Sunday - Last day in Tiruvanamalai :(

Today I bought a bright red scarf which is supposed to be the best color to wear on Sunday to honor the Sun. But it also turned out to be a good scarf to wear to the Kali shrine we visited. 

First we wandered down to the street stall where a very good and trustworthy friend of our companion Viraja was selling all sorts of malas. A mala is basically a rosary, used for prayer and repetition of mantra, and is worn around your neck or wrist; so, its like a beaded necklace. We spent quite a while mala shopping. Every type of stone used to string a mala has different qualities and attributes. So, it is not  a casual process to choose your stones and purchase a mala and it got less casual as the temperatures climbed to 100 Fahrenheit. To help with the heat I risked my life ( just kidding, sort of) and crossed the road with my empty water bottle to have the coconut water seller hack the ends off of 6 coconuts to fill my water bottle with fresh coconut water. This cost me about $1. In the US I would have had to take out a bank loan to afford that much fresh coconut water. It is so hot here that you sweat all the time, and lose a lot of electrolytes. Coconut water is one solution of replenishment. 

After the malas and the coconut water, we went to the Kali shrine and made an offering of the recommended limes and roses. Several people were there with their new motor scooters to be blessed by Kali who is the preferred goddess to bless dangerous endeavors (like driving on the roads here). There's a lot more to Kali than that, but I only have a few more minutes to do this blog....so I will leave it at "motor scooters" except to say that in India, everything is seen as alive and part of God. Everything. Including motor scooters. So you treat them with respect and take them to be blessed. Like that.

The last time I was here in India, I went to the same Kali shrine and watched a 12 year old girl bring her new scooter to be blessed, then off she wobbled and swerved into the crazy traffic. (You can drive motor bikes at the age of twelve here. And drive legally at the age of fifteen. Good thing they get blessed by Kali!)

After the Kali shrine we went to Ramana Maharshi's ashram. There are a LOT of ashrams here, built by the followers of the many saints who have lived and died here. Ramana Maharshi's was so peaceful and full of a feeling of blessing force. 

And now it is 4:40 pm and at 5 pm is the Hannuman Chalisa....but I am out of time so you will just have to guess what that is :-)
Tomorrow we leave. I am sad to leave Tiru. but excited too - for the next part of the adventure. 
Thanks for reading