A Last Look At Sellipatti

Here it goes. A ton of pictures for you.....

My house in Sellipatti. The bowl-shaped mortar (minus the pestle) closest to the front is kind of a community resource. There were many different women from are street coming over to grind various food items in it. I love village interdependence!

My street from the doorway to my house.

A beautiful old woman. Some of the villagers told me to take her pictures, so I did. She didn't seem to mind.

Kandasamy and I in the front entryway of the house and a two-wheeler that I sometimes rode on the back of.

A friend, Isvolea (or something similar-sounding) and my favorite baby, Achina. This was Achina's typical style of dress- no clothes but TONS of jewelry.

Flowers are high fashion in South India. My mother would "stitch" them together and pin them in my hair for me on most mornings.

A beautiful crane-like bird with a banana plantation in the background. Just down the road from the village.

Planting sunflower seeds. This was clearly a job for the 65 and older crowd. My host grandmother is the woman in the front.

My host sister, Sankari, rolling paper tubes that will eventually be filled with gunpowder at the firecracker factory. She gets 1 rupee (2 1/2 cents) for every 100 she rolls. But it's something to do during the hot summer vacation.

This woman wanted me to take a picture of her hair. She kept making praying motions and looking toward the sky, so I think her dreads must be some expression of her Hindu faith.

Brinjal growing.

A natural pharmacist friend invited me to celebrate the anniversary of his father's death. This involved a priest giving puja's (some sort of ritualistic prayers) and then a feast with the whole family. It was a neat experience to take part in.

The priest standing in front of God and doing his thing.

On the day of my departure with my host mother, Jeyanthi, and Sankari.