Hello from a internet cafe on a busy, bustling street in Kottayam! Kottayam is in the state of Kerala in south India, and it is more bustling and busy than I could have ever imagined. Busses, rickshaws, motorbikes, bicycles, and pedestrians crammed together-- where rules are suggestions and beeping is second nature. The population is between 60 and 70 thousand, and here they speak Malayalam, which is a derivative of the ancient Sanscrit-- as I recall from my archaeological studies at KU, ancient Sanskrit moved into the region about 1500 BCE during Aryan migrations east. To me, when I hear Malayalam spoken, I feel a sense of connection to the archaeological past--to a time when words were only passed down through oral traditions before Sanscrit was written. Today, over 80 originial Sanskrit words remain in the Malayalam language.
Today we visited a local all girls school here in Kottayam that was set up by a christian woman in the early 1800s. I was most impressed by the teachers and the curriculum of the High School. The female instructors teach computer science, physics, chemistry, biology, botany, and zoology. I wish I had been exposed to all of those science courses in high school!! Most of the students will go on to college to become doctors, nurses, engineers, etc.... The students sang for us several times, so it was funny when our group was caught a off-gaurd when we were asked to share a song! Under pressure, I suggested Plymouth's own Gathering of Grace version of "God be with you til we meet again..." we pulled it off, and we were better the second time around, but we vowed to do a little more practicing before tomorrow!!
It's almost dinner time here and we are going to try and find a good local place to dine out for the evening. Tomorrow we will take an all day boat tour through the backwaters of Kerala--one part of the trip I have been looking forward to!
Cheers!
Laura Murphy
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