It is clean- Trivandrum is the cleanest city I have been to in India. It has wonderful boulevards (that may be a stretch), there are no cows or dogs. There are, however, cats. The buildings are well maintained. The neighborhoods are in picturesque winding lanes. The architecture is unobtrusive. Religions (Islam, Hinduism, Christianity) all live in peace (Jesus is right next to Ganesh on people's dashboards).
It is friendly- people love to smile, they are helpful, they are not menacing as those in Delhi can be.
Women work- in shops, in offices, at bus conductors. They smile and you smile back. There are thousands of woman on the streets
The Heat- is luxurious and not at all oppressing.
THE FOOD IS DELICIOUS-- vada, idli, dosa, BEEF CURRY EVERYWHERE, cashes, th most beautiful red bananas on earth, coconuts, fruits, cashews, and the most flaky parathas ever.
The landscape is heavenly- rocky and verdant. flat and expansive. huge blue blue blue ocean. palm trees. backwaters of stunning beauty. cities truly integrated with nature.
I stayed there for 10 days- not counting 5 days spent on trains. I ended up in the hospital for 2 hours- an experience I would not like to relive ( I hit my head on a door built for someone 6 inches shorter then me).
I met wonderful people. 14 of us rented a house in Kovalam. People from all over the world and partied and relaxed. We cooked at and ate and drank and lounged on the beach under the equatorial sun. Every night we ate the freshest fish imaginable. Emma is one of my best friends and I am happy she invited me to come with her and all of her friends to the Kovalam house.
And now I am home! And I am so so so so so happy-- I am so in love with Banaras, and while I LOVED the south, I would only want to live in the North- why? I have no clue.
And today off to Delhi for the India Arts Summit
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