Palani
Palani is a beach hawker who comes each day to a designated spot with his wife and members of 4 other families to sell their wares to tourists at our resort. They are not situated where the tourists relax on the beach, but about 50 yards away, waving silk saris to entice buyers. Not many get enticed, but Saku and I were, one reason being that although Saku went into town once for shopping, she had yet to make any purchases. We may have not gotten the very best "stuff" from these families, but we certainly like what we purchased, and we formed nice friendships, particularly with Palani. Palani is an ex-fisherman who has had hip and pelvic problems that prevent him from fishing. His home was wiped out by the tsunami and he lives in a modest rented structure a few hundred yards away from the resort along with fisherman families. Palani, near penniless, and a very sore hip, had his hip resurfaced 6 months ago by, yes, one of the best hip surgeons in the world, Dr. Bose! A few months ago, Palani developed a nice friendship with another surface hippy from America, Rus Kappius (who's blog gave me the idea to do the same), and when I mentioned Palani to Dr. Bose at my final check-up, he remembered him immediately...as he does all of his patients. After Saku and I had a few stimulating conversations with Palani (Saku in Tamil), Palani invited us to his home for lunch (how's that for Indian hospitality!), and we made a date for the next day contingent upon my walking ability. The Friday meal - a whole fish, plus prawns and even a lobster tail, with dhal and chapathi was just wonderful. Here is a picture of a stuffed me between Palani and his wife. Palani then kindly took us for a stroll through the fishing village and here are two fairly typical pictures. One is an entrance to a home, where each morning the mother pours rice flour on the walkway, somehow into these georgous patterns. Saku explained to me that this indicates the family is up and about, and also the symbols are inviting to guests, who gradually disperse the powder as they walk on it. The next picture is of a bricklayer working in the hot sun to rebuild a home destroyed from the tsunami. Palani and I exchanged addresses - hopefully our relationship will endure!
posted by Gary Klein @ 2:36 AM
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