Colorful Streets

The more we traveled around, the more I marveled at the system of jeepneys and trikes used for transporting people and everything else around the country. Here are a few examples of the emphasis on decoration that seems to pervade the environment.

Look closely at the top to see the cattle horns above the tag "amore."

a familiar logo on the side of a trike cab

Decorations adorning another trike cab

Kids, playing on their own version of a tricycle cab.

The houses also show this attention to ornamental detail, even with a limited budget and limited access to ornamental materials.

Fancy garage front design made of wood slats

A traditional style of house, with capiz-pane windows (small translucent sheets plied from seashell) in the upper story windows.

Fancy upper balconies

Lovely vines and potted plants adorn this place.

Advertising is another highly visible element of the Philippine landscape, from the signs for local home-front convenience stores called sari-sari stores along residential streets in city and small town alike, to the massive billboards lining the highways and mounted on the taller buildings in downtown Manila. I noticed many familiar logos, and some surprising and unique local business names and signs as well.

Along the highway approaching Manila

Some of you may have seen these in California.

"Pasalubong" suggests taking something along to share

a modern McDonald's, where you can get a "McDo"

The famous McDo - Fried chicken and spaghetti! Hmmmm...

Apparently, McD's has been in Manila for some time now!

A Chinese fast food restuarant's version of Halo-Halo, a sweet ice creamy dessert mixing all sorts of unlikely sweet things together.

And now for some true originals:

Dogpound Burgers! How likely would YOU be to eat there?

If not the Dogpound, maybe at "d'famous, d'original" Aling Glo's!

Gal Fun

An evening for special hats - I had gotten mine just in time!

We weren't back at Los Baños long (where Crissan lives and the International Rice Research Institute is located), before I was introduced to several of the women living there, most married to scientists working at IRRI. I was welcomed and entertained with many stories of unusual lives. The women I met came from the Ifugao region north of Manila, the countries of Great Britain, Colombia, Germany (both formerly East Germany and West Germany), and Australia. I later met others from China and I had already met some from India. Quite a microcosm within this small community.

One of the first places Crissan took me to was the American Women's Club Bazaar, a monthly fundraiser for charity efforts, like a huge craft show, featuring artists and artisans from all over the Philippines showing their handcrafted jewelry, clothing, housewares, foods, and furniture. I seem to have taken no pictures that day, as I was so busy just taking in all the exquisite work I saw. I did indulge in the hat you see in the photo above, created by a group known as "Hat Momma," whose logo is "topless can be so uncool!"

We also went to the market where they specialized in pearls, which all apparently now come from China. There was booth after booth of freshwater cultured pearls, South China Sea natural pearls, and beads made from everything from gem-quality stones to plastic, and everything in between.

"Pinky's" pearl booth - jillions of pearls!

The next day, a few of us set off to explore some nearby villages known for their artisanry with embroidering the very lightweight, transparent fabrics made of pineapple and banana fiber, used especially for men's formal wear in this very hot climate, where 3-piece suits would never do. The fabric is woven in long rectangles which are embroidered and then washed, strung taut onto wooden frames and then put out in the sun to dry. They are then cut and sewn into the shirts, with plackets for buttoning only partway down the front, between the embroidered pattern.

Embroidered fabric drying on the frame.

Close-up of embroidery as it will be on shirt front.

a finished shirt

A seamstress works on a two-tone pattern

Crissan (far right) consults with two ladies from the shop, and friend Aurora, front, about a design for a jacket.

On another day, after spending some time in Manila, we went to a salon at one of the big downtown hotels for some pampering, which turned out to be very inexpensive and which felt VERY good. They even give you a neck and shoulder massage as part of the deal -no extra charge! SOoooo relaxing!

All at once - hair, hands, feet. Luxury!

Ahhhhhhhh....

Later on, I visited Aurora when she was weaving on the traditional Ifugao backstrap loom. She grew up in a tribal culture but came to the city to find work in her late teens, as do many people from the distant villages. She has had an incredible range of experiences in the years since then (more about that later.) She offered me a chance to try my hand at the weaving, which I was delighted to do; thankfully she was a patient tutor, as I found it very awkward to manage what years of practice had taught her to do with a confident rhythm and attention to detail. It was a privilege to add a few rows to the fabric she was making.

Here's Aurora, dextrous and quick . . .

. . . and me, a bit awkward but having great fun.

Back to the Philippines

Almost as soon as we began to drive away from the airport after arriving in Manila, I was amazed to see how much the country had changed during the short time I was in India! When I first arrived in Manila from the US, traffic here was chaotic, with a confusing rush of strange vehicles such as jeepneys, motorbikes with sidecars for passengers or cargo, huge tourist buses and all kinds of cars and trucks, with pedestrians weaving in and out of traffic to cross streets at random points. Horns were honked to warn vehicles not to collide with others as they strayed across lanes, also in seemingly random fashion.

But this was before I witnessed the TRUE chaos of traffic in India, where honking horns is a form of personal expression that is exercised early and often, and sustained over one’s entire trip. Jeepneys are less common, but carts pulled by bullocks are much more likely to pull out from side streets onto highways, while the random cow meanders across the road to find another patch of grass in the median. Tuk-tuks, the motorized rickshaws, scoot quickly between larger vehicles, trucks sit apparently parked in traffic lanes for extended periods of time, and everything takes place in the “wrong” direction, on the “wrong” side of the road, so you never know where to expect the next car to come from.

I also noticed that Manila had become cleaner while I was away! The occasional pile of debris I now saw was obviously the result of construction underway, and I witnessed workers using dustpans with long handles to sweep debris into along the street curbs and sidewalks. When in India, I also saw people sweeping up the walks or streets in front of their shops or their homes along dusty roads, but the dust is somehow always there. India is a dry and dusty place, and the dust seems to have become an accepted and unremarkable aspect of the everyday environment.

So this time, Manila seemed calmer, brighter, cleaner and more orderly than I had noticed in the first part of my stay there. Everything is relative!

And now, my time in the Philippines has come to a close as well. I write this as I sit in the Manila airport waiting to board my flight home. I am only just beginning to collect my further impressions of the Philippines. I spent 10 days here after returning from India, and they went by in a whirlwind.

Having a nice lunch with Leilani's dad

Crissan took me to many of her favorite places, into the city of Manila and into some of the smaller villages in the area. I was introduced to many of the Zeigler’s friends and neighbors at IRRI, and I met the family of one of my co-workers who grew up here. I watched artisans creating decorative and functional items unique to their specific locale.             

I tried my hand briefly at weaving on a backstrap loom in the traditional manner of the Ifugao people. We went to bead stores, and looked at thousands of pearls of every imaginable shape, color and luster, some dyed and others of natural smoky colors, and beads of glass, stone, crystal and shell. I saw more orchids, tasted more tropical fruits, visited grocery stores and open air markets.

veggies

I visited a carabao breeding program at the agricultural university in Los Banos, and tasted “buffalo” yogurt made from their very rich milk.

I saw the lake in a volcano’s crater that makes Crater Lake in Oregon look like a pond. I tasted Filipino cuisine, much milder than the spicy foods of India but also very succulent and delicious. We went down to the banks of the river where the film “Apocalypse Now” was filmed (no, not in Viet Nam), now a popular spot for canoeing the rapids.

I took in the landscape of huge billboards and glitzy advertising along the highways approaching Manila and visited some of the fancier shopping centers and malls in the city. We passed by dozens and hundreds of “sari-sari” stores, little storefront mom-and-pop businesses run from small cubbies and doorways along residential streets, selling snacks and conveniences.  It seems everyone in the Philippines is an entrepreneur of one sort or another.

We went for an afternoon of pampering at the salon in the Peninsula Hotel, where massage comes gratis with a haircut or manicure. We visited an old church built by the Spanish colonizers, and saw vivid evidence of some of the meaner aspects of colonialism in the artwork on its walls, and in the same church, saw stained glass windows spelling the sacraments of the church in the Tagalog language. I saw shrines and religious symbols pervasively present, in stores as well as churches.

I learned about and witnessed the strange phenomenon of Asia’s “third gender,” a widespread acceptance of men who present themselves as women, not in flashy “drag” as we might see in the US but as ordinary women, wearing ordinary, understated clothing and jewelry, presenting simply as the female person they feel they are. In the bead markets run mainly by Muslims, many wore the headscarf common to Muslim women, and no make-up. It’s just a fact of life in Asia, so I’m told.

Is she, or isn't he?

So, I’ve run on for quite a while here, and now I think it’s time to let my photos do the talking. I’ve sorted through and tried to pull together the best few, enough to give you a feel for the places I saw and the people I met! Stay tuned, because I have lots of sorting to do. While I recover from jet lag over the next couple of days, I'll make the last additions to finish up my travel journal. I'm looking forward to being back at home, after a lovely, wonderful, exciting and magical adventure, that makes me sure of one thing - I want to see more of Asia!

More Rice Info Sources

 Now that my "intensive rice immersion course" is nearly at an end, as my visit to my friends who work and live at IRRI in the Philippines draws to a close, I thought I would offer the following references, just in case any of you are curious to learn more.

IRRI – International Rice Research Institute

IRRI, or the International Rice Research Institute, is a nonprofit independent research and training organization. 

IRRI develops new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques that help rice farmers improve the yield and quality of their rice in an environmentally sustainable way. We work with our public and private sector partners in national agricultural research and extension systems in major rice-growing countries to do research, training, and knowledge transfer. Our social and economic research also informs governments to help them formulate policy to improve the equitable supply of rice.

 

Our mission

To reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure environmental sustainability through collaborative research, partnerships, and the strengthening of national agricultural research and extension systems. 

Our goals

·       Reduce poverty through improved and diversified rice-based systems.

·       Ensure that rice production is sustainable and stable, has minimal negative environmental impact, and can cope with climate change.

·       Improve the nutrition and health of poor rice consumers and rice farmers.

·       Provide equitable access to information and knowledge on rice and help develop the next generation of rice scientists.

·       Provide rice scientists and producers with the genetic information and material they need to develop improved technologies and enhance rice production .

IRRI's goals contribute to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and ensure environmental sustainability.

Source:  http://irri.org/

More info: http://irri.org/about-rice/rice-facts

Rice and food security

One fifth of the world’s population—more than a billion people—depend on rice cultivation for their livelihoods. Asia, where about 90% of rice is grown, has more than 200 million rice farms, most of which are smaller than 1 hectare. Rice-based farming is the main economic activity for hundreds of millions of rural poor in this region. In Africa, rice is the fastest growing staple. This increase in the demand for rice is also true for Latin America and Caribbean countries.

In most of the developing world, rice is equated with food security and closely connected to political security. Changes in rice availability, and hence price, have caused social unrest in several countries.

To keep rice prices stable and affordable at around $US300 million a ton, IRRI estimates that an additional 8-10 million tons of rice needs to be produced every year.

The challenge, above anything else, is to produce this additional rice with less land, less water, and less labor, in more efficient, environmentally-friendly production systems that are more resilient to climate change, among other factors.

Source: http://irri.org/about-rice/rice-facts

“Never an Empty Bowl”

IRRI and the Asia Society have launched a new food security report for Asia in Mumbai, calling for increased investment in rice research.

India is an "indispensable partner" in rice research - to help address poverty and food security.

The report, Never an empty bowl: sustaining food security in Asia, emphasizes the importance of rice as the primary staple food in Asia and a major source of income for Asian farmers. Existing global efforts to combat hunger and achieve food security are evaluated in the report, which also recommends more research on: climate change mitigation for farming, farming infrastructure, and market price stability.

“India, which is the second biggest producer of rice and where rice is a staple for more than 65% of the population, is an indispensable partner in spearheading rice research,” said IRRI Deputy Director General for Research, Dr. Achim Dobermann, who helped launched the report.

Source:  http://irri.org/news-events/media-releases/india-launch-of-food-security-report-focuses-on-rice

CSISA – Cereal Systems Initiative South Asia

“This project seeks to decrease hunger and malnutrition and to increase food and income security of resource-poor farm families in South Asia through the accelerated development and inclusive deployment of new varieties, sustainable management technologies, and policies.”

Source:  http://www.ilri.org/csisa

STRASA- Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and Asia

The Project:
The poorest rice producers produce their crop under rainfed conditions, in which drought, submergence, and poor soils, i.e., salinity, reduce yields and harm their livelihoods. Recent advances in genetics and breeding have made the development of tolerant rice varieties feasible and their cultivation can substantially contribute to poverty alleviation in rainfed environments. For these areas, the project seeks to achieve, within the next ten years, a 50% increase in yield in farmers’ fields, using improved cultivars and enhanced management practices. In the short term the project will disseminate improved, stress-tolerant rice varieties to at least 400,000 households in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa; in the longer term it expects varieties tolerant of drought, submergence, and/or salinity to benefit at least 18 million households. In addition, the project aims to build capacity of researchers and seed producers; and promote the exchange of elite germplasm. The project will identify the regions where stress-tolerant varieties will have maximum impact and develop a network for seed production and adoption.

Source:  http://irri.org/our-partners/networks/strasa

Further information:  http://www.gatesfoundation.org/learning/Pages/grantee-irri-stress-tolerant-rice-development-for-farms-africa-asia.aspx

Another site visited by the team:

TNAU – Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/

This Story appeared in the Hindu newspaper the day after Dr. Zeigler’s speech at Annamalai University in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.

Source URL:  http://www.thehindu.com/2011/02/17/stories/2011021753220300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Cuddalore
Date:17/02/2011

India has vital role to play in global rice agenda: IRRI chief

Special Correspondent

CUDDALORE: In the global rice agenda, India has a vital role to play because of its rich rice ecologies and vast pool of scientific manpower, according to Robert S.Zeigler, Director General of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Philippines.

He was delivering a special lecture organised under the aegis of the agronomy department of Annamalai University at Chidambaram near here on Wednesday.

Mr. Zeigler said that India's food security had a bearing on the international food security because it happened to be a major rice producer in Asia. However, the country was facing many challenges to retain the rice production at the present level.

The primary problems were that land, labour and water were moving away from rice, that is, these three aspects were becoming scarce. Most of the rice-growing areas were located in the delta region and therefore were at sea level. Any rise in sea level would drastically affect the rice-growing areas. Flood was another factor that gravely cut into production and according to statistics 10 million hectares of rice lands in Asia were lost every year to the floods.

The climate change too had its negative impact on rice yield and it was estimated that every one degree Celsius rise in temperature would reduces 10 per cent of yield.

Mr. Zeigler said that the IRRI was developing submergence-resistant rice varieties that could survive even 17 days of flooding. For instance, the Swarna (Sub 1) tried in Uttar Pradesh had started yielding good results and the seeds would be distributed to about one million farmers over a period.

The rice production in 1991 was put at 350 million tonnes and considering the requirements for 2035 it must go up to 550 million tonnes. The supply-demand gap could be bridged only through judicious planning, involving the policy makers and all the stakeholders such as the farmers, farm scientists and the public and private sectors, he said.

Mr. Zeigler opined that the farm policy should be based on ground reality and should not be driven by commercial interests and not be at the behest of the pesticide and fertilizer manufacturers.

‘Golden rice'

The Director General revealed that the IRRI was evolving the ‘Golden rice' — GR1 and GR2 varieties that would have carotenoid level of 8 ug/g and 20 ug/g respectively — rich in Vitamin A.

It was expected to be released in two-three years time, he said.

The IRRI was also working on rice varieties that would address the diabetics' problem but categorically said that it was not into production of Bt rice. He called for redoubling the efforts to create more number of rice scientists to overcome the challenges.

He hinted that the IRRI and Annamalai University could have joint Ph.D and post-doctoral programmes in the next five to six years. On the occasion, Mr. Zeigler released a compact disc, a brief documentary on “farming livelihoods,” promoting the integrated farming system.

Vice-Chancellor of Annamalai University M.Ramanathan said that the visit of Mr. Zeigler would inspire and motivate the students and scholars and raise the glory of the university to a new level. U.S.Singh, IRRI, New Delhi, Rm.Kathiresan, Head of Department of Agronomy, and Crissan Zeigler participated.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu

The Sacred (and the Profane) in Southern India

in which I tell of our travels on February 17, 18 and 19, 2011:

We began and ended our last full day in Tamil Nadu with visits to two very impressive temples, both ancient, over a thousand years old, and both actively and continuously in use by devotees since they were first built. We were privileged to be invited to take part in some of the rituals and to observe others very closely. In our travels around the town of Chidambaram, home of Annamalai University, in Thanjavur, and around the farm fields we visited in Tamil Nadu province, we often saw small temples or temple-like structures, in urban and rural settings alike.

. . . like this one, atop a store front on a city street,

and this, in a small village,

or this, a little further out in the country.

 We often observed a vendor, or several, selling flowers or other items near the entrance.

On the morning of our departure from Chidambaram, we were invited by our very gracious host, Dr. Kathiresan, to attend the early morning rituals at the temple of The Dancing Lord Nataraj. (For more about this particular temple, see <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chidambaram_Temple> and <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nataraja>).  Before you can enter through this gate, you must remove your shoes and leave them in a cubby, and proceed barefoot over sandy ground and then onto stone pavement inside the temple walls.

This is the East Gate, one of four entrances to this temple devoted to Shiva's performance of his cosmic dance. The figures show the specific forms of an ancient Hindu traditional dance.

 From outside, the temple gate looks as if it is the temple itself, but from certain spots it is possible to see the other gates, which appear to be separate temples a couple of blocks away, but in fact they are the entry points to an enclosed space of many acres, with a large center building surrounding another open space, and several adjunct structures and shrines in various places.

Here, a woman lights devotional candles at a small shrine within the temple walls but outside the main structure, praying to a deity best suited to answer her particular prayers.

In the very heart of the temple itself sits the "sanctum sanctorum," a sacred place housing the idols of the temple deity. I was surprised to hear the use of this Latin phrase, but I heard it spoken by our Hindu host as a familiar term, and have since seen it used in written descriptions as well; it is certainly an apt description for the place I saw and the manner in which it was venerated by worshippers. No photographs are permitted within the temple, so I cannot show you what I saw, but I will try to give you an image in words.

The structure is like a little raised house which you approach from stone steps on the side. It sits within the open courtyard inside the main temple structure, open to the sky and sunlight. All the temple interior is grey stone, weathered and often damp; the floors are dusty and dirty from the thousands of bare feet tracking in the sand and dirt from the outside world. All the more surprising, then, to look up and see the brilliant gleaming of some 26,000 solid gold tiles covering the roof of this humble stone house containing the three essences of Shiva. There could be no surer indication that what lies beneath this shimmering roof is a holy treasure to those who practice their faith here.

Before approaching the sanctum sanctorum, we were ushered by a bearded, white-clad temple priest or official into a small anteroom, where we were draped with flower garlands, given special herbs to eat, and wafted with smoke from a flaming torch passed before each of us. Our foreheads were anointed with a deep red powder indicating our having participated in this preparatory rite. We were then led to view the ritual "awakening" of the temple deity, where idols represent three forms of Shiva. Shiva is said to be represented by five essences or forms paralleling nature: water, earth, fire, wind, and air, or aether. The temple at Chidambaram represents Shiva as aether, or, more fundamentally, as infinity.

Within the inner sanctum, there is an inner chamber, screened off from public space by silvery grillework. This inner chamber has three sections, each closed off by a drape. The center holds a figure of Shiva as a seated human form. This idol is presented with offerings of food, water, bathing, and incense as an invitation to awaken for the present day. After the priests finish this process with songs and incantations, they draw back the drapes from the left chamber, where we view a silver garland of leaves hanging in three strands. Our host explains that in order for us to contemplate infinity we must have some visible form to associate with the concept, and so this garland of leaves implies infinite continuity. The curtain is drawn after the worshippers and viewers have had a few moments to squeeze close to gain a glimpse through the grille. The officiators then move to the right-hand chamber, drawing back the curtain to reveal a seated female figure, the feminine form of Shiva.

At certain special times of year, the temple deity is taken out of its inner sanctum and placed in a special chariot used only for this purpose, and paraded through the temple courtyards and perhaps the streets.

Two Temple Chariots parked outside near an open square in two different villages.

In the Hindu culture, there is complexity in every structure and every concept, and often of a mathematical nature. The temple structure is based on aspects of the human body, such as the number of orifices, the number of heartbeats or breaths one takes in a single day, and so on. It is a most intriguing culture, in which the most etherial and fantastical concepts are derived from a fundamentally concrete grasp of life experience. One could become quite lost trying to contemplate the meaning of all these things! Perhaps that explains all the ashrams . . .

We went on that day to view several farms and experimental rice plots, to witness the modern and the ancient techniques of farming, and to be received with ritual and ceremony by farmers and officials, as I've shown in my earlier entries. We left Chidambaram behind, and with it one very unique  and very intrusive guide, who constantly echoed what others had already said. His original contributions to the tours were theses two things: he insisted that every thing we saw there was "World Famous!" and that anything we could ever want could be had in the markets there for a "damcheep"good price! He uttered this descriptor so often, we concluded that he had perceived this as a single word and failed to realize that he was cursing mildly. "Damn Cheap!" we couldn't help exclaiming from that point onward, no matter what the price.


We went on our way to Thanjavur, to see the last of these fields, and then to visit the Brihadeeswarar Temple in that town. Brihadeeswarar Temple "is the world's first complete granite temple and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas kingdom...in temple architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron RajaRaja Chola I. It remains as one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola Temples"." cited from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brihadeeswarar_Temple>.

This is one of the gates; to the far right, the tower with the round knob, is the center structure, and is some 66 meters high, and hollow inside up to the capstone. This tower is said not to cast any shadow on the ground no matter what time of day or season.

After again shedding our shoes, we were greeted just inside this temple gate by a small Asian elephant and its handler. Much to our surprise, most temples are supposed to have an elephant that they keep for certain rituals, and this one performed admirably the ritual of draping each of the visiting guests in our party with a huge garland of bright flowers. After draping the garland over our heads, the elephant paused to rest its trunk on the top of our heads as if dispensing a blessing.

The elephant is used to crowds of people and camera flashes.

The handler gives a garland to the elephant.

As the sun sets, Dr. Z gets garlanded.

Our traveling companion and new friend Manzoor takes his turn.

Here we are, garlanded guests with our hosts and companions.

We were joined by an official guide for the temple who ushered us quickly along and provided us with interesting facts and observations about the temple, its origins, its recent 1,000th anniversary at which 1,000 dancers performed in the large open area within the walls, and showed us some of the intricacies of the carvings. In the image shown here, he slips a small straw beneath the carved ribbons adorning the stone; each one is fully raised and articulated out of granite, one of the hardest stones to carve.

We climbed some steep steps to a raised platform, where we found a huge idol of a bull, Nandi, said to be Shiva's guardian. This sculpture has a scaffolding raised next to it on one side in order for the temple priests to be able to pour offerings of milk and ghee and to place flower garlands and petals on the form as part of their daily rituals. The bull is carved of a single piece of black stone, not found within at least 60 kilometers of this area, suggesting that a great deal of effort was needed when the temple was built, to transport the stone. The bull is wrapped in a single very long piece of silk woven for this purpose, again to show reverence to the deity.

In a less reverent frame of mind, our guide pointed out some carvings of female figures said to be the 14 wives of the king of the Chola Dynasty who had this temple built. "Wow," someone in our party remarked, "how did he manage all those wives?" I dare not say who, but one of our group quipped, "He must have used his lingam one yoni at a time!" (If you do not yet appreciate the meaning of "lingam" and "yoni," I direct you to wikipedia.) Maybe you had to be there, but it was one of the funnier moments of the whole trip, as it caught us by surprise coming from that usually very sober source.

Nandi, garlanded and draped. Note the elaborate painting on the ceiling above.

Moon over Temple Peak

By now, darkness had fallen and our tour was ending. The full moon appeared just at the top of the main tower, amid a brief spattering of raindrops. The day had begun, and ended, with a very special visit to ancient, active temples, which gave us a close-up view of another side of life in India.

The following morning we went to the airport at Tiruchirappalli, more familiarly called Trichy, for our flight to Chennai and from there to Hong Kong and home to Manila. We had most of the day in Chennai for one last look around a market place. Due to poor communication with our guide, we wound up in a mega-mall (speaking of the profane!) The whole place struck me as more obscene than any lingam-and-yoni statue could ever be, especially with the bizarrely precocious and massively large cherubs still on display from Valentines Day (a very big holiday in India for reasons unfathomable to me.)

Check out those cherubs!

As we walked through the airport, we saw another of the surprising and seemingly contradictory scenes linking the spirituality of India with the commercial. Workers were crouched on the floor with mounds of loose flower blossoms before a statue of Shiva, assembling an image we assumed to be devotional, as if refreshing the shrine. On closer inspection, we saw what you see below, the yellow and bluish logo of the Tamil Nadu Airports Authority, constructed of flower blossoms.

The Airports Authority logo - a yellow triangle with a blue streak, like an airplane taking off.

As one about to board a plane, I supposed it was not a bad thing to be asking a blessing of a deity by presenting the notion of the airport and all its business before a statue of the god. And sure enough, I managed to snag a business class seat once we got to Hong Kong, for the last part of the ride back to Manila.

Grinning like a fool, in my little business class cocoon!

Of course, it is not to a Hindu deity that I owe my thanks, for the classy seating on the airplane or for all the wonderful experiences I have had and continue to have on this journey, but to my dear friends Crissan and Bob, for inviting and including me in their lives for the past few weeks. I am deeply indebted to them for so enriching my life in this way.

As I write this we are already back in the Philippines and have been for a good week, and I have not yet begun to blog about this second part of the trip and all the wonderful doings we've done here. I promise I will. For now, I am closing out my tales of India, and giving thanks for all the blessings I've received and the fortunate life I've led.

Rice is Life

 This is rice, thriving in the field. What has to happen for it to reach this point? Seed is put aside from last year's harvest, planted densely and grown into seedlings in a protected area, taken to the flooded paddies after they have been prepared, and most often, transplanted by hand into the mud beneath the standing water.

Leveling the paddy

Transplanting seedlings into paddy - women's work in the world of rice.

This video was taken last week in very rural southern India, may show the last generation of women to transplant rice in this age-old manner. Watch and listen to their call-and-response singing as they do this back-breaking work. How many centuries and in how many places on the face of earth have people sung like this to make the work flow? This kind of manual labor may soon be replaced by machines. The women we spoke to would not be sorry to see their children escape from the necessity to toil in this way.

We watched as this small tractor-like machine planted many rows at once into a field of soft mud that will later be flooded.

Harvest is still another process involving intensive manual labor, but is more frequently now being done by large combine machines. Here a man is so loaded up with rice straw that only his lower legs can be seen. He will walk a great distance to take the straw to a stack for use as animal feed after the grain has been threshed from the stalks.

                                   A team of oxen pull a hay wagon down a dusty road.

Workers load bagged rice onto trucks to be taken to the mills, where the bran must be polished off. Bran contains enough oil that the grain would go rancid quickly in the tropical heat if milling were not done soon after harvest.

                                                  Sunset over a harvested field.

River of Rice (HD version)

irrivideo | October 28, 2010 

Jay Maclean, a freelance writer, information specialist, and musician, was struck by the cover photo in the April-June 2007 issue of Rice Today magazine -- http://www.scribd.com/doc/34620863/Ri...

It depicts the Mekong River as it winds through northwestern Yunnan Province in China. The photographer is Ken Driese - http://www.flickr.com/photos/kdriese

Maclean writes: "I was sitting at my piano, looking at the cover, seeing the rugged landscape rolling down onto a narrow river, a temple, shoals and mud, nevertheless the same river that later calms down on its voyage through Cambodia and beyond. So, I began to play an impression of the scene. It came together quite quickly and after an hour I had a piece that runs for nearly 4-1/2 minutes. I added a bass line and some percussion to enhance the mood."

He calls it, naturally, River of Rice.

Audio visual staff at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) - http://irri.org - put together this music video using video clips from IRRI's archives. The music and video scenes go together quite nicely.

Rice Today magazine is published by IRRI. The magazine's archives are online at http://www.scribd.com/Rice%20Today

Quoted and shared from <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA6EtUFdz3Y&feature=related>