September 3: Periyar (and crowds)

One of the circumstances I was prepared for ahead of time were beggars and crowds. I was warned that people might follow you for blocks and blocks asking for money, and that giving money was no solution since then others would follow. I haven't experienced this so far at all -- though I know this is mostly because of the places I have visited, which are the wealthier parts of India. The few people who have asked for money have been amazingly unintrusive. Persistent certainly, but perfectly quiet, just standing and watching and holding out a hand. It seems absurd not to give, and so I have.

In fact, what I am asked for most often is candy and pens, and if I had known I would have stocked up on hundreds before I left. It's a shame I didn't know.

I was aware that once we left Bangalore, things might change, but Kumily our next stop was a small town that is fairly prosperous due to both tourism and a thriving spice and tea trade. In addition, once we hit Kumily we went to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, which naturally has fairly few humans. We went for a three-hour trek through the sanctuary, with a silent guide who pointed out various birds, giant squirrels, monkeys, and loads of deer. Ostensibly this is a sanctuary for tigers, but they only come out at night and the most we saw was a footprint in the mud. (Which was nevertheless surprisingly cool.) There is also a chance of seeing elephants, but we didn't spot any. In fact the closest I really got to wildlife was a two-inch leech that tried to attack my jeans. It was a gorgeous hike though, complete with a bamboo raft boatride across a river. Afterwards, I sat on a wall looking out over a lake and pulled out my watercolors.

I am not a great watercolorist, I just like to play with them, and the lake was so gorgeous, with a few roaming water buffalo and lots of green trees, that I figured I would give it a try.

This, THIS is what produced a crowd. A bunch of tailors from Tail Nadu appeared out of nowhere. Seven or eight of them, watching over my shoulder . . . and helping. When I pulled out a piece of tissue to blot up some of the water, oen of them took part of the tissue and started blotting too. One picked up a paintbrush and I truly thought he might try to paint on my paper as well. When I finished the painting, I offered it to one of the men, and he said no, but another one jumped in and took it. Now the gates had been opened. Everyone wanted one. All of them tapped on their chests asking for their own. I only had time to paint one more, but I was asked for my signature on both, as was Dora, a fellow from China, who had painted a picture as well. We had friends for life.

Candy, pens, and watercolors. Bring them on your next trip.