Sep 28, 2013

Long Handle Brooms

What's so special about long handle brooms ? Apart from being easy to use and less damaging to the user's back muscles, they are not commonly seen in South Asia. Most of the brooms I've seen in India and Bangladesh have short handle. The problem with this kind of broom is that, the sweeper has to crouch or bend down low to sweep. The long handle version on the other hand allows one to sweep the floor without bending down. Being able to use both hands allows one to leverage more force and a wider range of motions as well. In Sri Lanka however, the long handle brooms were common. It could be the topic of an interesting sociological research to find out what influenced the adaptation or retention of short/long handle brooms in certain countries in the area while neighbors were shifting towards a different sweeping technology.
Long handle brooms being sold in Negombo

May 10, 2013

Shopping for Souvenir in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka offers a good bunch of interesting souvenirs. Masks, leather goods, batiks, wood curving and metal ware are a few to name.

Lakmedura has a diverse collection of items at decent prices. Masks, batik, wood curving etc. are good in Lakmedura, but the leather collection was found to lag behind the rest.

Laksala seemed to have almost the same quality of products as did Lakmedura. However, the prices in Laksala were a bit cheaper. The Gurulu masks in Laksala were the best among all souvenir shops; had better curving as well as intricate paint job. At a higher price, of course. Besides masks, they had good collection of metal ware.

There is a certain Kandyan Arts Association in Kandy. Its located by the lake, next to the Temple of Tooth. This place had the largest collection of wood curving as well as metal ware. The metal ware were exceptionally better than the other shops. Their collection of wood curving was the largest, but almost the same quality as others.

Best collection of leather goods were found in the souvenir shops along Lewis place in Negombo. Not all of these are genuine 100% leather. But the prices can be negotiated to compensate with the shortcoming.

Although batiks are somewhat ubiquitous, tasteful design or color combination is a bit rare. A shop in Negombo (forgot the name) had the best batik; a small but tasteful collection. Pretty good collection of batiks were also found in souvenir shops along the DS Senanayake Street, near the Temple of Tooth.

May 5, 2013

Hoppers

Hoppers are excellent local food available at local prices all over Sri Lanka. The local restaurants serve different kinds of hoppers throughout the day.

String hoppers

Apr 30, 2013

Rakshasa Masks

Rakshasa mask

Unique to the Sinhalese culture, the rakshasa masks expresses Sri Lanka's rich and vibrant cultural heritage.

Apr 29, 2013

President Rajapaksa

President Rajapaksa on billboards and bank notes

Sri Lanka's current president, Mahindra Rajapaksa appears to be actively seeking popularity and improvement of his image among his fellow countrymen. His face appears a lot in billboards, posters and even in poorly designed bank notes. The new 1000 LKR note features the president on one side while a badly done copy of a famous WWII sculpture adorns the other side. This note is quite low in aesthetic value compared to all the other bank notes in circulation.

Apr 10, 2013

Travel Between Negombo & Colombo

There are a few options for traveling between Negombo and Colombo. One can travel by road, rail or boat.
Buses run between Negombo and Colombo

Apr 6, 2013

Tuk-Tuks of Lanka

Tuk-Tuks are an economic alternative of taxi cars in Sri Lanka. Similar vehicles can be found in neighboring India as auto-rikshaw, in Bangladesh as CNG. But there are a few differences setting them apart from the counterparts in neighboring countries.

Apr 5, 2013

Meal Packs in Sri Lanka

Meal packs are common street food in Sri Lanka. They are also sold in small restaurants sometimes. This is the most economic option for food known to me. These are not mouth watering food per say. More akin to modest home cooked meals in decent portions. That is precisely why I like them.

Apr 4, 2013

Landing in Sri Lanka

My apartment in Negombo

Sri Lanka is an island nation of South Asia. As such, the only ways to reach Sri Lanka is either by a boat or an air plane. There are quite a few countries connected to Sri Lanka through air plane routes. Regular flights are operated between Sri Lanka and neighboring countries of Maldives, India, Bangladesh etc. and also south east asian countries like Thailand, Malaysia etc.

My flight from Chennai landed in the Bandaranaike International Airport. Nearest town, Negombo is about 6 km away. A taxi from the airport to the hotel / beach resort neighbor hood (Lewis Place) was 1500 LKR.

It was 4:00AM in the morning and the manager of the hotel I walked in was sleeping. He was woken up with the help of the taxi driver. This hotel was full, so he took me to another one where I could get a room for 3000 LKR per night. Later that day, I found an apartment close to the beach with kitchen, bathroom and terrace for only 1500 LKR per night. Thinking that this could serve as a base to travel around in Sri Lanka and come back to rest, it was rented for a month. Thus I completed my landing in Sri Lanka.

Apr 3, 2013

Idly and Dosa

Idly or Dosa served with coconut chutney, sambhar (or sambol), vaadai etc. is a typical Tamil breakfast. Can be found in both Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu, India.

Dosa, (also spelled as Dosai, Thosa, or Thosai) is a pancake made of fermented rice flour mixed with coconut milk and spices according to taste. Idly (also spelled Ittly) is a steamed rice flour muffin of round shape. A similar muffin called Vapa is cooked in Bangladesh for winter breakfast. Vapa usually has a sweet core of coconut and jaggery which is missing in Idly.

Local restaurants in both Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu, India and serves these in breakfast. The chutney and sambar varies from one region to another, and from one restaurant to another. Curry dishes of vegetable, chiken, fish and mixed were found but not all at the same place.

In most places, Idly or Dosa breakfast was found to be quite cheap and filling. A filling Dosa breakfast can be no more than 150.00 LKR in Sri Lanka. This would also include a cup of fine Ceylon tea. Sri lankan grocery stores often sell break fast packs of Dosa. It contains three to four Dosa and a small serving of spicy sambol. A pack costs 40.00 LKR.

Kovil

A kovil in Negombo, this one has three increasingly smaller gates on top of the main gate

Tamil temples are called Kovil. The architectural style is different from North Indian mandirs.

Kovils are colorful and more ornate. Most of the work is focused on the entrance to the temple. Its built as a large gate with multiple levels stacked on top of each other. The ground level is the actual gate that people use to go inside. There are sculptures of two mythical guards, sporting more than one pair of hands and carrying big scary weapons, on either side of the door. The guards are sometimes accompanied by other mythical figures. Above the ground level gate is another smaller gate with its own set of guards, deities and mythical creatures. Above this is even smaller one and it goes on. Every single detail is painted to distinguish from the back ground and other neighboring elements. It's an work of art.

There probably is some kind of encoding in the architecture. By selection of mythical figures, their position and ordering etc. the architect may send out a message. Its beyond my abilities to interpret the message now, but I would like learn this language some day. For the time being, I'm admiring the kovils for their beauty.

Sri Lanka Visa

Visa on arrival at the Bandarnayeke International Airport

One can apply for a visit visa to Sri Lanka online from the website of the Department of Immigration and Emigration. Alternatively, a visa on arrival can easily be obtained from the Bandernayeke International Airport. A visit visa costs 30 USD. Citizens of SAARC countries are eligible for a discount, for them visit visa costs 15 USD.

The visa is valid for 30 days and can be extended for 15 or 30 days at the office of the Department of Immigration and Emigration in located at 41, Ananda Rajakaruna Mawatha, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka
.

Apr 1, 2013

Language Barrier in Tamil Nadu

An unofficial flag of Tamil Nadu, in use since the early days of India when the dispute over official language started
Language barrier is a common challenge for traveling in many Asian countries and India is no different. But Tamil Nadu poses a greater challenge. The official state language and mostly spoken language is Tamil. It is one of the classical languages of India, belonging to the Dravidian family of languages. Which means its very different from the national language, Hindi which belongs to the Indo-Aryan family.

There is often a decent level of mutual intelligibility between Indo-Aryan langauges, for example between Hindi and Bihari and Bangla. But nothing like that between Tamil and the Indo-Aryan langauges.

On top of that a long standing notorious socio-political divide between north and south of India adds a political dimension to the communcation challenge. In the early days of India, the central government's attempt to promote Hindi as the official language was not received well by the Tamil speaking population. Incidents of violent uprising and revolts eventually lead to Tamil being given the official status and higher priority. As of today, many Tamils prefer English to Hindi as a lingua franca. But in the country side, English does not work with common people. Learning Tamil is therefore recommended for traveling in rural Tamil Nadu. At least a few basic words and phrases. Bellow is a list of useful words which I used in combination with sign language and English to communicate with local during my stay in Tamil Nadu.

Greetings : Vanakkam
Food : Sappadu
Watter : Tanni
Yes : Ya
No : Illa
Thank you : Nandri
I am not Tamil : Naan tamil illa

Somehow very basic phrases comprising of English and Tamil words made sense on a number of occasions. For example, to say that I don't have a scooter, "Scooter illa" works.

Mar 31, 2013

Eat at Auroville


Auroville has a number of places to eat. Some accept cash and all of them accept the aurocard.

Solar Kitchen
offers good lunch and dinner. Mostly vegetarian South Indian cuisine with a few side dishes from other parts of the world. Can easily be turned into a vegan meal too. Accepts aurocard only.

La Terrace
A nice restaurant on top of solar kitchen. Good coffee, ice cream and pastries. Can hang out in the shade of large trees. WiFi hot spot. Accepts auro card only.

Tanto
Italian pizzeria in Kuilapalayam. Very good food cozy atmosphere. Mosquitos can ruin the experience, so remember to put on bug repellents.

Satchidananda
Vegan raw food restaurant near Ganesh Bakery. The carrot pie is delicious. Green smoothie is no less awesome. Accepts cash.

Farm Fresh
small neat restaurant near Auroville Bakery. Sells good keffir. Also pastires, cookies, pickels, nuts etc. WiFi hotspot. Accepts cash.

Auoville Bakery
Makes really good bread and pastires. Nice to have freshly baked bread. Accepts cash.

Ganesh bakery
not very good food. But accepts cash.

Dinesh bakery
On the way from Solar Kitchen to Kuilapalayam. Not very good food, but cheap. Accepts cash.

Mar 30, 2013

Transport from Auroville to Puducherry

Interior of the bus to Puducherry


Easiest way to reach Puducherry ( Pondicherry ) from Auoville is by bus. Bus from ECR near Auroville to the station at Puducherry costs 5.00 Rs. The last stop of this bus is the bus station at Puducherry.

On the way back from Puducherry to Auroville, one can get on a bus from the station. However, there are two different routes going towards Chennai and both pass through Auroville. One drops you off at the Kuilapalayam (intersection of EC Road) and the other one drops off at Morattandi. Make sure to ride the right bus. Be aware of the rush hour crowd in the bus. The Indian crowd can be very intense.

Next in order of convenience would be autorikshaws. They usually charge around 200.00 Rs from the Auroville to Puducherry or the other way round. Sometimes there is room for bargaining.

Another viable option is to ride a moped or motorbike. But driving a vehicle without a licence is not advisable. The police in Puducherry sometimes flags down tourists driving a moped or motor bike to check their licence. Tamil Nadu police is a bit relaxed in that regard.

Pedaling your way to Puducherry is also possible. It's only 5 kilometers from Auroville after all. This is also a healthy and environmentally friendly option.

Mar 27, 2013

Auroville Beaches

Quiet beach in Auroville

A few auroville communities are located on the sea and have their own beaches. I've been to two of those, the Repos beach and the Quiet beach. Repos beach was found crowded throughout the week specially during the weekends. The quiet beach on the other hand was much less crowded. Both beaches were found to be used by local fishermen. Quiet was found to be cleaner than Repos. The only shortcoming of Quiet is that it was about a kilometer to the south from Repos beach sitting only 100 meters from the Quilapalayam intersection on EC Road. The quiet beach is preferred after considering all these factors.

Finding accommodation near the beach can be a bit challenging during the high season i.e. December - February. Most of the hotels are cheap or mid range. Downside of it is that the rooms will often have poor ventilation and lighting. A good alternative is a beach hut. But they usually cost more than the rooms and are in high demand.

Mar 24, 2013

Tamil floor decorations

Kolam, the floor decoration of the Tamils

Tamil women draw beautiful ornamental drawing on the floor in front of the entrance every morning. These are called kolam. It is believed that kolam drawings have the power to do something positive for the household. Rice powder is the commonly used material. Sometimes crushed stones and colorful substances are also used.

Mar 18, 2013

Fruit Mixture in Pondicherry

Fruit mixture


Menu
I could read Tamil with considerable effort by the time I made it to Puducherry(Pondicherry) for the first time. A man was selling refreshing beverages in his shop near the bus station. The menu was painted on the wall. All I could read and decode with confidence was the second item, fruit mixture.

So I had a glass of that. It was good. Not sweetened beyond normal limit with added sugar or diluted with water to maximize profit. Recommended.

Mar 5, 2013

Sadhana Banana

Sadhana Forest provides in theory unlimited supply of bananas for volunteers. On most days this is true in practice as well. After working for a few days I realized the virtue of bananas. Sadhana volunteers powered by bananas work in their first seva. The work includes but not limited to :
  • Carrying water buckets
  • Planting trees
  • Collecting leaves for mulching
  • Collecting top soil
  • Scooping up compost
  • Mixing top soil and compost
  • Have fun
Bananas pack lot more energy than I previously thought.

Mar 3, 2013

Bees & Termites (2)

Working in the bees & termites team involves climbing

Preventing unwelcome advances from the termites is mostly ground work. But dealing with the carpenter bees is a different paradigm altogether. It involves plenty of climbing - sometimes quite high and in challenging corners - on the huts' main structure. This calls for physical and fitness and decent level of dexterity.

Two parts of the epoxy compound

Epoxy is being mixed
Epoxy mix is ready to be used


A hole in hardwood pole

The hole after patching with epoxy


The instructions are simple. Find a bee hole, climb to reach it, then seal it with an epoxy sealant which you or a fellow volunteer mixed for you a few minutes ago. Oh, and be careful not to lose your grip.

The sealant is obtained from the local market as a two part epoxy compound. Its soft and pliable like putty during and soon after mixing. Becomes stiff like plastic in about 10 minutes. Very convenient. But also expensive and probably not very good for the environment. I saw room for improvement here. Experimenting with alternative materials - environmentally friendly and cheap ones, of course - seemed to be an effort worth undertaking.


Mar 2, 2013

Bees & Termites (1)

Jacob, a sadhana forest volunteer in bees & termites team

Protecting the huts from ever active termites and carpenter bees is a daily challenge in Sadhana Forest. Bees & Termites team bravely accepts this challenge as a regular maintenance job in Sadhana.

Carpenter bees like to drill hole to make nests in the hardwood poles of the huts' main structure. If not prevented, the bees can hollow out an entire pole to bring the hut down. While bees attack from air, termites have a ground up approach towards the huts. But the end results are pretty much the same.

Local knowledge says that termites don't like walking on granite surface. So granite columns are used as base for the huts. Vegetation around the huts are also cleared regularly to prevent alternative path for termites to reach any part of a hut from ground.

Feb 25, 2013

Aurocard

An aurocard issued from Mitra guest house

Auroville, in my understandings, is supposed to be a city where money does not dominate life. Reducing  monetary exchange within the community is seen as a steps towards this. A scheme similar to using debit cards is implemented in support. This card is called Aurocard.

The Aurocard is connected to one's Auroville account. This account can be opened at the town hall. Every aurovillian has one, guests staying in Auroville can also have one. Money can be deposited in this account and spent later at various restaurants and other commercial units of Auroville.

I am not sure how this debit card like scheme facilitates the realization of money-less society. Being able to use an aurocard in Auroville persists a practice which most of today's materialistic world is familiar with already.

Feb 24, 2013

Living Quarters in Sadhana Forest


Dorm for Sadhana Forest volunteers
Indigenous Tamil style huts are the ubiquitous accommodations of Sadhana Forest. Some huts have second floor or small attics too. Most volunteers in Sadhana Forest gets to sleep in dormitories. The dorms are basically large huts. There are three dorms at the time of writing this, two of them are two stories. Long term volunteers get special treatment, they live in their own huts.

The sturdy huts made of hardwood, and coconut leaves and ropes are quite impressive. A big opening in the front serves as door. Usually the huts come with multiple opening on the side, all triangular, serving as windows. This allows plenty of wind to pass through in all directions.

Jan 15, 2013

Going to Sadhana Forest

Sadhana Forest main hut

After volunteering in Blue Light ( the de-facto IT department) for a few days, I felt that the human connection, supposedly abundant in Auroville, was missing. I decided to try out other options. Sadhana Forest have always intrigued me; its a reforestation project with the goal of reviving tropical dry evergreen forest of Tamil Nadu. Besides working on the forest, they also have a living community people practicing vegan life style. They offer tours and show environmentally conscious movies on Fridays. I decided to try it out.

So, on the first Friday of January, I went to Sadhana forest. The tour gave ample exposure to the project, their ideals and practices. Discussing with long term volunteers at the project and the founder, Aviram, helped more. By the end of the dinner, I was convinced that this project offers a nice blend of spirituality, connections, learning and collaborative work environment.

I joined Sadhana Forest on the next Monday, 7th January.

Jan 13, 2013

Blue Light at Auroville

Blue Light is Auroville's de-facto IT department. Installing and maintaining software for automating the offices in Auroville is their job. For doing so, they focus on open source software. Open source, being a community driven software development paradigm, fits just right in Auroville. Besides providing software support, they engage in design and implementation electronic systems once in a while.

I volunteered in Blue Light for a week, right after arriving at Auroville. We worked on automating a water pumping system. By the end of the week, we had the devices assembled and working. It doesn't take long when people want to get something done. Doing the same thing in a corporate or academic setting would have taken a lot of time and effort.

Jan 12, 2013

Ganesh Bakery

Ganesh bakery from south
Ganesh bakery is a small sit and eat place in Auroville. It also serves as an important landmark for that area. Quite a few Auroville establishments e.g.: saracon campus, svaram, windarra farm, bamboo research inst., and satchidananda (the vegan raw food restaurant) etc. are located around or near it.

Cash is accepted here, so having an aurocard is not necessary.

Although a bakery, the south indian food (dosa, idly etc.) served here is better than their baked goods.

Jan 10, 2013

Mitra

Mitra youth hostel in Auroville

I stayed for about a week in Mitra Youth Hostel, Auroville. The place is right next to Auroville town hall; very close to the Matrimandir. It's a clean good looking piece of architecture. Usha, the lady running the place, was also found to be friendly and helpful. Besides that, the hostel provides breakfast in weekdays. One can also enjoy a good view of the Matrimandir from the roof top. Only upsetting aspect of my experience in Mitra is frequent and long power cuts.

Jan 1, 2013

Wheels in Auroville

The Auroville settlements are spread out within a 60 square kilometers area. Better get some wheels to navigate in Auroville. Wheels come in three versions there: bicycle, motorbikes and mopeds.

Bicycles can be rented from one of the few bicycle kiosks. There is one behind the public washroom at the Visitors' Centre. Rent for a bicycle is 50.00Rs per day. Another kiosk is located near the Solar Kitchen. This one provides free pumping and maintenance.

Another alternative is hiring a Moped, a common mean of transportation in Auroville. Its basically a low power motorcycles. Originally designed with bicycle like pedals to allow pedaling once fuel runs out. But pedals were missing on the ones found in Auroville. Hiring a moped is simple, call or meet the guy who rents them to people and book it for your desired length of time. They usually ask for some advance payment or a security money and the rest is to be paid when you give the moped back. There is shop on the main road going to Auroville from East Coast road. He charged 60.00 Rupees per day for a week. The fuel is also on you. They use a mixture of petrol and some other kind of oil. Most of the grocery shops sell it. A liter of that fuel costs 100.00 Rupees.

I did not look into hiring a motorbike, but the procedure should be similar except that it costs more. Have fun getting in and around Auroville.