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After leaving the jungle retreat, I have the pleasure of yet another train journey over to Chennai, and lucky for us it's time for the the second monsoon. The rain is literally torrential (no exaggeration), and we have to wade out of the train station in ankle deep water. I have a lasting image imprinted in my memory from that train station, of a huge electrical fuse box, being absolutely saturated by heaving rain, torrents of water cascading down over all the wires, and the fuse box itself, how it didn't just blow up right then and there I'll never know. And as we waited for our minibus in the waiting area, we had to stand in puddles and use our brollies and rain macs, and this was still inside! Eventually we surfed on through the street rivers, to Mamallapuram, the home of granite, and craftsmen.
Cycling around on bikes through the town, you can see all the artisans at work, intensely tapping out a tune with the hammers and chisels. This is a place that was affected by the tsunami, and our temple guide shares some harrowing stories with us. But he also tells us about the willingness of people from all over India, who came to help out and rebuild the area, and looking around the town it's now hard to imagine the devastation, it seems to have recovered so well.
Whilst at Mamallapuram, we go to a local orphanage. This is one of the things I really like about this travel company 'Intrepid', they support lots of local community projects, and causes, and this is a great way to see another, and more real side of India, other than just the tourist attractions.
The orphanage here caters mainly for boys, and the children joyously run over to this strange group of westerners, demanding attention, wanting to show us round the orphanage, and practice their excellent english. They also hold our hands all the time, hug us alot, and want to sit on our knees, as if they are starved of affection, and just want some close personal contact. The visit is a real eye opener, and it's easy to see the kids have a hard time of it, despite the help of this orphanage, their day starts at six am, and they don't go to bed until 10pm, it's a long day, and is mainly filled with school, extra study and chores. Their beds are a blanket on the ground. During the day, they roll up their blankets and the bedroom becomes a schoolroom. Despite their hardships, the children are lovely, extremely friendly and very optimistic for the future - I really hope it works out for them.
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