Its been an incredibly relaxing few days staying in mammalapuram. Its a fishing town that has most definitely become a tourist village with all the roads to the beach selling exactly the same stuff and all the restaurants charging the same crazy prices but walk 200m in the other direction and you find india again. Its lovely having these two contrasts and being able to pick and choose which you'd prefer for the day, or a few hours.
After living in sadhana I'd forgotten how entertaining india is and how the people make me smile. I've relented and become project as no one can say bridget! And everything needs to be done jokingly in order for it to be fun, for the buyer and the seller. I'm beginning to love the interactions with store owners and yet at the same time loathe the owners themselves. Every friendly overture is a hidden hope that you'll buy something but their attempts are so thinly veiled that it its just a word game that can be played for days. Everyday you walk passed the same stores and every day is a fresh line to try reel you in. in the end a smile and a subtle shake of the head lets them know exactly where you stand and the dialogue is brought to a momentary stand still. But tomorrow is a new day and perhaps tomorrow his friendly words will convince you that you need that pashmina or that stone elephant carving. Day in and day out these men stand outside their shops calling to every tourist in the hope that one might be persuaded to enter his store and buy from him rather than one of the other 10 identical shops surrounding his.
In order to escape this I'm on the beach front watching the fishermen untangle their nets. These men have nothing to sell to me and leave me alone in my staring and writing. Its quite nice to be the one doing the staring for once!
