15 months: India!, Mottai, and Uh-Oh

This was quite the eventful month! Two passport stamps obtained: India and Switzerland. Head shaved (first hair cut). Lots of family and friends met. And many firsts had (including rickshaw rides).

So first, it takes quite a while on planes to get to India. We stopped off in Zurich for a few days on the way there, which was good because I was really sleepy around 3pm the first day. Luckily I can sleep easily on Amma (in her cool Ergo carrier), so I was pretty portable (Anna was heavier for Appa to carry around if he fell asleep while out and about). I liked the town and trams and the boat rides and the zoo.

We had a busy itinerary throughout southern India: Mumbai, car through the Ghats to Pune, flight to Chennai, overnight train to Madurai, side trip to Kotaikanal in the hills, Mottai (head shaving) just north of Madurai, overnight train back to Chennai, fly home. We stayed with friends and family mostly, managed some time to play, and ate a bunch of new and yummy food, including many dosai, sambas, chutneys, fresh guava (yum!), and small cucumbers (fun to eat, though sometimes I would spit them out after chewing on them), though I admit some of my tasting the variety was through Amma's milk. I really loved kamala oranges with the mostly green skin (just like amma and appa and anna). Mutton biriani and white beans are quite good as well.

Mumbai showed me that India can be hot! And humid. With my long hair, I would sweat pretty much instantly upon going outside. The Gateway to India welcomed me. I enjoyed the boat ride into the harbor as well as the special rich local ice cream. 

I enjoyed the hills surrounding Pune quite a lot. We went to a set of cool caves (Bedse) carved into the rock upon a mountainside from 2000 years ago. We also went up to a fort that had gate upon gate upon gate as we wound our way up to the top, with bright beautiful pink bougainvillea in between some areas. Pune was also where I had my very first ride in an auto-rickshaw! I loved it (and held on pretty tightly).

Throughout the trip I was just taking it all in. It was quite a lot to observe. They say I am a little more mellow than my brother. Though with the heat and the travel I had my times of crankiness (luckily amma figured out how to nurse me when carrying me in the Ergo).

They say I looked like Krishna with my long hair on top (see the picture with Amma below in front of silver falls near Kotaikanal).

The main event of the trip occurred on October 26. Family and friends had assembled from around the world. In fact, some of the family members tend to be always '10 minutes late', but they were on time for me! We had breakfast in Madurai, then a bus full of family took us about 20 km north of the city to Alagarkoil (beautiful temple). And that is where my Mottai (head shaving) occurred - while the shaving itself was a little unexpected (and I admit I did cry a little), it felt quite nice when complete - check out the picture with Appa below! Then I put on new clothes, a necklace of jasmine flowers, and they put sandalwood paste on my head. We then toured Alagarkoil, the temple at the top of the hill with the never ending spring, and the one in between. And we capped it all off with lunch back in Madurai. The weather even cooperated (it wasn't quite so hot). All in all, a beautiful time. I also got my ears pierced back in Chennai, another tradition.

Finally, I wanted to mention that 'Uh oh!' is my new favorite expression, and used for a lot of things. It is quite cute I must say.

Thank you God for shiny spoons and bowls, loving family, fast rickshaws, smooth haircuts, fragrant flowers, advanced airplanes, tasty food, and shoes that light up.