devaraja market

Pongol madness
I'm so impressed by what you managed to see, eat and photograph in just a couple of days! Some of the images you conjured up were pretty hilarious and made the whole trip seem adventurous--Mona Lisa cow eyes, yellow cows, semi-Indian gravy (?), four of you crammed into an auto rickshaw, stuffed buses "being driven by complete maniacs (hopefully, the pilgrims' prayers kept them safe), dodging priests' blessings, a bad toupee, the blingy palace, and using "a week’s supply of wet wipes and hand sanitizer" in the toilet. How fantastic to learn that rural India is peaceful; I'd been afraid it was all mad and crowded like the urban centers. India sounds really enticing, especially since I was, as usual, literally salivating as I read your blog (yum--that rice pudding-like Pongol dish). And Ren, I so admire your intrepidness at going outside your tidy comfort zone (barefoot, train toilets, etc). Some with your fastidious nature might eschew India, but you let your adventurous side have sway--brava!