Dear Friends,
Well this is much more challenging than I first thought it would be. I am
getting some email from you but it is so slow to download. It takes about
10 minutes to get one message.

After Madras we traveled to Kangipurum, a town about 60 km from Madras. We
hired a car for 1200 r (we always seem to pay foreign tourist rates as we
are rather easy to spot) and went to the swankiest hotel in town. Swanky is
definitely a relative term. The hotel was like a fortified, marble jailhouse.
The only way you seem to be able to get any space around you is to build a big
fence. There is always security and you really begin to feel like the ugly
American, but on the other hand, its great to breathe and not be stared and
have people constantly calling madame, madame. We visited the old Dravidian
temples here, and for a 200 r donation I was invited into the inner sanctum of
the temple to have my picture taken with the priest. He said a puja for me for
luck in marriage, work, and children, so I feel rather encouraged for the coming
year. The rest of the town was truly awful. It was dusty, flat and had not one
tree or flower in sight. However it is the center for silk weaving and the women
are dressed in the most extraordinarily beautiful colors of silk with gold and
silver threads.

We are now in Mamalapurum, a small village of about 13,000 people on the
coast. It is Saturday, January 20 something. It is a fishing village,
filled with temples, shops, restaurants, european tourists, and the
ubiquitous Indian dogs, cows and goats. This town is much more manageable
and you can walk on the streets without getting nearly run over every few
seconds. Tomorrow we are on to Tanjore. We have hired a driver who will be
with us for the next 2 weeks or so.

It is very difficult to get these messages off so I apologize for not
telling you more. I'll try again in the next town. Namaste. MZ