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Published: December 17th 2006
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final make-up & costume
this was so ornate... looks HEAVY... pretty awesome. this is a prince character and he is supposed to fight the demon. here we have spent the past few days (2) in fort cochin. its a really nice little place with a bunch of pretty inexpensive fun things to do. i have to say its been really great to kick back and relax for a minute. i didn't realize how exhausted i had been from all the on-the-go travelling. i have just really enjoyed not feeling the pressure to get everything that there is to see done in one day. its been nice having leisure time: time to nap, time to walk, time to sit and play domino's or dice 10t (Pat-we LOVE that game... especially me... i am killing it... if only i could roll that well during risk...).
yesterday we meandered around jew town. yes folks, that is the official name of the place. hilarious. strangely, however, in jew town, there was no jewish paraphenelia. uh... weird. only wrought iron window grates in the shapes of jewish stars and the swastik symbol (actually a symbol of peace, totally appropriated and exploited by you-know-who). i must admit, seeing the two symbols side by side was a little strange... i think michael will write more on this, so i won't.
our
the leeches!
i know its a blog entry late... but you gotta check these suckers out... SICK! first night we went to a sitar concert, i think michael already wrote about this, and last night we went to a kathikali show... this is an anciet form of performance that is losing it's place in modern india. the show we went to was a short piece of the larger performance. the real performance is actually performed overnight and often into the next am. it has a different name that i can't remember right now. one indian we were speaking with said that the tourists here help to re-discover india. he said most people don't understand why tourists want to go and see the performance, and PAY!?!? this is something that is done in places of worship... but in trying to understand why tourists want to see the performance, it inevitably makes native indians "re-visit" the performance. the real performance (name i can't remember) starts in the evening and lasts all through the night and actually into the morning. performers study for at least six years before they are considered ready to perform. the show we saw had about 1.5 hours of make-up application time that you could watch before the actual show started. we went to watch for
rubber
in kottayam... the major industry is rubber. its crazy. they slice the bark of the tree and collet the sap of the tree, which is rubber, in a bucket. they pour it into a form and then let it harden, then hang it like clothes to dry fully in the sun. and voila... rubber. 1/2 hour. its pretty amazing. coconut oil is poured onto a flat stone and then a rock (there are black, red, green and yellow rocks) is scraped against the rock to create the make-up. yup. all-natural... and the makeup holds up really well. looks amazing. there are no words spoken... the only communication is through eye movements, facial expressions, and hand gestures. there is so much being said through these gestures... but understanding them is like trying to understand another language. its pretty amazing actually. i can see why it takes six years to master. rumor has it we saw an "ok" version... i was still very impressed. glad we saw it.
i think i am reaching a point here in india (or maybe i should say the south-i hear the north is very different, in fact from state to state people say its like going into a totally new country-but the bathrooms are the same) where i am starting to feel a little more comfortable. things don't seem as scary... i am getting the hang of the people, the customs... perhaps it is just that i have had a moment to let things sink in here in fort
creature comforts...
yes, matching (clean) cups. PRESS???!!! coffee... SUGAR CUBES??? and steamed milk. heaven. cochin. there are also some comforts that we have had here that we have missed in other places - like the kashi art cafe - looks like a gallery, a real gallery, and in the back are nice tables and they serve pressed coffee (and capp's??!?!?!) and such great food for breakfast. it really could be in west la... the first place we have come accross that has that kind of vibe. i am glad we haven't found it otherwise, but i have to admit, i am glad we found it here.
on the same note, we haven't seen any fast food joints... which is great! no chains at all that we can tell, although i am sure there are indian chains we just haven't picked up on. i love it. actually it think there is one that we went to... the indian coffee house in alleppey... which was awesome too. but that's it, and i don't know if it was one for sure.
tomorrow we leave for mumbai (bombay) and get on a train to aurangabad where we see the ajanta and ellora caves. that should be pretty spectacular. after that back to mumbai, to delhi and
michael on leech safari
in the jungle... he's ready then up to the north...
thats it for now... just chillin...
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Liza
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aaaahhhhhh....
I totally understand that feeling of finding a place that feels comfy--art and good coffee are amazing soothers of a weary traveller. In our travels, Acazia and I found those type of places to be the most relaxed locations--but ALSO the most open + educational--I think that perhaps the attention TO and appreciation OF slowing down and stillness lends itself to a reflexiveness that can do nothing but good...or maybe it's just late and i've had too many tequilas. : )