Arnattokadu, Kalekkadu – these are the names of two small villages in Tamil Nadu, South India I have visited in the last weeks. During the visits these women showed me their houses, told me about their lives, their self-help groups and how they want to create their own future. I learnt also about their challenges, poverty…
Category: culture
Lourdes of the East, 10 years after the tsunami
We stay in Vailankanni, Nagapattinam destrict, a pilgrim town at the east coast in Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, 350 km south of Chennai. Vailankatti is a very known pilgrim place that can be traced back to the 16th century and its founding is attributed to three…
The beauty of old tribal women
The beauty of old tribal women – and their role as change agents Isn’t it amazing? In many big cities, with the ongoing globalization and higher education, huge changes of family structures are taking place – also in India. Young families need to go for work in other areas and personal independence gets higher rated…
7 weeks in India – From woman to woman, part 3
Teatime Here, in India, the faces and colors are fascinating, maybe because of the diversity, maybe because of the cultural differences or just because behind every face, there is another life. Have you ever thought if it? How many different, unique lives are there? So, taking photos of people, of their expressions and movements is…
7weeks in India – A travel to the past, a life without mobility
The importance of mobility: For us in the developped world reaching from A to B is always possible, sometimes it might take some more time, but every village, every place is connected. If some trains or busses are on strike we get crazy, but ….can you imagine a life without any mobility? A life where…
7weeks in India – Indian hospitality and Sanjana, my little ‘tooli’
In the evening, when I arrive at the hotel – after the first day in Ooty – he is waiting for me. A tall man, nicely dressed and with a friendly smile on his face: Rajesh, the hotel director. “Ma’m, how was your day? …. Is everything ok with the room?… Do you like a…
7weeks in India – Momos in Ooty
I see them and can hardly resist: momos, veg balls in garlic sauce, boiled in water. One my preferred foods in India. I spend the weekend in Ooty, a hill town in the Nilgiri mountains at 2.240m. Talking with the momo lady The lady is preparing momos at a cooking stand when I pass by….
7weeks in India – Tribal culture and an unknown artist
At noon we arrive in a small tribal village in the mountain region, close to the border of Kerala. The view from this place down on the hills is beautiful. Less than 20 families live here, a hundred people. Under a tree, in the middle of the road (there is just this only one) they…
7weeks in India – The world is crazy
Tonight I bought almond oil as I forgot to bring some body milk with me. The shop assistant told me to use it only in the early morning or even better, just in the evening as with the sunlight the oil could darken my skin… ??? … In Europe we stay hours and hours under…
7weeks in India – Travelling with Tamboo, the teacher
Finally, I sit in the train from Kottayam to Coimbatore – together with a huge and heavy suitcase and two bags which instead of becoming less heavy seem to double day by day: a lot of presents and a bottle of water are the last things I had to add. There is no way to…
Go India, go future! 