Shapes and Colors, The Likes of Which I’ve Never Seen Before
I caught the travel bug from my dad.
Along with the stacks of National Geographic magazines he gave me when I was a kid, he brought home stories from his work trips abroad — pictures, featuring him in his khaki baseball cap, next to Victoria Falls in Zambia and the colorful flags in Nepal, waving in the cool highlands of Ethiopia.
Before I left for India, I quietly took his khaki baseball cap (sorry dad) to remind me of the mantra that he’s told me hundreds of times: “Don’t be a tourist, be a traveler.”
Though I’m in India to conduct research that I hope will ultimately help local communities, I still often think about my presence and purpose as a foreigner — especially as I read the growing number of articles on tourism destroying local communities and the objectification of “exotic” sites and people for the ‘gram.
While this is on my mind during the more “touristy” aspects of my stays in Chennai and Odisha, visiting these sites with my coworkers is still a blast. The beauty of India and her diversity are absolutely breathtaking.
Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Chennai
This temple, with its radiant colors and intricate statues, is in the heart of Chennai where Hindus come to worship. It’s dedicated to the god Shiva, who is part of the trinity of principal deities. Statues of the gods and their “mounts” (peacocks, lions, etc.), iconography, and symbols are painted and etched into every nook and cranny — one pillar was for wealth and prosperity, a tree for the hope to get married, and smaller temples for different purposes of worship. There were also cattle in the back, as cows are highly respected in the religion. Fun fact: It takes about 300 people to repaint the temple every ten years, by hand!
San Thome Basilica, Chennai
Raised Catholic, I attended an English mass at the church, and it was comforting that, even in an entirely different country, mass is held exactly the same way. San Thome Church is built over the burial site of Saint Thomas, one of three churches in the world built over the crypt of one of the twelve disciples.
The Government Museum, Chennai
This is one of the most extensive museums I’ve ever visited — it displayed the different cultures of the many Indian regions, had a room where statues of a single Indian deity lined the walls, a showcase of animals from all corners of the world, galleries of traditional, colonial, and modern art, and more.
One thing that surprised me was the lack of European influence (assumedly because of my Western-focused education). There was one small corner of the room dedicated to European portraits, but that was it. Fifty years of British colonization falls limp next to India’s thousands of years of history.
DakshinaChitra, Chennai
This was, by far, one of my favorite places to visit. It’s a “living-history museum,” as we were able to walk through reconstructed houses of those living in the southern states of India. It depicted a wide range of lifestyles, from those of different castes and religions.
There were artifacts to accompany each home, as well as descriptions that would place you in their everyday lives, occupations, and traditions. It was so cool to watch one of the demonstrators weave a sari. He had to pick through the pattern by line, and the end result is so intricate and stunning.
To the Movies!
Anu and I went to the mall to get away from the 100 degree weather and to watch “The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir,” a movie that was a collaboration between Indian and French filmmakers. It’s a comedy about an Indian man’s whimsical adventures in Europe, and it never fails to surprise me when actors suddenly break out singing and dancing to a Bollywood song. The movie theater itself was unexpected — there was black marble and fancy lighting, which reminded me of a bank! The movie also had an intermission for an opportunity to buy more snacks, and, interestingly, whenever a cigarette appeared on screen, a caption at the bottom displays the message, “SMOKING KILLS.”
Marina Beach, Chennai
Chennai has one of the longest coasts in India, and Marina beach teems with families enjoying the cool water and eating fried foods along the sea shore. There were horses winding through children, fresh fruit hauled around in carts, and people drenched in their regular clothes having a great, relaxing evening.
Car Festival, Jeypore (Odisha)
I asked my coworker, Nimisha, how many festivals there were in Hinduism, and she responded (I think jokingly), “There’s one every other day.”
The car festival celebrates the return of Lord Jagannath and his siblings to their home, after a period of time visiting their aunt at another temple. The beautifully decorated “cars” transported their statues back to their respective temples.
The street was lined with vendors selling noise-makers, snacks, small toys, clothes and jewelry. People winded their way through the dense crowd and cows plopped in the middle of the street to catch a glimpse of the cars. Even while driving away from the festival, I could still hear the shrill toot of the noisemakers.
Exchanging my hometown stories with my coworkers who excitedly share their own homes and traditions with me reminds me of what my dad was trying to get at with his mantra. Traveling at its root extends beyond the physical place, towards building two-way connections with other people with the same eagerness to expand our perspectives and learn something new. I was grateful to visit these places with my coworkers, who were vastly knowledgeable and patiently answered each of my questions on all we saw.
