The neat houses lining a road in the village of Pasamalai Thangal
It is hard to convey the oppression of heat and dust in a photograph
This page moves to the village of Pasamalai Thangal itself and some photographs of the people and houses of the village. The photograph above may belie the heat and
lack of water
that dominates village life, maybe the next two images redress that balance a little. The rocky hills that sit beside the village do not seem protecting, like Scottish hills, but more random and utterly indifferent to the people below. But nothing can detract from the air of profound peace with which these communities, in India, are imbued.
The hill beside the village
The village
temple
honours the
elephant god
Ganesha,
just visible centre front
The houses are of differing ages, some modern such as this one...
...others with
original thatched
roofs...
...and many with tiled roofs. (In India
goats
are ever-present)
Men in Tamil Nadu often hitch-up their
lungi's (dhotis)...
...as in these pictures, to let the air circulate around their legs; so allowing one garment to be comfortable, or more formal, as required
Women, however, are not offered such comfort and present themselves in well made saris...
Some people prefer to go totally incognito
...under all conditions
Children, waiting for their transport to
school in a
neighbouring community,
are lined up by their parents for the traditional formal photograph, a format beloved as much in India as it is in Vietnam
The transport arrives, the children pack in, and wave good-bye
House yard complete with satellite dish
More traditional occupants of the spaces by the house are cattle like these, as well as the utensils that can be seen in the background
A scene at the corner of the village rendering it bucolic and romantic - as long as you can't feel the heat or have to bend to pick up the corn
A door lintel showing the quality of local craftsmanship...
...which is also on display with the cooking and storage utensils found in every kitchen
My friend's modern house, and next to it a house that has taken advantage of a rock to gain a hold that should withstand the most ferocious of storms
The comfortable traditional thatch of the local houses, gave way to tiles, which can look great, but these have now changed to flat roofed concrete structures with too little insulation (and grace for my taste). The same
pattern of change
is seen in Vietnam
The kitchen of my friend's house extends outside when possible. Too many months pass in this area with no rain
My friend M. Thavamani beside his wife T. Jothi, with their children T. Lessinger Swamy and T. Hanna Priyanka and his sister-in-law B. Jaya on their front doorstep. Less, at the front, was my guide to the village on that visit.
[Indian naming is complex
- in Tamil Nadu the initial letter is taken from the father or husband's name; a suffixal cast identifier is now deprecated, and so the names here read: T. Jothi, + co.]
Every Saturday for the last 141 weeks a new page has been added to the 'Picture Posting' Section of this, the
ColinBrydon.net
, site. Many more pages remain to be added. However, the pattern is now changing a little. In the coming weeks the 'Picture Posting' page will be added on alternate Saturdays - in just the same format as before.
On the Saturdays between, a new series of pages, Mosaic, will be added to the site. These have a new format - a 100 word commentary prompted by an image; these pages are also available as greetings cards.
The next
Picture Posting page is about the friendly, fully clothed, hills of Cao Bằng Province in northern Vietnam with its spectacular karst landscape.
And the first of the
'Mosaic' pages is headed Loss.
The last page had pictures from the area around the village
To very different communities on the northern coast of the Faroes
To a village in northern Vietnam of similar social status - but otherwise with rather little in common
