Panaiyur is a rural area, on the way to Mahabalipuram (a city famous for its temples), and is a few blocks from the ocean. A lovely breeze cools the air. Houses are on large lots that are verdant with trees and bushes. The family's home is new to them, but the previous owner designed the house along lines that are compatible with the Indian version of Feng Shui. It's spacious, with balconies and arches. In the center hall—what we would call the living room—a swing suspends from the ceiling, which I loved sitting on. (Here we are below, chatting and swinging, chatting and swinging.)
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| Me, Soundara, Vasantha |
Parthasarathy has always loved plants, so he spends a lot of time gardening, when he isn't perusing medical journals. (He is retired, but like everyone in the family, he loves continuing to learn and do research. Whenever we go to India, my husband consults him with any medical questions, as he can be trusted to know the latest medical wisdom.)
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| Parthasarathy, Rajan's 3rd brother, who specialized in Tuberculosis, but stays current on developments in other medical concerns as well. |
| 13 Comments on Family Visits in Chennai, last added: 3/21/2012 Display Comments Add a Comment |
You're lucky to have such a lovely family and that you are able to visit them in India. Sounds like a wonderful time.
Mitty--
Thank you for this gentile description of this faraway land. You make it feel like the home it is for you and Rajan. Visiting family never gives me poems. But being at home does. I seem to need the settled quietness.
xo
Skeeter
Rosi, yes I do feel lucky we can visit them. It's a long trip, but worth it, for as long as we can.
Skeeter, like you, I need settled quietness for poems. But, oddly enough, I get that in India, between visits. There are long intervals at my in-laws' home, where Soundara and Ranganathan are busy, and I have quiet time to mull over everything I've been seeing and feeling. So, it all goes into the journal for later, when I get home.
Hi Elizabeth, Your family trip sounds so exciting. I can't say mine would be interesting enough to blog about.... But I do write when I'm visiting family, surprisingly. I don't know what it is. But when I'm surrounded by my siblings, I feel inspired to write. :)
I would definitley be inspired to write by visiting other places. Your pictures remind me of my husband's family. :) It sounds like you had a really wonderful time.
Hello Elizabeth. More beautiful family snaps and interesting commentary. Thank you.
Denise
Linda, thanks for your comment. I think it's that special energy you feel around family.
Hi, Kimberly, thanks for stopping by. Yes we did have a great visit with them. And there is something about going out of your usual environment that sparks writing.
Hi, Denise, glad you enjoyed the pics and commentary. I will be getting back to writing themes soon, but family is still buzzing around in my head. :-)
Thanks for the additional photo´s. I just adored the swing in the "living room". What with the picture and your decription, I was there swinging and smelling the perfume from the garden.
Home trips unfortunately do not move me to write poetry as you are aware..but the idea of a swing in the bodega springs to mind!
What a beautiful journey. Inspiring yes, how can it not be? And to see family after so long!
Enjoy your trip.
And honestly, the swing... it brought to memory a picture I'd drawn as a kid. "My perfect house" Every wall was covered in books and in the middle were swings and sofas. lol. I can't believe I forgot that. I better get me a swing to lounge on.
Terri and Tanya, yes, I so want one of those swings! Unfortunately, there is no place in our house to put one, and even our front porch is a little small for one, but it's such a lovely idea. And not that uncommon there. This is the second one I've seen inthe home of a relative and a more distant relative, and I've seen one on a neighbor's porch in Trichy.
Visiting my family in other parts of the world is always inspiring--a lot of awe in those visits. I keep thinking how our gene pool has spread from Switzerland to England to Spain and the U.S. Amazing isn't it and expressing all of the feelings I have about that is best done in poetry.
Loved your description of your family.
Thanks for stopping in at the Write Game to say hello. See you again here and there.
Wow, a family visit overseas! I'm so glad you had a chance to go and get to know them better. Sounds like a great and enjoyable experience.
I don't think family visits inspire me to write...unless just in general because I've had a break and can't wait to get back to my routine. LOL I've never visited another land or country--unless you consider Alaska one. I lived on the island of Sitka, AK, when I was 12, and it was so different from CA that it FELT like another country!
Visiting a wonderful place and family. . . What could be better? It seems like you had a really great time.
Visiting family doesn't usually inspire me to write because I have no time or energy left after all the visiting. : )