Making progress...

"Today you bent for the first time!", followed by a slightly irrational laugh, I heard from the mouth of my good Aashan Sooraj, after standing in the basic Kutiyattam position (feet turned out 180 degrees, about 1 foot from each other, legs more than half bent, hip joint turned backwards and chin pulled backwards, so the spine is bent like a banana, belly to the front, and the head and hip joint would be at both ends of the banana. hands in front of chest, elbows on shoulder height and slowly make circles with fists, wrists turned upwards. ok this is a very bad description, but i will make it clear with a picture.) for 10 minutes, loudly repeating the sloka he sings to me. normally he sits on the stage, watching me quietly and giving me minor comments, but yesterday he was walking round me while reciting, which mentally makes a big difference. i had been put in this position , suffering the shivering and pain in the legs, but this time it was even longer. Its an inner mental fight not to run away from this uncomfortable position. When i am practicing alone i mostly just stop standing like this. But when the teacher is there its different. "bend deeper" his cool voice said. my legs started shaking and i wanted to run away but i didnt. as my "paining(another word in indian english vocabulary)" legs shivered so did the rest of my body and the reciting voice. but it went on... and on. And then he says: today you bent for the first time ... after two months of... bending? LOL! ok, but i can be happy that, appearantly, i am making a progress LOL! but after this excercise i come into a state of inner and outer silence, a special feeling. it needs perseverence, but this way it really becomes something valuable... in the beginning i came here i wanted as much as possible for the short period i would be here. this ambition was cracked quite early. on all the curious questions i mostly got the answer: "that is not really important", or "just wait, it will come", and yes, thats what it is about here. not about wanting, planning, understanding rationally, but about waiting and becoming one with surroundings and nature. its also about discovering (and expanding) the boundaries of physical limitation and mastering that with the mind. sinths a few days we started yoga classes too and that forms a wonderful complement. breathing, moving and thinking comfortably, one notices how mind and body, breath and thought are so closely connected. I've been dancing, doing bodily excercise and yoga-like things, but here in this context i am discorvering all that in a different sense. ok, enough of this today.

Electrical Cooking plate.

Yes, getting used again to the life in Kerala; God's own country as they always say here. Living in the PWD(governmental) Rest House, quite big double room (they didnt have singles) for 100 rupees per day, which is almost 2 euro (1 euro = app. 56 IRS). Aruns wife and son came back so he doesnt have room for me anymore. pity, but beginning of a new chapter. and i still see him regularly -btw, my shoes are still in his place. During my first week here i was looking for sth else, someone to share a room with or a family which would like to take me in for a month, but it's not that easy. I asked around and they always say: ok, i will do my best for you and tell you tomorrow; or sth like; i will take care of it. They don't give information about how to find sth myself but they take care of it. Again; here from my point of view the tendency is more that other people (father, teacher, older brother/friend) will decide what is good for you and you have to follow blindly. Eventually i didnt find anything and decided to stay in the Rest house. But the Rest house is allright, close to Natana Kairali where i have my classes, friendly people and quite clean. I like to cook myself, so i bought an electrical cooking plate for IRS 760. When i entered the hotel, the friendly receptionist asked me what was in my bag and i showed him. he said its not allowed -i think especially because of the high electricity costs. Anyway, after many why-questions and trials to convince him, the laws of the rest house were not to be broken( i wondered what would have happened if i wouldnt have asked him permission at all, maybe that would have been more easy...). So, if anyone is interested in a brand new electrical cooking plate, i give it away for 600 IRS!!!

Ok. Since a few days I am back in tropical Kerala. Yesterday I was in a bookshop and bought a few books. On is "Temples in Kerala". Another one on Kerala's history and a road guide with maps of Kerala. I decided to start visiting more important places around here and to inform myself better by bying maps... if the wanted ones are available. After going to the bookshop I stepped into the "Reliane Fresh" supermarket next door. Reliance is actually a phone company owned by the now richest man in the world, Mukesh Ambani. They also have a petrol pump chain and... supermarkets! Of the phone company I was not to satisfied until now, there seems to be a problem to recharge the money with these scratching cards... network problem or so, but maybe it's just because of the old age of the cell phone I'm using. The daily commercial phone calls and messages are unwanted, although I don't know what Reliance has to do with that. An unknown number calls you up, and excited about the new friend, after uttering your first hallo, you hear a woman's voice talking enthousiastically on some background tune about again another disgusting offer. Now, when I see those numbers flashing on the screen, my finger pushes the red button at once. If I would not delete the tonguetwisting messages about babeswallpapers, cricket, winning motorcycles and christmas at once, I would have certainly given you one of those here for FREE! But enough of the unimportant details, one must say that the petrol pumps (with shop!) and supermarkets look much more civilised than others due to cleanness etc. So I strolled in- it was not the first time I entered one of those- and let my eyes gaze on the shiny white lanes, well-structured isles and the decently red-clothed staff. What would you think when you would see Lays Chips or Lindt chocolate for double to 5 double prices in comparison to a well-filling to stuffing average lunch rice dish in a normal "hotel"(indian restaurant) which is only 15-25 IRS? Nice imported luxury. My eyes were tempted buy an array of Indian Sweet 'n Salty cookies when this Blue-shirted thin guy walked on to me, and I could smell his alcoholic breath when he stretched out his sweating hand and asked my name smilingly. In the middle between his middle-upper teeth there were two little darker white pieces. It seemed as if something had hit him there and the dentist would have place two other little triangles of a slightly darker colour in stead. He was there with his two boys to collect his wife, "my wife servant here". "My sons" His boys were smiling innocent when I shaked their hands with an empathic look. His wife came round the other side of the sweet'n salty isle, decently dressed in the long red Reliance-servant-robe. She avoided my look, maybe because Indian woman don't look men in the eyes, or maybe because I was the white guy in lungi, or maybe because she was ashamed about her husband. They went out, I continued my goalless search and decided not to buy any of these unnecessary things. When I asked Arun later he told me that Normal products like rice, vegetables and fruits are cheaper indeed than in the normal shops on the streets. So the disappearance of small private shops will probably also take place here; the supermarkets are relatively recently built here. When I arrived at the counter I said no to the 120 IRS 100 grams of Lindt Chocolate and went out without buying anything. There our drunken friend was waiting for me again on the sidewalk -which is btw significantely better than in the rest of the street- and shook my hand again (Indian men like holding eachoters hands in all possible varieties and time spans) and asked 'staying...stayi..' using his non-cooperative pronouncing system. I said "yes...yes" and went off.
They all want to go abroad and work in Europe or other "leading countries". It would be wrong to blaim them to have this wish, but their direct way of expressing it and their instant friendships stink. I also came here... why? Because I thought this would be paradise? Or because I would find here what I found nowhere else? Or some other dark or totally uncomplicated reason. Or is there no reason for reason? Anyway, it is not obvious to dive into another culture, climate, totally different circumstances. It is not obvious to adapt instantly to other traditions, codes of conduct, other ways of thinking. And then, try to find out what you consider better or worse than the conditions you grew up in and wether to change certain convictions or the make other even stronger. It takes time, effort and courage to find your way in the new environment. Why do they want to go abroad? For the money and luxury, as also abundantely presented in Bollywood films? Or because they are not happy in their situation for one or another reason? In Delhi, Max told me that if 5 of the richest men in India would give a fraction of their capital, it would be enough to pay all debts which Indian government has. Not to mention the deeprooted corruption and lazy uninterest which rules in all governmental institutions. basta

?

do i talk about food to much?

mail to friend no.2 (excerpt)

in een mailtje aan Tom Delvaux van vandaag:

...ik krijg hier sebiet stress door een gebrek aan stress. of omdat de straat een openbaar stort is .
hoe het met mij gaat? goeie vraag. kheb regelmatig wel wat heimwee. tis ook ni evident om hier in de lokale bevolking en/of temperaturen op te gaan. traag maar zeker komt er verbetering in. dagelijkse confrontaties met toeristen en bedelaars zetten aan het denken. ma ik geef ze toch niks ze . dan eet ik liever een goei stuk chocoladetaart bij een kopje 'echte' koffie (da hebben ze daar in kerala ni echt... allez ja, in de meeste echt grote steden kunt ge wel iets vinden, vooral de toeristische steden want die geven wat de toeristen graag willen, dan kunnen ze veel geld verdienen he.) verder blijft het probleem van zelfdiscipline en plannen en zo... ge weet wel wa ik bedoel. wss ben ik daar gewoon mee geboren.

mail to friend no.1

From: leovc29@hotmail.com
To: daan_broos@hotmail.com
Subject: RE:
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 06:37:09 +0100

helena zit hier nog heel even. voor mijn tijd, wat bedoel je daarmee?
wat nepalese poezie betreft, ik zag juist een dvd liggen over het leven van Milarepa, als je geinteresseerd ben neem ik m mee.
eigenlijk ben ik momenteel heel lui aan het wezen... ik interesseer me voor weinig en blijf de hele tijd op dezelfde plaats. praat ook weinig tegen mensen. ma ik heb ook het gevoel dat het me weinig zal brengen... uiteindelijk kom je steeds weer jezelf tegen, en dat is waar je mee moet leren omgaan... of zo nu ja, het zelfdisciplineprobleem blijft er steeds, en mss ben ik n beetje mensenschuw geworden in delhi. op de blogspot heb ik nu ook al lang niets meer geschreven, tkomt er niet vlot uit zoals voorheen.
ik koop me wel een paar souvenirs en zal een pakje opsturen naar thuis voor kerstmis.
kga straks wel gebeden bijwonen ie boeddhistisch klooster, van 13u30 tot 17u30, nekeer zien hoe ik da volhoudt.
ja, van muziek ben ik wel iets interessants tegengekomen op mn 4-daagse staptocht hier. 1 nacht heb ik een festivalletje in zo'n bergdorp bijgewoond. twas kei koud en ik was kei moe. terrasbebouwing.open plek tussen huizen weid verspreid over de terassen. geen licht, geen vuur. volle maan. een schommel (ping in nepalees) aan 4 lange gekruiste bamboestammen gehangen. veel kinderen, jongeren, jongens en meisjes, een paar oudere vrouwen, geen oudere mannen maar genoeg mid-20'ers. in totaal een 50-60-tal mensen. gedanst werd er niet veel, hoewel dat blijkbaar normaal wel de gewoonte is. er was ook geen millet-wijn(van een soort graan), wat anders meestal de aanleiding is tot vechtpartijen tussen de mannen van de verschillende dorpen(voor zo'n festival komen ze van de omliggende dorpen ook af).
maar wat er nu interessant was: een paar gasten hadden n klein percussie-instrumentje ("maddel", tis een kleine mrdangam zoals ze in karnatische muziek gebruiken en een nog grotere versie 'maddalam' wordt in kathakali gebruikt. amandelvormig met afgesneden punten, 1 kant is hoge toon, andere kant lage toon.) rond hem zaten dan nog n paar jongens, die zongen n volkslied. na het refrein nam een groepje meisjes dat iets verder zat het over. tijdens het refrein van de meisjes begonnen de jongens weer te overleggen welke tekst ze voor de volgende strofe als antwoord op de meisjes zouden nemen. twas dus een spel van vraag en antwoord, zeer creatief, en af en toe met enthousiaste kreten van de andere zijde bij een gewaagde tekst. heel leuk. in de bus hoorde ik deze liedjes in een iets modernere vorm, met n beat deronder, blijkbaar vrij populair hier. dat neem ik zeker mee. rond 2u snachts was t schluss en ondernam ik met mn twee kompanen (1 heel goeie zanger) die geen geluk gehad hadden met de vrouwen, de 1 luidop dromend over zn vlam(hoewel hij getrouwd is en 1 zoon heeft, zelf mid-20'er) de tocht weer naar boven richting de guest houses, dat duurde ongeveer n uur door bergop en moe, maar boven was het maanlicht dat de besneeuwde himalayatoppen bescheen adembenemend, tleek wel disney of een theaterdecor.

blogspotwritersblock

ok, i'll be honest with you guys: i have a blogspotwritersblock... i've tried a few times, but it just doesn't come out the right way or the way it did. maybe it's because i'm not posting comments on the photos or more photos and the block will not disappear before i did that... who knows, hehe. but i think it's no good to leave the spot in the cold so i will just post my scrambled eggs(...) and some mails i sent/send to people. maybe that will create some reactions, we'll see. i hope u still enjoy reading! xxxxx

scrambled egg no.2: easygoing in Kathmandu

You have to know: who has the money decides. I havn't seen such varied menus anywhere as in the touristic centers here. Nepalese, Indian, Continental, Chinese, Mexican, American, Newari... dishes, all served with the most creative spelling mistakes. Most eating places which present themselves as 'great view' or 'best restaurant' with big billboards -if possible with coca-cola or carlsberg image- are not that satisfying. But anyway, they serve what tourists need to make them feel just like home, and some of them even do a good job. ...

scrambled egg no.1: rock 'n roll cappucino and street omelet

Delhi... for me it is the town of huge, immense contrasts...
Gokal puri, the neighbourhood of Viveks house, is in North Delhi. The streets and the air are dirty and crowded. When I want to go somewhere i
no inspiration... sorry but i ll be for next time
"Do you want to be my friend?"
How i hate that phrase. But you will not escape from this question from the moment you start a friendly chat with an indian ...
the metro is hypermodern. brandnew with smartclothed people inside. nice coffeeshops in the bigger stations. and when you come out you see a bullock cart passing by and people lying on the street.
today i was in "Habitat Centre". My God, I was baffled. What a difference. a huge building complex, clean, with clean toilets and toiletpaper which make me feel home after 2 laxating cappuccinos in the "All American Dinner". A 50's Hamburger-Shake bar with all american sausages, muesli, fruits and drinks, whatever... they have it. somewhat more expensive with rich people in it... students, businessmen

New Dehli

Day before yesterday I arrived in New Dehli After a 2 night and 2 day train journey. I am in company of Ewa once again and we sometimes felt like zoo-animals in the train. The train was filled with young people who where in Trivandrum, the southern point of India, to do an exam for vacancies in the Indian Railways, the largest employer in the world. There were 25 vacancies and 4000 people came from whole over India to do the exam. Their trip was payed by the Indian Railways, but still, they choose to sit on the train for three days for it, and the same time for their return. The guy who was sitting opposite of me is a hindi teacher and earns 10 000 rupees a month. But as a train driver he would earn 20 000. Also, Vivek told me, once they have the job, they will have to work in that place for a year, but after that year its easy to get employed for the IR in their hometown. Students, peasants, hindi teachers, all interested in these jobs at the IR in Trivandrum: amazing.
Well, in the train offcourse i wanted to practise my hindi a bit and started talking to my neighbour. But after 5 minutes we were surrounded by loudtalking guys aged 20+. Again I was surprised how pover the knowledge of English is, it's not much better than in the south. That is offcourse a good thing for my hindi, but I had expected much better. Yes, even in the North where there are more white people we are walking flashlights on the streets. "Hello, what's your name?" the school children always ask. "Your good name please? Coming from? Where staying? Job? Ok. Bye" that's an average conversation with most people who start talking to you here.
Another thing: I just say the guy(about our age) sitting in the cabin at the other site here watching porn films, i showed Ewa and I laughed loud. You have to know that sex is a big taboo here. Then the internet cafe owner came and looked at his screen, which was clean offcourse because he had closed or minimalised the windows. The owner closed all of it and when he left the boy started again. A minute later the cafe owner returned and sent him out.
Well, Dehli is huge but has the same little alleys with street shops, cows and rubbish like you can see everywhere. It is unbelievebly crowded, now especially because of the Diwali (Hindu)- festival. There are traffic jams everywhere and the distances are huge so it sometimes takes half a day to get from one place to another. Big city life... On the way and even on the big roads bull or horse carriages and elephants are not a rare sight. It's time to stop here, there is much more to tell but I will be around this blogspot in the next days. Take care dear ones!

PICSSSSSS

For pictures check http://leo.lecastelas.be
comments will follow

:-D

ok i was wrong, it saves automatically, in "FUCK" i was talking about the "how to become a hindu". Enjoy! xxxxx

FUCK

i was typing the longest post till now and was almost finished, when everything suddenly disappeared. in india you need patience, but i don't feel like typing the whole thing again now. but instead i put some more pictures on the ftp server, which also requires quite some time... i don't know the name of the internet site yet, but Maarten will tell me soon and i will post it here.
tood'loo!

How to become a Hindu.

Well here I am, back in Trissur, the cultural centre of Kerala. I came here yesterday and saw a Kathakali performance in the evening, much better (and shorter) than the one I have seen in Irinjalakuda. Before I go to Trissur I always give a call to CA Menon, he retired from assurance business 6 years ago (but is still very fit) and knows almost everything about the cultural events which are going on in Trissur. He writes a festival guide every year which contains all the information about the traditional art performances in Kerala. He is a very kind and openminded man. I could stay in his house for the night, he gave me breakfast and lunch and provides me with all the necessary information. Unbelievable how he just does that with pleasure without asking anything in return. I allready mentioned that non-hindus are not allowed to go in the temples. Now you have to know that a lot of Kathakali and Koodiyattam performances are held in temples, they are some kind of ritual. When I asked him about this Hindu certificate he immedeately made a phonecall to the right person in Calicut and advised me to go there soon. There I will undergo some kind of ritual tomorrow, I have to choose a hindu name and I will come out as a hindu. Appearantly its as easy as that. CA Menon told me that they don't allow everybody, he says you need the right contacts. Oh well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. For me the most important thing is to be able to see the performances in the temple. Maybe you have a proposition for a good hindu name, for me it's difficult to find a good one. But it should be without r, my mother doesn't want that because she doesn't like the way my father pronounces the r (he uses the french r(throat) and she prefers the italian(tongue)) :-D So if you have a good idea, tell me.

The Kutiyattam lessons with Sooraj are somewhat different than a lesson i would expect of a european teacher. The european teacher would give many and shorter exercices to keep the attention going. But here it's more about repeating the same thing over and over, it's a real challenge for concentration and for perseverance. The teacher shows and you repeat, while a european teacher (again a huge generalasition offcourse, but what can we say without them?) would systematically explain and show the steps first. He would first make you understand and then teach you the steps. Here you just imitate and wait till the understanding comes. Here they say there is a time for everything and things will come when you are ready for it. I come from an environment where people believe that man is makeable, that one can create his own life.

Yes, i see beggars without some limbs or poor people regularly, it's difficult to look them in the eyes. But first of all it would be wrong to consider their unhappy situation as my fault. My responsibility? Well, today I drank a pinapple juice for 20 rupees, with which you can buy a meal. Should I have given these 20 rupees to the woman with a bruise on her face who was sitting in the middle of a side alley between the sidewalks -which are quite high here- who was adressing her word to me? I was not the only one who was drinking juice, what about the rich Indians, is it their responsability. Oh well, enough of that, it's important to think about but it should not spoil my state of mind.

Trissur cultural centre of Kerala

On the way from Irinjalakuda to Cheruturuty to see a program in Kalamandalam, I decided to stay in Trissur. The reason was a mister C.A. Menon whose phone number I found in a booklet which contains the calendar of all the programs in Kerala in 2007. He is the writer of the booklet. Claudio showed me the booklet. Claudio is from Verona but currently works in Amsterdam for the European Space Center. He was in Hyderabad for his job. But his passion is music; he plays the flute. Having a specific interest in ethnical music and learning how to play all different kinds of flutes whole over the world, he combines the travels he does for his job with his passion. He knows how to play the western metal flute, the african flute and now started learning Karnatic (south Indian Classical music) flute. If you want to know more about Karnatic music, Ludwig Pesch is an interesting name to look up. I met Claudio on a performance of my teacher. He was amazed by this Kutiyattam performance and praised the interesting and unique combination of percussion and theatre. I think the intense relation a Kutiyattam performance can have with literature is also something exceptional. The enactment of a verse gives it even more significance than just reading it. So I met Claudio, that was interesting, i will certainly meet him when back in Europe. The evening after that we went to a whole night Kathakali performance in the Kalanilayam Kathakali school next to the temple(!only temple in the world which is dedicated to Bharata... in this there is a temple for Rama and one for each of his three brothers, Lakshmana, Bharata and Satrughna, all built by the same architect, it seems to be something intersting, but more time for those things in the end of november).
My my what am I posting here, is it to much of information, still relevant for you guys? I feel I'm beginning to get acclimatised to the culture...(whatever that might mean...). The moment i stepped out of the plain i thought the engine of the plane was still very hot, but when i got down the stairs i noticed that it was the warmth of the climate...
A few days ago i was throwing up and had diarrhea whole night, probably a bad juice i drank combined with eating too much and holy payasam (you normally would never get the milk rice they give you when you go out of a temple as a tourist, but the gatekeeper had a tattoo of "i love India" with a heart and told me that he is a retired soldier and that he met a lot of americans in Saoudi-Arabia. Arun later told me that retired soldiers get jobs in the temples. tourists are not allowed to go in the temples in Kerala, unless you have a "hindu certificate" which seems to be easy to get, but i hav'nt done an effort for that yet.
well, so i decided to stay in Trissur for the night. More about Trissur, the cultural activities here and Barbara Gerard, an elephant trainer from NY day after tomorrow! Now it is time to go back to Irinjalakuda for my class. Keep the sunny side up! Cheerio!

Hi everybody,

today:

the great "which picture of Mahapada in India do you want to see?" enquiry.
(the internet connection is quite slow here so we have to make a selection of the picuters)

Please give your preferences in your reaction by giving the number and letter fitting to the picture you would like to see.
Attention! Only one choice per topic admitted!

do you want to see:

1. A. an elephant/B. a cow/C. a huge bat flying in the air by dusk
2. A. Arun/B. Santhosh, a friend/C. Leo Malayali boy
3. A. my room/B. the kitchen/ C. the bathroom
4. A. the temple/ B. my school/ C. the bus stand
5. A. stick no bills/ B. pizza tastes best when eaten with hands/ C. avoid rash driving for your own safety
6. A. a big beetle/ B. a beautiful butterfly/ C. a lizard hunting insects in the bathroom
7. A. motorcycle with 3+ passengers/ B. communist rikshaw/ C. colourful bus "destination Jesus"
8. (please create your own multiple choice here!)


I hope for your reaction, this might make the blog more interactive!!

chai and banana chips

I'm living in Aruns place now for a few days allready. He's a great guy, knows a lot and speaks english well. He is a professional bamboo flute player but earns his money with designing. He also knows a lot about computers (using his now). Today he left for two days to his wife's parents house where his wife is now with his 3 month old son. It is a hindu custom that the pregnant woman goes to her parents house about 3 months before birth and stays there another 3 months after birth. She can have longer rest if the birth was not natural. She takes one more month rest which makes me very happy because that is why I can stay here for this month. I am still looking for something else for the following month.
Let me tell you something more about daily life here. Indians don't mind eating with their hands. I'm sorry, I mean the right hand only, because they use the other hand to wipe their ass -not with toilet paper but with water. The restaurants -"hotels"- are relatively cheap so people go there often. You go in, wash your hand(s), sit and order. The waiters will not start welcoming you with a warmhearted smile and ask if everything is as wished for, but they will take your order, bring the meal in a few minutes, refill your plate if you don't hold your hand and bring the bill on a small paper with the same pokerface. When you finish you wash your hand again and go out after paying at the desk in the entrance. Unlike the Bourgondian way flemish will enjoy their meal in a restaurant, all this is handled down in 10-20 minutes. Polight habits or words during meals are not in practice either. No "enjoy your meal" or "cheers", no waiting for the others. Burping is heard sometimes after the meal, and nose slimes have to be removed loudly, especially in the morning.
Indians don't mind peeing against the wall or in the bushes next to the road -I don't say they never do that in Europe, but in comparison I see it often here. When driving they don't stop when someone is coming from the other direction, they just sound their horn harder. Yes, that is something I had to get used to on the streets, drivers constantly sound their horns. The trucks, busses, cars, rikshaws, motorcycles and even bikes, "ring! ring ring ring!". They don't slow down when they reach a junction but sound their horn 5 times to let the other drivers know that they are coming. There are no or very bad sidewalks and the busses and trucks drive way to fast, sometimes it's really dangerous. But one gets used to it.
Indians don't mind having wet feet. They walk on "chappels" (slippers) whole day, but put them out before entering a room or building. No chance that your feet will stay dry when caught by a mousson rain, even if you wear shoes. After the rain there will be water on the streets for days. The bathroom has a shower but no shower cabin. So the whole floor gets wet when you wash, but then again it will be dry again very quickly. When you leave the bathroom you dry your feet on the litte mat at the door.
Ok I have enough of this for now; time to try to send Jeroen some pictures or to add some here. Have fun and think about me when you cheers your beers!(I think I'll have a Kingfisher here toninght, it's quite good!)

abiding in Irinjalakuda

Hello there!
sorry it took me such a long time since last post, but here i am! After looking around in Thiruvananthapuram (or Trivandrum, easier...), the school Kalamandalam in Cheruturuthi, Moozhikulam where the excellent Kutiyattam artist Margi Madhu teaches, and last but not least Irinjalakuda (the Chakyar family there has a long tradition of Kutiyattam), i decided -for various reasons- to start taking lessons in Irinjalakuda. It`s a small town with temple (with 2 elephants!) and theatre where i saw my first movie in Malayalam, "Kichaamanii", it was about a big firm and a mob and corruption or something, not very good, but the fighting scenes were funny when i saw these little indian chubbies in dhoti stretching their legs in the air in a kung fu battle. There were also two tall muscled indians with bodybuilder stature who were doing some jumps. Oh well, apart from the bad Hollywood imitations these films have their value when the fat mustached maffia boss starts dancing and singing in the streets with his gang as background dancers... i have a few titles of Malayalam art films, i'll tell you filmfans more about that after seeing them.
I have the impression that i am the only white guy around. I'm still staying at the P(ublic)W(orks)D(epartement) Rest House for 100 IRS (about 2 euro) per night, but hoping to be able to stay in a vacant room with Varun who rents the house, but he has to ask permission to the house owner. It seems to be difficult for bachelors to find a room here. Even for Varun it was difficult, and he comes from Chennai (or Madras). Varun says that bachelors are considered to have a 'free lifestyle' or sth..., i don't know. I have to introduce myself soon so i will do my best to look decent and act like a good boy, that will be very easy for me, because i am a decent and good boy (those who know me are nodding to the screen now). Varun and this house owner are both musicians, so i really hope i can live there.
About the lessons, well, they are very different from what i would expect from a western teacher. I've had 4 lessons so far and the excercises are always the same in the same order, repeating them untill my legs start shaking. But Sooraj gives me something new every day. He is a young (28) and brilliant Kutiyattam actor, i have the privilege to see the daily rehearsel in the morning, and it becomes more fascinating every day. The psychological depth of Kutiyattam, the repetitions and slowliness which stretches gives all thoughts and actions so much more meaning. Western audience is always looking for the surprise act which will change our mind, but here recognition is so much more important. The elder Gopal Venu is a warm and interesting person. He met many great artists in his career and wrote books on the indian theatre tradition. He conducts the school/ensemble here and is quite busy. I almost finished his first book and will ask him questions about it in a few days.
This is enough for today, there is so much more to tell. I just hope all this is a bit relevant to you guys, maybe you want to know about other things, please tell me!
CU soon!
ps oh yes! look Irinjalakuda up on google earth and you'll see me jumping somewhere in the jungle.

On the search for Kutiyattam teachers!

Hi!
this morning at 6.30, Ewa and I arrived in Cheruthuruthi by train. This is the village where Kalamandalam(http://www.kalamandalam.org/), a school for most Indian traditional arts (dance, theatre,music), where Ewa studies bharatanatyam, indian classical dance. You can find the place on google earth. I'd say that we`re surrounded by the jungle, but the village is much bigger than I had imagined; there is a big road with a lot of shops going through, a train station (wich is almost as big as the one in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala with almost 1 million inhabitants!) nearby in Shornur. I will ask information about the Kutiyattam classes here and then go to Kochin for the Madhu Margi school (also for Kutiyattam).
The first night i was in India ( had to wait in Mumbai airport for a whole night, which was not very pleasant. In the morning i flew to Thiruvananthapuram, where Ewa picked me up. The busses make a lot of noise, but actually anyone makes as much as noise as possible when driving a vehicle. The city is different than I imagined, it actually looks like a village but a very big one. There are no bins and the houses are in bad condition.
Ok, there is a lot more to tell, but I will tell you next time, qn post some photos as well.
Have a great time there!
CU

strong espresso

Good morning!
a last extra-strong espresso in the veranda in the parental house in Tienen. I packed yesterday night, quite tired. Very weird feeling, it's as if the whole idea of going on this trip is not real. But it will turn into reality very soon. Wish me luck, you guys, in 4 hours I will sit in a plane!
cu soon!
mahapada

nog tweeënhalf etmaal voor take-off!

Pieke trek!

we need you!!!! in spaaaaaace

aangemaakt, de blog is aangemaakt!

Hallo!
De blog voor Leo in India is aangemaakt!