Traveling Terry

I started the dog rescue story with hope. A happy ending uncertain. But there was hope. So the following is the final chapter I will write while still in India. Hope is still alive. I rescued Buddy from death by tick fever, but found he has a chronic condition called mega esophagus. I could not return him to the streets as I had planned. I cared for him and sang to him and walked him and loved him, ever since he got back from the pet clinic and a temporary caretaker on January 24. Buddy was my companion and best friend. During that time I just knew there would be lots of Indian homes wanting this loving boy. But my knowing turned to despair the closer I got to my exit date with no permanent home ... read more

Caring for a rescue dog in India has been a lonely task indeed. Buddy the street dog returned to me from the temporary caretaker, with the report that he had not vomited for two days, and he’d been eating mounds of curd rice. I was skeptical. My doubts were correct. Buddy’s stomach is still sensitive. I need to give him very small amounts of rice and chicken and broth, and an anti nausea drug which he hates me for administering by spray in his mouth. And what about the lonely feelings hanging over this project? If I had a kitchen and lots of supportive friends around things might be easier. But people here just aren’t that invested in helping animals—especially street dogs, since they’re all over the place and seem to take care of themselves. Plus, ... read more

I needed an adventure. A slow kind of adventure. Lasting a half day at most. So I talked Anand and Henk into joining me. Anand drives the auto rickshaw, and Henk is an excellent photographer from Belgium who’s spent many years exploring the roads and villages outside of Madurai. He speaks a lot more Tamil than I do, and together he and Anand make quite a pair. The goal was to see a particular waterfall about 30 kilometers away. Anand set off on the backroads, after we had some tea and coffee of course. Soon we stopped at a colorful Ayyanar shrine. Henk was not shy about asking people to do things so he could get a good photograph. The young boy gladly climbed on to the statue of Ayyanar’s steed. And the man walking down ... read more

The priest from Kochadai spoke perfect English. He and his five barefooted companions had just descended the temple hill outside Madurai. They were on a pilgrimage, because the next day their village temple was to have its annual festival. He invited me to attend. I had visited their temple several times. It is a favorite, as all the important deities associated with Ayyanar are housed there. I’ve sensed its power on previous visits. The deities have an important job in guarding the people from misfortune, negative energies, and calamities. The next day I made my way to the temple, now transformed for the special occasion. Loud speakers blared music and an elephant inside the entryway used its trunk to thump a blessing on the head of anyone who gave it a coin. The priests were readying ... read more

My good friend Rengasamy arranged for me to attend an evening of his native village’s annual festival. Pudupatty is about 11/2 hours drive from Madurai, so I hired a taxi and arrived about 4:30 pm to music blasting through the village. People milled about, getting ready for the evening’s events. Mr. Sathis, the village president, welcomed me to the village with a flower garland. He showed me the deities that would soon be carried through the streets of the village. A group of shiny metal deities were decked out in flowers and looked quite cozy on their platform swing inside a small temple. Nearby a palanquin was under construction. Men would carry this large box covered in flowers using the two horizontal poles beneath. A man from Madurai who specializes in the cart construction was placing ... read more