EXCLUSIVE: THE INDIAN VOYAGE OF MICHAEL FIELD <<1>> - LaSpecula.com International News Weekly

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EXCLUSIVE: THE INDIAN VOYAGE OF MICHAEL FIELD

Travelling through India - The unglazed small pottery mug rocks gently on the table, its sweet hot South Indian coffee warm and satisfying. And the first of many over the next 26 hours. The mystery of Indian Railways around me, in this AC 2nd Class sleeper. Above are a Bengali couple who seem to be irritating the guard. (by Michael Field)

Down the Coromandal coast - Out of Rajahmundry, Andra Pradesh, aboard the Coromandal Express bound for Chennai Indians are easily among the friendliest people on the planet. Quickly the engage strangers, such as myself, in conversation. They are curious about where I come from and when told..... (by Michael Field)

Swimming in saris - Sun, sea and saris…The land that gave the world its first sex manual, the Karma Sutra, has an amusing prudishness when it comes to going to the beach. This is Chennai, formally Madras and the hopelessly hot capital of Tamil Nadu in south India. Its not an overly attractive..... (by Michael Field)

India, land of the urban legend - Its possible Indians invented the concept of urban legends, as a kind of extension of their own rich religious traditions and an ability to spin fantastic yarns. A quite extraordinary range of people retail the stories too, seemingly believing them, or, at least, hoping to.... (by Michael Field)

Temple tourists - Occasionally one goes through an experience which, in its sum total offers a useful lesson on life, one worth sharing. Two came up today; about 60 kilometres is the limit to which the average Western body can endure riding in an auto rickshaw. Lesson two; do not buy your auto rickshaw driver a beer. In lesson two rickshaw driver can... (by Michael Field)

Future news off the streets - The news is all good; I will live at least 90 years, I will have multiple sources of income, have many women and am blessed with magnetic sex appeal. That is the hot news off Wallajah Road this morning. Today is Gandhi Day and most of the shops are closed in honour of the founding father. The sale of alcohol is banned for the day. It... (by Michael Field)

Rained off - It rained hard last night and in the process further saturated the reputation of the grandly named M.A. Chidambaram (MAC) Stadium, headquarters of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association and the Madras Cricket Club - the other MCC. And, as it happens, the MCC is my home for three weeks and, somewhat unexpectedly, I have found myself cheek-by-jowl with the upper pantheon of India cricket, headed by... (by Michael Field)

Temples and silk - Before the sun rises over the Bay of Bengal, Chennai is almost gentle and heading out on the Bangalore road in the tidy by increasingly vulnerable Ambassador (that is, Morris Oxford) it was obvious a few people have discovered the joys of the pre-dawn. A gentle, cooling breeze wafts in and the land has yet to suck up the heat that, by 10 am will leave you roasting.... (by Michael Field)

Politics and liquor - a state with no beer - No one in India is going to take pity on politicians. Any kind of political office is a guarantee of prestige, and in a country given to high levels of corruption, extreme wealth. The one source of amazement in India is that they have a prime minister in Manmohan Singh who is so distinctly and obviously different from the rest of the... (by Michael Field)

-- last update on February 18, 2007 --

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