wash them up, and pass the giant cooking pots on the way. They re sitting on huge wood fires and are so big I could climb inside one. Stuffed full of food, we spend the day lazing around and playing Scrabble.
Around 6pm we walk through the woods to the next village's temple, where they are having a 'junior theyyam'. The world of theyyams is a mysterious one and hard to understand. Penetrating it involves numerous phone calls to temple committees, inside knowledge from members of the caste who perform the ritual, and local insight from people who will be attending. Despite even this array of information it is still entirely likely that you will not have a clue what is going on. Dates, times, names of deities and rituals will be mentioned, and still you will be no wiser about what is happening, where or at what time.
The temple people are very friendly, they come to meet us and give us a big ladle of payasam (sweet rice pudding, cooked with ghee and coconut oil) in a banana leaf. This is prasadam — a gift from God. The pudding came out of a huge pot, and is now spilling over the sides of my scrunched up banana leaf. When we manage to finish it all someone gives us second helpings! We're both groaning from overeating today.
Suddenly we are surrounded by a dozen children, all asking our names and explaining how to play 'hand cricket' — a version of scissors, paper, stone — and generally getting overexcited. Then the drumming starts, more rhythmic and musical than yesterday's.
Sitting in a clearing in the woods, the temple is sunk down about three feet into the earth. There are two simple, symbolic structures used in the theyyam which are lit by oil lamps and strung with fairy lights. The atmosphere is enchanting. The rest of the village is lit by harsh fluorescent strip lights attached to trees at angles, reminding me of an installation artist I once saw who used fluorescent tubes as material.
We hang out with the kids some more, then make our way back to KK Heritage, where we meet Ranji's wife Jyothi and their two children Nandana and Navya. Nandana is quiet but thoughtful and Nvya is slightly bonkers.
For dinner we manage to eat some mackerel curry, rice, sambar, 'leaf curry' and chickpeas. Ranji and Jyothi wait until we've finished our dinner to start their own. We wish they would eat with us, but I suppose that's etiquette here.
Next day: Day 53, Aadikadalai [Wednesday 25th January 2008]
Previous day: Day 51, KK Heritage, Aadikadalai, Kerala [Wednesday 23rd January 2008]