Jarred!

How to describe my first week back in India? 'Jarred' might be the most appropriate one word response. I like it cause it can mean so many different things.

1. A cylindrical glass or earthenware vessel with a wide mouth and usually no handles.

Of course, I love my pickled mango, which usually comes in a jar, it adds some serious spice to any south Indian meal, which I have missed immensely. I didn't realize how much better the pickled mango is here til I got back.

2. To make or utter a harsh sound.

Yep, just spend 10 seconds on any street in India and you’ll be jarred by a chorus of horns, rickshaws without mufflers and diesel-spewing buses. It is a common saying that India is an assault on the senses and it certainly is on the ears. Auditory overload is the norm here and your eardrums are constantly jarred.

3. To bump or cause to move or shake from impact.

I’ve already been on a few investigations and being in the car is certainly a jarring experience, from potholes to our vehicle swerving to miss oncoming busses or departing the road onto the shoulder to avoid a passing truck, driving in India is certainly a jarring experience.


4. A jolt; a shock.

Being back has certainly jarred/jolted/jogged my memory. All the smells, sounds, sights are as familiar as they are strange now. I think my blog on the smells of Chennai is a good description of what I mean. As different as Tamil Nadu is from the States, after spending six months here it is strangely like home to me, I forgot how much I missed it and I’ve been constantly surprised how often my memory is jarred- kinda like ‘oh yeah, I remember how this works, or this sounds, or how I do this’. Being gone for eight months was enough time to forget many of my most and least favorite things about this place and I think returning has brought it all back. Here’s to being jarred!

Welcome Back Lungi

I couldn’t have asked for a nicer return to India. My friend Bharat was waiting for me at the airport and it was so nice to see a familiar face when stepping into the heat and sea of people waiting outside of Chennai Airport. We got into a cab and headed to a hotel for the night to rest up before making the trek to Coimbatore in the morning. Once we settled into the cab, Bharat reached into his knapsack and handed me a bag, saying that it was a gift from all three of my workmates. I opened up the bag and found a piece of cloth that I had coveted during my entire last trip to India- a lungi!

The lungi is the traditional legwear in Tamil Nadu. It is a long piece of fabric that westerners might call a manskirt but I assure you it is much more than that. It is actually very practical because of its diversity- you can wear it down to your ankles or fold it and wear it to knee level depending on how hot you are. It is also quite breezy, a major advantage for the hot climates of southern India. I don’t know if I’ll be wearing it every day but it’s a nice alternative to pants, especially on a hot day. Who knows, maybe I’ll even try and start a lungi trend in DC and SF when I get back!