Pondicherry

31 Dec 2009 9:25 AM:  Well, I wrote a nice long post for you yesterday from the hotel in Chennai, then lost it when I attempted to publish it to the blog.  Ganesh is the half-human, half-elephant god who is the remover of obstacles, but it is my understanding that he also places obstacles in your way occasionally, so I reckon it was Ganesh's doing.  No doubt he was attempting to eliminate any budding attachments I might have to my newfound career as a word-traveling blogger.

When someone from the developed world travels to the developing world, the currency exchange rate allows them to live higher on the hog (an old country expression from the southern USA.... must be that the more expensive meat on a hog is higher.... wouldn't know myself, as I don't eat the stuff).  Therefore, you have middle class people suddenly thrust into an upper class life, and we feel awkward and perhaps sometimes act foolishly in the role.  I think that this is a contributing factor to the "ugly American" phenomenom.  The hotel in Chennai was a 5 star Radisson, with an incredibly solicitous staff, a really great gym, a really great spa, pool, steam room, sauna, fantastic restaurant, etc etc.  I felt like I should have been working there rather than staying there.

Yesterday afternoon we took a hotel shuttle from the hotel in Chennai to Pondicherry.  Pondicherry used to be a French possession, so there is some French spoken here, although I think more English.  Pondicherry was the home of Sri Aurobindo and his French female disciple who they call "the mother".  The ride from Chennai to Pondicherry was the usual wild adventure, with countless near misses, accompanied by the gasps of my traveling companions.  For some reason, Indian driving never bothers me.  I just have faith that the driver knows what he's doing.  This faith is not a religious, blind sort of faith, it's a faith based on my knowledge of statistics and my use of reason.  I figure, if this guy is working as a driver for a hotel (a plum assignment), he must have several years of experience as a driver, and an accident-free (or nearly so) record.  Since these jobs are plum jobs in the developing world, you know that the drivers are top-notch.  So, if this driver has driven full-time for several years without an accident, what are the odds that he will have an accident during your trip?  Vanishingly small, I reckon.  Of course, there is a wild card, and that is Ganesh, who is not confined to the strictures of statistics. 

Woke up this morning very early and did a nice long asana / pranayama / meditation routine.  Today we visit the tomb of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and arrange a visit to Auroville for tomorrow.