Dear Sonny,
I received your interesting and lengthy letter while in the South. We left from Poona to Madaras in a steam engine train. And it took 24 hours. I could've gone faster riding a bike uphill. We had four fans on in first class you and still it was so hot we couldn't bear it. At each stop and there were many people would hang on the Windows and bag from money and food. I would give them all our food which may town Thanu angry. The windows all had bars on them - all the windows everywhere a bars on them. One boy grabbed on to the window at one station and rode all way to the next station.
We finally reached Madras. There Ponni who is my sister-in-law’s father met us. He is a very skinny man who looks just like Gandhi. He is thought of as the Gandhi of South India. We went to his home for a few hours. When I said I felt ill his wife gave me some tiny tablets. They were about the size of dots and told me I'd feel better soon. She gave some to the baby also. Soon I told our felt better even though I didn't. She gave the tablets for everything from a cut on the finger to intestinal disorders. We stayed that night with Ponni’s uncle. He had a big house with lizards and ants running everywhere. We slept on the floor and sat on the floor. When we ate we use plantain leaves instead of plates and used our fingers.
Most of the houses here have large fans in the center of the ceiling. We left Madras after a two-day stay - while we were there some man lent us his car and a chauffeur. We went by plane to Thanu’s native place. I left all my Western clothes in Poona and only wore a sari. People were continually asking me to wear my native costume.
It was night when we arrived at his home town by bus from the airport. There are narrow dirt paths between the houses in small streams where the human waste drains from the latrines and some folks use the drains or gutters as direct deposits for the very personal waste products. The men dress in a long cloth called doties. The women who are widowed wear a white sari and if they are under 50 they wear a blouse otherwise no blouse for anyone over 50 who is also a widow.
When we went to Thanu’s house. People were crowded everywhere to see me his wife. They were hanging on windows on rooftops and crowding around me and at first staring without making a sound. Until I said Boo and everyone backed away then laughed and began talking.
There are bedbugs and mosquitoes everywhere and we were eaten alive by them. There were also ants which are as much as an inch and a half long. We stayed for week in Kanyakumari - the Cape - the southern most tip of India. Thanu has some dwellings there or his cousin brother does. They are rented to tourist.
It is directly on the water front which consists of three seas. We could walk to one side of India and watch the sun rise on the sea in the morning we then walk to the other side of India and watch the sunset. One day a girl about my age came with the baby and stood outside the door pointing her thumb to her mouth. She wanted water so I brought her a big brass pot of water and gave it to her with a glass from which to drink. She took the brass pot and poured water into her hands and then drank from her hands then she gave water in the same way to her baby. She was dressed in rags. Her baby had no clothes on at all just a diaper. After I gave her water she insisted on doing something for me so I let her wash my clothes. Then I gave her our garbage. Every day after that she would come and wash my clothes. She called me amma the equivalent of a lady or ma'am. One day she took me to a church near her home. I didn't speak her language and she didn't speak mine. She showed me her house it was about 6 feet high and apro. 8’ across. It was made intricately of bamboo. The walls were woven just like cloth. There was a cloth on the floor for a bed and a stick to hang her her blouse and a sari on. I told her I would give her one of my saris but every time I gave it to her Thanu’s Aunt would snatch it away. One day I went to the seashore and Antonia that was her name came up with some of her friends. The sands are black, red and yellow and what beautiful sight to see in this setting or rising sun through the palm trees.
Antonia and her friends gave me the only gifts that they had shells from the shore. We laughed and danced on the colorful sands and decorated ourselves with sea weed that looked like lace.
There are small fishing boats here which are called trees that are carved from a single tree trunk. We went on one of these tree boats. I cleaned up and met a fisherman who I called Peter. Peter got together some men with towels wrapped around their heads and wore very small pieces of cloth on their bottoms. Thanu and his 18 year old nephew also came. They have the trees boats on shore and have to wait until the big waves come to push them into the water. The men put a board across for me to sit on in the boat while the men stand with their feet one on either side and they row with hollow bamboo shoots.
It takes two tree boats and a big net made by the fisherman's wives to catch the fish. The women also make the tightly woven sails. I almost fell in the sea when the big wave came and washed across the tree but I hung on to a fisherman's foot and didn't let go until they assured me that we were safe. By the time we returned to shore I was soaked from head to foot.
We returned to Madras then to Poona where we all had diarrhea for about two weeks. From their way went by plane to New Delhi. On the plane was some famous Indian movie star. He held Kamie the whole time.
From Delhi we went to Agra the home of the Taj Mahal. Agra was very hot. There are many gypsies living there. Some have big black bears which they trained to fight and dance. You can see little boys in ragged clothes all alone with a herd of Camel. The Taj Mahal is so very beautiful. Evidently Kamie didn't think it was quite beautiful enough. I laid her down on the marble floor in a separate room where no one else was so I could change her diaper and she left currie looking po po all over the floor. I tried like anything to get out the stain but it would not come out and only seemed to get worse so we left in a hurry - as we were sitting under a sign that said anyone defacing this property will be arrested.
We have seen many beautiful palaces and castles here. Now we will meet Thanu’s brother and then from there we will go home I'm looking forward to telling you all about India it is a strange and beautiful place hello to all – love sis