what/why/when/where


I am working on a film project in Jumla, Nepal. You can follow progress of the project on
Shakti Pictures blog. We started shooting in November 2011 and returned to Jumla for the second shoot in March 2012. And two further two shoots in 2013. We are now in post-production.

Continuing to work on the project, I now divide my time between Nepal, the UK & the US... and anywhere else I can find an excuse to go in the interim. This blog is a place for some stories of my adventures along the way.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Do elephants have foreheads?

Cochin (Kochi)


It’s not hard to imagine what Fort Cochin was like before tourism saturated this small area at the tip of the outer peninsula in Cochin or Kochi as it is now officially called. Progress cannot be avoided and it is no doubt a boom to the local economy but the area is full of tourists (Western and Indian alike), tourist restaurants, high end hotels, internet cafés, overpriced shops and travel agents offering package day trips to do backwaters boat trips or visit the elephant sanctuary.


What I was struck with, as the tuk-tuk brought me to Fort Cochin, was the pavements. You don’t often see them in India but here they are high above the road, which I soon realised was for the monsoon season when the roads become canals. The other observation was how many more of the men are wearing lunghis. And I don’t blame them with this heat and humidity during what they consider the ‘cold season’.


At the northern tip of the peninsula, are the Chinese fishing nets, which are quite a spectacle. A postcard of the nets that is clearly over a decade out of date shows a scrubland in front of the nets as opposed to the paved road and rows of stalls selling clothes, snacks, water and the usual array of tourists wares. Not the mention the hoards of people milling around, either tourists watching the nets in action, sellers trying to convince you to browse their stalls or rickshaw drivers offering to take you to the spice markets. The Chinese fishing nets start at the northern tip of the peninsula and run west. They are ingenious in their simplicity requiring only manpower and the laws of gravity to scoop up what seems like an endless stream of fish. The big structure lays a net out into the water. After five or ten minutes the net is pulled up by a group of men, large rocks tied to ropes hang from the top of the structure act as a counterbalance and once the net is up, keep it in place. Then they draw the net in and using a simple hand net, scoop out the fish that have been lifted in the net, swatting away the hoards of crows that are circling in the hopes of catching some stray pieces of fish caught in the outer regions. It is impressive to watch. I got beckoned in to observe from the inside by Johnson, who proudly showed my his catch pointing out different types of fish caught. I stood at the top and watched as he leant down, latching his leg on the side, to scoop the fish. When they lower the net again, one of the men climbs to the top of the net while the others lift the boulders until the natural laws of gravity take over and it gently sinks below the water’s surface. It was all very impressive and I was feeling quite privileged to have been invited inside looking at all the tourists watching from afar. Then Johnson asked me for some money. Of course. Why not? They no doubt work hard for little money. But to be honest, in that moment, he’d hurt my feelings. I thought he was just proudly showing me his craft and being friendly but I was just being naïve. In hindsight, it seems fair enough, and why shouldn’t they make an extra buck from the hoards of tourists that come and gawp at them? But in that moment, I was so surprised, I said I’d think about it and wandered off. Maybe I’ll pop back and say hi and slip him Rs100 (just less than £1.50).




Festival of Shiva Temple Ernakulum

“An eight-day annual extravaganza of Art, Culture & Tradition”


Cochin is divided into various areas and islands and there are ferries that run between them. Ernakulum is the main town on the mainland and much more like being in India than Fort Cochin. The passenger ferry runs at regular intervals from Fort Cochin to Ernakulum Jetty (Rs 2.50) and it’s a short walk to the Shiva Temple from there.


The schedule of events is different every day but we wanted to be sure to catch the ‘Elephant Procession’. We arrived in time to see the last two majestic beasts being washed and then adorned for the procession. The elephant was clearly enjoying the cool water being hosed over its body, turning around on command, so obviously very well trained. (Apparently they are quite harshly ‘broken’ to be so obedient). Then the elephant held out his trunk, the hose filled it with water, and then he swung it over his head and sprayed water over his back. Quite a sight. Scrubbed clean, the enormous creature ambled after the trainer to get his headdress attached. He lifted his back leg, giving the man a ‘leg up’ to climb on to his back. A shiny gold head piece was attached to the forehead (if elephants have foreheads) of the elephant. Once everything was secured, the elephant was walked into the temple, the chains on his legs clanking as he lumbered after the mahout (elephant trainer). No leash or ropes. The other elephants were already poised, standing in position like gigantic ornaments in the front courtyard of the Shiva Temple.

Inside, people were performing a harvest ritual to secure a good harvest next season. Pouring grains from a big basket with a spout into a metal bucket, slipping the man some rupees, who then pours the grain back into the basket for the next person. There were various types of grains and at the far end, a basket of what looked like elephant pooh. Not sure what that was blessing, but surprisingly, it didn’t seem as popular as the others.




At some point after all the elephants were in place, the musicians came out. Bare-chested men dressed in white mundus (white lunghis). The elephants marched around the temple in a clockwise direction and came to a stop in a row, as it happened, right in front of where I was sitting. More musicians came out, mainly drummers facing the beasts. Facing them, directly in front of the elephants, was a row of screeching clarinet-typed wind instruments and a row of buglers with horns that were almost a full circle, seeming to project into the backs of the players. What followed was an intense drumming session. Piles of leafy branches were laid out on the ground in front of the elephants and they spent the next couple of hours slowly munching away, their trunks picking up little bunches of branches and curling up, popping them into their open mouths. Meanwhile, there were three young, bare-chested men on their backs. The front boy sitting at the elephant’s neck, holding steady a tall umbrella. Behind him, two more boys who stood up every time the buglers played, arms aloft. The front boy holding up a venchamarm, a fluffy pom-pom-esque thing (I hate to say resembling an enormous duster) which he span and the boy at the back holding an alavattom, a flat, decorated, circular piece with furry edging (see photo for a better description). These hand-held pieces are specific to the ritual of elephants at temple festivals, their meaning still unknown to me after asking several people.


I can’t really describe how mesmerising the whole spectacle was. I think I was partly spellbound at watching this row of enormous creatures feeding themselves within arms reach of where I was sitting, but the volume and power of the ritualistic drumming was also trance-inducing and I was surprised to see that over an hour had slipped by.

“You can’t have a temple festival without an elephant.”


There is an interesting debate or argument about the ethics of the treatment that elephants in India endure. They are so deeply engrained in the custom and rituals of the Hindu religion that it would be foolish for politicians to ban the cruel treatment of these majestic animals. But it’s a sad story They are often driven mad by the lives they endure, sometimes, unsurprisingly, killing their mahouts. From the noise and mania of the spectacles of these festivals to the transportation around the country to other temples to go through the ritual again and again, life is not easy for these beasts. The mahout keeps the creature completely under manners. It was amazing to watch when the elephant in front me lurched forward slightly, the mahout simply made a slight hand gesture which seemed hardly in the elephant’s field of vision and the elephant dutifully stepped back. The mahouts have sticks with a metal point at the end, which I realised was to prod the beasts to keep them in line. It is not surprising that they need bully the animals to train them, as nature would have it that they are far mightier than man, so man must resort to physical bullying. I wonder how many years it will take for animal rights movements to pierce through such ancient religious rituals and make people see it is fundamentally inhumane. If ever. In the meantime, it is thought provoking and I have to admit, pretty awe-inspiring to watch.

2618 Mangala-Lakshadweep Express






914 kilometres from Thivim, Goa to Ernakulum Junction, Kerala




The train was actually delayed by two hours which were happily spent soaking up the atmosphere on the platform. (See the cat with the bell on?)


I ended up chatting to a group of Keralan boys who taught me a few words in Malayam, the local dialect in Kerala. Within minutes there was a crowd of onlookers observing this impromptu language lesson.

Surprisingly enough, we arrived on time, somehow making up the delay through the night. Which makes me wonder why some trains don't get in early... something that I have never heard of in India.


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Holiday in Goa



GOING NORTH - Agonda (A) to Anjuna(B) to Arambol (C)






It was with a tinge of sadness that we dragged ourselves away from the beauty and tranquillity of Agonda. But it was time to move on and explore the other faces of Goa. We took a taxi from Agonda to Anjuna (Rs1500) because the fare to the train station in Margao was Rs800 and then the tickets and taxi on the other side would have ended up being almost as much for twice the time and hassle. The mission was to find a nice place for Alison’s arrival and somewhere to see in the New Year. And apparently Anjuna was where the party was… not sure if that was a good or bad thing.


What I find interesting is how each beach has its’ own scene. I suppose over the years these communities have evolved and the tourism moulded itself to the requirements of the differing types of visitors. So each beach has such a distinctly different ambience. South Goa is still much less developed than North where there are long established communities as the hippy traveller scene started there nearly have a century ago.


Agonda is a long curved strip of white sand with huts and mellow oceanfront restaurants constructed just for the season dotted up the beach and not much else. Although mixed, it is definitely slightly older, primarily Europeans, there to escape the crowds. Some people seemed pretty settled in their houses or huts on the beach and you imagine they are there for the winter.



We had taken a couple of visits to Palolem (half an hour on a scooter – Rs200 for the night) which seemed so built up and lively compared to Agonda but is actually still relatively small. There is strip of main road leading up to the beach with shops selling fabrics, clothes, shoes, jewellery and the general Indian stuff that is everywhere, all the shops replicas of one another. On the beach itself the restaurants are actually buildings (as opposed to the bamboo and wicker seasonal constructions of Agonda) and there were candlelit tables set up on the sand. During the day you can go out on the boats that line the shore. Promises of dolphins, beaches and beautiful sunsets for only Rs600.


In comparison, Anjuna felt like proper town. There were even traffic jams. Anjuna is a whole other kettle of fish. I am glad to have spent a few days there to get a sense of the place but it was the wrong combination of things for me. Too many people, more hassle, dirtier, more expensive. One thing I did like though was the fact that there were more Indian tourists – rich youngsters from Bombay and Bangalore coming to enjoy the beach and party. It was nice to see young couples escaping to the beach, girls often taking a dip in the ocean fully clothed and big groups of young boys in their briefs splashing about or posing for photos with their phones. You also get more bold-faced stares. The one occasion I went for a dip in the ocean in Anjuna, I was sitting in my bikini, having just come out of the sea and an Indian man just came and took a photo – much in the way I was taking pictures of Indians and in that moment I couldn’t hold it against him as I saw it was not really any different from what I was doing. Marvelling at the cultural differences. Or maybe he was just being pervy. The beach is crowded with rows of deck chairs and scores of burning tourists drinking and listening to all manner of loud music from Cher to old house (not all bad). But the big thing there is Psy Trance (short for psychedelic - which in my ignorance of trance did not know before) and we had the misfortune of finding this out when the nightclub next door to Ocean Pearl, our (what on first sight appeared to be) tranquil oceanside guest house, played exactly that until 5 something in the morning. Apparently they had been going since Christmas and were continuing through New Years Eve. We moved in the morning.







I knew that I didn’t need to spend much more time in Anjuna but we were waiting for Alison and thought it would be nice for her to have a day to settle in so the plan was to head to Arambol for the day to see if we would prefer to relocate for New Year. We rented a motorbike (Rs400) and had an enjoyable ride up the coast. Arambol is another world. Less of a ‘scene’ like Anjuna and more like community. A very hippy community. Yoga, meditation, fire spinners, holistic healing, dreadlocks and aged hippies live in harmony in this sprawling village on the beach. It is actually bigger than it feels but still so mellow compared to Anjuna. And no trance! The beach is very long (about 2km until it merges into Mandrem) and various restaurants have set out small clumps of deck chairs on the sand so you can relax and order food and drinks. Not the row upon row of Anjuna-del-Sol but a handful here, a few there. And lots of space in between. We found suitable huts overlooking the sea and booked them for the New Year, paying for the first night to secure them (Rs700). Went for a dip and then wandered back to the bike and returned to Anjuna as the sun was setting. Mission accomplished.


And now a week later, I’m still in Arambol. Just. We’ve seen in the New Year with a very nice little party at a place called ‘Cocks Town’. Had a few days to chill and explore. Alison is taking a yoga course and has decided she’ll probably spend the remainder of her holiday here and Saurabh left for Mumbai last night, so I am now setting my sights on the next phase. The ‘holiday in Goa’ is nearly over and although it’s been lovely, idyllic and very relaxing, I don’t feel that I have started my journey in India. I can appreciate that one could spend a long time here. It is like a permanent festival. There are various restaurants that have dj’s or live music and so far it seems that the standards have been high. Everyone is relaxed and the atmosphere is open and creative. In fact, I can hardly think of anything that could make it better if that is what you were looking for. I just feel the need to go forth and explore and immerse myself in the madness and magic of India. Soon. Having intermittent wi-fi in my beach hut is certainly a persuading factor that it’s not a bad place for me to spend a few days writing and working – with the sound of the ocean as my soundtrack, although I can also hear some thumping beat not too far off...