#18. The Bommyapalayam Dispatch.
Part 1 (of 3): The Bay of Bengal; Beach dogs and Sea-goats; is that a Dachshund in the sand?; In Auroville and Pondicherry, what will the nets yield?
It is not down on any map; true places never are.
– Herman Melville Moby Dick, or The Whale.
Dear Readers,
I have the best reason on Earth to be late on this week’s post, and this is it:
[YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET.]
By a stroke of luck / alignment of stars, my family and I were able to rent a pretty little cottage by the sea in the middle of a fishing village near the experimental township of Auroville, Cité de l'aube, for the summer. No place is unmapped anymore of course. Bommyapalayam is not far from Pondicherry, and just a few hours from Chennai. But. There is no Wifi. The dongle doesn’t really work and Data just barely. There are no tourists here, apart from us. All night we hear the roar of The Bay of Bengal and all day we watch goats, dogs and people do what they do, squeeze what they can from nature’s bounty. Close enough to feel their vibration, breathe a community in The City of Dawn who really wanted things to be better than they are.
Yesterday it was hot, sparkling. Everything sharp and technicolour. This morning it was overcast, grey. The sky spat soft, cold drops at us as we swam in the ocean before breakfast. Nothing serious, it said, just a little reminder that sunny days are not a birthright. Be grateful for what you got while your got it! Slowly, Bombay drips off me. But its ghost is still here. Beneath the skin, it crawls, searching for a fix of everythingeverywhereallatonce. The sudden change of pace creates a little wobble. It always does. But I’ve been here before. I will remember again how to Be.
I did have three posts in various stages of readiness, prepared for these weeks away from my desk titled Nietzsche Who?, My Own Private Feminism, and Nayna In Love. I thought that I would get here, find a quiet corner to finish them up before launching them into the void. But I think now that I will let them lie. Stew in their juices. Languish in Drafts. Because not only does editing them - images and all - require a faster connection than I have, but also because in these few days in Bommyapalayam they’ve drifted far into the horizon where I can’t really see them very clearly anymore. Towards me now, comes a fishing boat. It is red and blue, and has a loud motor.
What will the nets yield?
Whatever it is, I will find out. I’ve heard there is a little cafe not too far from here that serves good connectivity.
Today though, I will practice Radical Acceptance.
There is no &%## WiFi.
Let. It. Go.
Aummmmm. (3 times).
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Read The Bommmyapalayam Dispatch Part 2 here!
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