I just returned from India this weekend after a 2 week visit. This first week was spent with the Cheema family celebrating Sukha's wedding. It was amazing and colorful. Sukha was a beautiful bride. The second week was spent in the state of Kerala
. I went with boona to the city of Cochin which was a Portuguese fort once upon a time. We found a tuk-tuk (3 wheel vehicle) driver who gave a us a whirlwind tour of the place, full of history, teeming with local commerce and production, and containing more churches, temples mosques, etc. per square foot then I've seen anywhere else. It was fascinating to talk to the locals about religion and politics in their community. As far as religion, you can find just about everything there... minus the strife and conflict you find between all these religions elsewhere. The philosophy seems to be live and let live. Politics is in a whole other realm. The people don't seem to fight over politics, but there is certainly a healthy amount of debate, as can be seen from the posters, graffiti and any tuk-tuk driver you ask (at least the ones we asked). The current political climate and history, seem to me fairly unique. It is a very poor place, yet it has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and everyone has access to health care And the communist party is currently running the state government...by popular vote. The people I met there were extremely friendly, jovial, and genuinely seemed to enjoy life. They were educated, and although they did not all speak English well, I did not find it too difficult to communicate. Beyond all of this Kerala is also a tropical paradise with sandy beaches and palm trees. We also spent a few days at Cherai swimming in the Arabian sea. Sigh... I hope I get to go back again sometime soon. If I get around to it, I will post video from the trip on Oscopy. (below: Cherai beach at sunset)
. I went with boona to the city of Cochin which was a Portuguese fort once upon a time. We found a tuk-tuk (3 wheel vehicle) driver who gave a us a whirlwind tour of the place, full of history, teeming with local commerce and production, and containing more churches, temples mosques, etc. per square foot then I've seen anywhere else. It was fascinating to talk to the locals about religion and politics in their community. As far as religion, you can find just about everything there... minus the strife and conflict you find between all these religions elsewhere. The philosophy seems to be live and let live. Politics is in a whole other realm. The people don't seem to fight over politics, but there is certainly a healthy amount of debate, as can be seen from the posters, graffiti and any tuk-tuk driver you ask (at least the ones we asked). The current political climate and history, seem to me fairly unique. It is a very poor place, yet it has one of the highest literacy rates in the world and everyone has access to health care And the communist party is currently running the state government...by popular vote. The people I met there were extremely friendly, jovial, and genuinely seemed to enjoy life. They were educated, and although they did not all speak English well, I did not find it too difficult to communicate. Beyond all of this Kerala is also a tropical paradise with sandy beaches and palm trees. We also spent a few days at Cherai swimming in the Arabian sea. Sigh... I hope I get to go back again sometime soon. If I get around to it, I will post video from the trip on Oscopy. (below: Cherai beach at sunset)
