MAR 21, 13 .. POLITICS IN PONDICHERRY ..
Pondicherry has been experiencing some political ‘unrest’ the past few days.
Yesterday Patti was able to hear for herself some of the chanting and shouting and protesting.
Patti had called me on my cell phone when I happened to be in-the-midst (and I mean literally!) of a group of protesters!
Protesters! I appreciate your cause (I guess) BUT I am going to go into the India Government Post Office and that-is-that. Police and armed military were crawling all-over-the-place! I felt quite ‘safe’ actually.
However .. this .. to some degree .. ‘unnerved’ Patti.
Today Pondicherry was under a ‘Bandh’ .. a term used here in India for a ‘general strike’ by the people. I would say that at least 90% of the businesses were closed (during the day).
Daily Bread for one was closed. It was locked and its steel shutters were fully down. NO salad today at Daily Bread! Or so I thought!
Today happened to be one-of-my ‘purchase-Herbal-Bread’ days at Hot Breads. So at 7AM in-I-went blissfully unaware of what was happening all around me.
Hot Breads had their steel ‘security’ shutters down and lifted them only for patrons willing to ‘cross the Bandh’.
The first photo below was taken inside of Hot Breads and shows the entrance ‘shuttered down’. An employee is sitting beneath the ‘steel shutter’.
Well I enjoyed breakfast .. got my Herbal Bread the instant I went in .. and I headed for the Internet Cafe about 11:30AM after some down time writing Post Cards in the cool and quiet of the air conditioned comfort of Hot Breads.
When I got outside of Hot Breads .. I photographed the front of the shop and .. you have to really look hard .. you can see the entire front of Hot Breads is ‘shuttered down’!
Note above no people walking about .. no traffic .. quiet!
When I got to my Internet Cafe it too was ‘shuttered’ down. Then Velu appeared and let me in! And I went to work then ..
THEN I HEARD THEM COMING! Down the street in front of my Internet Cafe ‘HERE THEY COME’!
HAVE YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU ..
PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES WILL APPEAR ..
Field of Dreams ..
HERE THEY ALL COME!
THERE-THEY-ALL-GO!
And the band played Waltzing Matilda!
Patti was .. ahhh .. not overly fond of the idea of me .. hanging out from the balcony of my Internet Cafe PHOTOGRAPHING THEM!
Having seen similar scenarios .. several or more .. each and every trip to India for my past ten trips spanning twenty two years .. Calcutta is far the most active .. this is but-a-blip on the India Radar Screen!
OK let’s go back and enjoy the salad of a few days ago!
Not bad! Smiles .. Cap ..
And at 6PM my time I pressed ‘publish’ and went off to eat ‘somewhere’!
And what-to-my-wondering-eyes-do-I-see! Daily Bread was lit-up and open!
So in-I-went and ordered up a salad. Like nothing had happened all day.
Go figure. Smiles. Cap
Last night I was-out-walking and snapped the below photo of The Aayi Mandapam in Government Square!
In case you have forgotten what the Aayi Mandapam looks like in the day .. here you are!
WHEW! How special this all is! How truly blessed I am!