W1B-011 India letters-0.txt
The Elephant God GANESH

Boxing Day 2000 "Hermitage", Kamalpur Orissa

Dearest Angela, I hope you had a lovely xmas and got all you wanted from Santa. I have to admit each time I thought about xmas away from all my family and friends I was a little bit sad but I am happy to say that we had a really beautiful xmas here, so good I had to write immediately and tell you about all our adventures since we left Calcutta (I assume you got my email Ð angelobrin@ola.com). We decided to come to Orissa on the advice of the french man we met in Delhi to stay with these people she told us about. After a full day in a train from Calcutta we reached Cuttak where we spent one night in luxery. Already we were off the beaten track, we had to stay in a luxery luxury hotel because there were no guest houses for tourists, they never get any. Next day we headed for Athmallik. We were told it was only a 35km journey but after 2 hrs in a bus we got a little suspicious, there was no village in sight for miles and we were heading really out into the wild Ð jungle all around. Upon asking we discovered Athmallik was 250km away and the bloody journey took ages! It was 9pm when we arrived, totally dark and not a guest house in sight. We had made up our minds to spend the night in a temple or hay shed when a young Indian man rescued us. He took us to a guest house which was closed and got us a room telling us he would return the following day to take us to the people we planned to stay with. However he returned 1/2 hr later and insisted we came home to his family. This was about 10pm on xmas eve just to keep you up to date. So we went back with him to meet his parents and family. They were so nice, kept telling us how privalleged they were to have us in their home and they really treated us like royalty. I thought I 'd only get to see places like this on T.V. Angela, it is amazing. Nobody ever comes here either so the people think its a really big thing to have foreigners in their village. Everyone lives in either stone or mud houses with thatched roofs. All kinds of fruit and veg. grow here, the jungle is full of wild banana + mango trees and I 'm told wild elephants, deer and tigers live there too. Anyway, we woke up on xmas morning to the whole family bearing bunches of fresh flowers and cups of tea shouting happy xmas. Even though they don't celebrate it themselves they wanted to make it special for us. Then the father, he's a brahmin (highest caste hindu) blessed us and told us we were his son and daughter, his family was ours because we made them all so happy by coming to stay. Then we took family photos with our new "family"! It was really touching, they don't even realise how much they helped us and I thought they were going to cry with joy when we gave them a fruit cake we had bought for xmas! We went with our "new brother" Chandra for a walk and guess where he took us Ð to visit the King of Athmallik! I had tea with real royalty on xmas morning. The Palace is lovely with old photos of all the ancestors on the walls. It looked like it was decorated in 1920 and never redone Ð lovely. Oh, the ex-minister for tourism of Orissa was also present! I think I 'll only have tea with kings and politicians from now on, peasant folk are too common!!

After this little interlude we went to visit a Shiva temple in the jungle and surrounded with hot springs. Finally we had to head for Kamal Pur to find the people whose address we had. As we were leaving the family told us to come back anytime it was our home and we would always be welcome. Chandra got a jeep to take us right up to the jungle through a small tribal village to meet Sammy + Chauncey, the people the woman we met said would welcome us if we came. Chauncey won't be here until new year's eve but as soon as we arrived Sammy got out the rice wine, put more food in the pot and said we could treat the place like our own home as long as we liked. Really, the people here are so welcoming. Sammy is Catholic so he was celebrating xmas and was delighted to have some people to share it with. Xmas dinner was delicious, pilau rice, vegetables, chicken curry and sweet rice pudding all served on big banana leaves and eaten with your right hand And another xmas cake we had brought for Sammy + Chauncey for xmas. It is tropical fruit + cashew nut cake + absolutely delicious. Ð this is real India Angela. Miles from anywhere, no electricity in these hills (down in the village 6km away there is) totally surrounded by small mountains and thick jungle. In a couple of days one of the old men is going to take us into the jungle interior Ð sounds like Indiana Jones style! I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to come here, really it is like the middle ages. Cooking on an open fire, getting water from the well. It is an excellent experience for me and a good chance to think about what is really important in life. These people have nothing except what they grow or make with their own hands yet they are so content with life and what they have. There is a bonfire and jungle traditional music planned for new years eve and by that time there will be more people here. We plan to stay for 2 or 3 weeks at least before moving on, maybe to the beach for a while. I 'd love if you would come with me to India some day. I 'm sure you would love it as much as I do, it is a different world.

Email me with all your news, did Paul go to Australia, is Timmy still with Caitriona, how are Noirin + Christopher getting on, did you see Bernie + Glen at xmas, how is your course going, did you go up to my house at xmas, do you hear from Sarah at all, tell everyone I was asking for them.

Keep yourself well and safe, enjoy the finer things in life and don't stress over your course too much.

If I 've learned anything it is to take things as they come and they will generally come alright.

Take Care + lots of love your best friend Aisling XXX.

P.S. There is a little chicken trying to make friends with my ankles at the moment, I 've never been this close to one that I 'm not going to EAT before!!
DINNER?
P.P.S Next day Ð The new years eve bonfire had to be lit last night to scare off the elephants who were making loud trumpeting noises + threatening to come too close to the house, all the villagers were out blowing bugles + banging doors keep them far away Ð what an amazing place!!
