Mahabalipuram Temple
Beginning of Shiva Dance and Painting with Feet
Closeup of painter with feet
Student and dancer using her feet to paint at PBSS
Teacher at PBSS school
Fisherman's Shanty Village
Boys in Fisherman's Village
Chennai was an interesting place with a pastiche of culture and people. We saw how two young advocates/professors lived, the fisherman village off of the Bay of Bengal, Mahabalipuram – Palava sculptures and the merchants near them, and one American Fulbright scholar working in The Children’s Garden School.
The advocates/professors
The two professors that we met were a young couple passionate about social service. We met them the night we arrived. They hosted another Fulbrighter and me in their home. They both work full-time at Loyola University, and after work at 3pm they head to a volunteer center to work from 4 to 10pm every night. They work to educate Sri Lankan refugee children. They were so successful at advocating for their education, they don’t fall under the Right To Education Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_of_Children_to_Free_and_Compulsory_Education_Act) because they are not Indian citizens. However, this professor and his wife and their organization advocated so that the refugee Sri Lankan children regardless of their citizenship, they can attend school and be educated until it is safe to return home. That is powerful social service. I admire their passion and dedication to helping those in need.
The fisherman village was a little heartbreaking. There were rows and rows of make-shift houses built from scrap metal, bamboo, and scrap wood. Women were outside their houses selling fresh fish on the nearby road. It was very apparent that these people lived simple lives, and that many of the children there could possibly be illiterate. I am speculating this because it was around 3pm and none of these kids were in school or just leaving school. They were standing near the boats and it appeared that the boats were where they were all day.
Mahabalipuram was an enlightening tour. We learned about the life-sized model sculptures used as blueprints for the real temples – where we don’t know. Our guide Dr. Suresh informed us that Michael Lockwood, a famous historian who focuses on Indian history shared a lot of insight on the purpose of the models and what they might represent. To read more on Mahabalipuram, check the website below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabalipuram
On the last day we visited a section of the city called, Mylapore. It is where a famous temple is housed and on Friday (women’s day), women, men, and children attended the temple to pray and ask he Hindu gods and goddesses to bless them. I found it intriguing to make connections between the Hindu and Yoruba gods and goddesses.
The advocates/professors
The two professors that we met were a young couple passionate about social service. We met them the night we arrived. They hosted another Fulbrighter and me in their home. They both work full-time at Loyola University, and after work at 3pm they head to a volunteer center to work from 4 to 10pm every night. They work to educate Sri Lankan refugee children. They were so successful at advocating for their education, they don’t fall under the Right To Education Act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Right_of_Children_to_Free_and_Compulsory_Education_Act) because they are not Indian citizens. However, this professor and his wife and their organization advocated so that the refugee Sri Lankan children regardless of their citizenship, they can attend school and be educated until it is safe to return home. That is powerful social service. I admire their passion and dedication to helping those in need.
The fisherman village was a little heartbreaking. There were rows and rows of make-shift houses built from scrap metal, bamboo, and scrap wood. Women were outside their houses selling fresh fish on the nearby road. It was very apparent that these people lived simple lives, and that many of the children there could possibly be illiterate. I am speculating this because it was around 3pm and none of these kids were in school or just leaving school. They were standing near the boats and it appeared that the boats were where they were all day.
Mahabalipuram was an enlightening tour. We learned about the life-sized model sculptures used as blueprints for the real temples – where we don’t know. Our guide Dr. Suresh informed us that Michael Lockwood, a famous historian who focuses on Indian history shared a lot of insight on the purpose of the models and what they might represent. To read more on Mahabalipuram, check the website below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabalipuram
On the last day we visited a section of the city called, Mylapore. It is where a famous temple is housed and on Friday (women’s day), women, men, and children attended the temple to pray and ask he Hindu gods and goddesses to bless them. I found it intriguing to make connections between the Hindu and Yoruba gods and goddesses.
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