23rd January

23rd January, we counted them out and we counted them back, an outing with the children to Vellore park.

Up early this morning for a breakfast invitation and the ride to Seetaramanpet before the school buses start racing around the roads like lunatics. We had been invited to the Blessing of the new house of our friend Santi's eldest daughter Uma. This has been constructed in Santi's back garden and paid for with a government loan, (plus large commission of course) It is a fine house and will be just for Uma's family of herself, her husband and two children, so that the level of overcrowding in Santi's very modest home will be much reduced. The tradition for a house blessing is that you begin proceedings at 3 in the morning (most propitious time) by walking a cow through the home. Much as we had wanted to see how the cow would negotiate the narrow and steep steps between Santi's home and the new house, we passed on the three o' clock start. Pam tells us she and Brian once attended a blessing and she had even managed to deck herself in a sari at that early hour. As I said to her 'You two are seriously hard-core!' 

An awning had been erected on the roof of the new house and a large feast had been catered (by outside caterers). From early morning when all the family would have been present, through to us at breakfast and beyond, the whole of the village seemed to be passing through to be fed. Whilst we were there Joseph, the RUHSA man for the area, came and had his breakfast. 

 Evidence of the special house blessing poojah from early morning

Uma standing proudly in front of her new poojah room

On then to the preschool where children and their mothers and grandmothers were arriving for the trip. The RUHSA bus arrived and off we trooped, with bats and balls and large amounts of food for us and the teachers. The children ran ahead in their excitement, causing Jude the first of many health and safety anxieties for the day! How very different from Bristol City practice and procedure which would have meant a risk assessment and many detailed preparations, permission slips, parental attendance etc etc and so actually would have meant no way could a trip have been organised in less than a week. 

The journey there did mean that we had to endure  the horror that is Katpadi Junction traffic and which continues non-stop into the even greater horror of Vellore. However the park turned out to be a very pleasant place, contrary to my rather low expectations. It is right opposite Vellore Fort which is a huge edifice, which dates from the fourteenth century. There are lawns which were being watered ( though we know Vellore has serious water shortages) and there are small animals (white rats, rabbits, budgerigars, parrots, guinea pigs) in small cages. The mothers and children were very excited to see these. Then we walked on further and found rusting dodgy-looking merry-go-rounds and a small train on a circuit. The children were allowed to sit on the carousel and the adults pushed them gently round, but Padmini said if they had paid to have a proper go it would have whizzed too fast for them. Andy the keeper of the wallet paid over the equivalent of £2.40 for all twelve children (plus we slipped in a couple of extra younger siblings) to have a train ride which lasted a good few circuits. Great squealing from children and parents. 

After a clamber on a rhino, we found a fairly poor set of swings and a slide that was too delapidated to be usable. Then it was time for the snacks which we had brought as our contribution (not put through RUHSA accounting system I fear...) and the children and teachers and our nice young RUHSA man and Andy played ball games on the grass. The picnic was then taken on the paths. The children had their tiffin boxes as usual brought from home and we three plus the  RUHSA man and the driver were given the usual hearty meal to which the teachers, the ayah and the other school helper had all made a contribution. Our plates were the very biggest we had ever been confronted with, so far. 

The day had been a success we felt and Padmini told me the children didn't want to leave. Rani did a head count and we seemed to have everyone we had brought with us.Back to the preschool for goodbyes and many thank yous from the mothers, then a cycle home, again ahead of the mad school buses, for a collapse under the fan and reflection that it had been a lovely day, if tiring as school trips always are, for us all.