The children of Tamil Nadu

Hi and welcome to the second edition of India.

I am dedicating this one to the children we met. They filled our holiday, and my camera, with their smiles, their joy and their spontaneity.

So many wanted their photos taken, wanted to shake Daniela’s hand and talk to her. You can see in this first picture three girls holding their hands out to Daniela.

I hope you enjoy them.

Next time I’ll show you pictures of the grown ups.

Until then, take care.

Alan





















Close friends























Fascinated by the camera

















So bright and so beautiful























Simply striking

















We're happy to see you























I am so proud of my brother....

















....because he's so adorable

















We're just a little shy of the camera...

















...but I'm not shy at all!

















Like mother like daughter























I'm taller than my brother....

















....mmmm but shorter than my sister

















Daniela with her Indian husband and children!!!!!























and then some!!

















Please don't breathe, or I'll fall off!

















Do I know how to pose for the camera or what.....

India: Life on Mahabalipuram beach

Happy New Year!

Thank you for coming to see the first entry of my blog for 2008.

I hope, wherever you were and whatever you were doing, that the festive season was everything you wanted it to be and that the first couple of weeks of 2008 have been good to you.

We got back from Tamil Nadu, India last weekend. Our holiday exceeded all our expectations. The temples were amazing, the countryside beautiful, the poverty heartbreaking, the noise, the chaos, and the dirt challenging, the people enchanting.

We used a tour agent called Indian Panorama. I cannot praise them enough! They booked the accommodation, the guides and the driver, Ramesh, for us. India is fantastic but the attention we received from everyone at India Panorama and especially Ramesh really made it special. If you are thinking of taking a holiday in India and want to arrange it in advance I highly recommend them to you. You will meet Ramesh in the next issue in two weeks. But you can see the photo here of the car that was taken on the first day of our holiday on Chennai beach, an impressively wide and long beach.

We arrived in Chennai and spent one day having a look at some of the highlights. We then went south (about 2.5 hours by car) to Mahabalipuram, which is also on the coast. During the day we went to see temples in the area and then in the late afternoon we really enjoyed walking along the beach seeing the children and the grown-ups enjoying the sand and the sea, as well as the boats and the fishing community. It is the most interesting beach I have ever been on!

I will leave you to enjoy the photos. I have lots more! For the next several postings I will be showing you the temples, the countryside, the city and town streets, and the people of Tamil Nadu. Truly enchanting.

Love

Alan