Group A in Nagapattinam

Group A first went to Nagapattanum.

After leaving the main group on the train our small crew of 7 were welcomed to Trichi by the head brother from La Salle Nagapattanum, Uvari. After a pleasant lunch in a out of the way restaurant in Trichi we all crammed into a small mini bus for a four hour trip to Nagapattanum. The first half hour to our new destination was fun with four of us in the back of the bus, but after realising that there was another three and a half hours to go riding in the back lost its novelty.

Upon arrival we were treated to a small fireworks display and a ceremony to celebrate and welcome us to Nagapattanum. After settling in we were introduced more formally to Brothers Uvari, Doss and Xavier, and a whole hoard of Brothers in training called Junior Brothers. Including the groundskeeper, these Brothers are the only residents of the De La Salle complex, called La Salle Kaldaisai.

After the introductions and dinner we were shown to our rooms. There were two rooms with three of us in each. The beds were simple fold-out ones with some being more uncomfortable than others. Each room had a bathroom fitted with a shower and western toilet which in hindsight is seen as a luxury compared to the eastern toilets and bucket for showers we were to find on arrival at RTU in G Kalliputti. We also had access to a washing machine which on first use was a major let down since many our clothes came out dirtier than they went in. It seems that the whole of Tamil Nadu suffers from spurts on low voltage at least three times a day and this plays havoc with the wash. However, once we learnt about the best times of day in which the house received full electricity, the washing came out clean!

We had arrived on a Saturday and work did not start until Monday. That Sunday we were treated to a Rockstar reception at a festival for the local children. Every child from all the nearby villages came out to welcome us as guests of honour. This made us feel a little uncomfortable as, although we may think we are rockstars, the adulation seemed a little too much. It was nice to get greeted with a traditional Indian head dot thingy and decorative necklaces as we entered. The whole ceremony was conducted in Tamil and since only Dave Colmanet can speak any of it, many of us found it hard to understand. We did get treated to many dances, a teacher drama and presentations. We even managed to get up on stage ourselves and perform the Hymn to St John Baptist (Thanks for teaching us this in Year 7!) and finished with the De La Oom Pa.

On Monday, when we finally began to work, we found that the hours seemed to be easy enough. We were organised to work for two hours in the morning, from 9am to 11am, and one and a half in the afternoon, 3pm to 4.30pm. Sounds easy? We found that the work was very demanding and constant. It ended up taking its toll on us and we finished each shift completely exhausted. The treats at morning tea, which included breakfast cereals like Chocos and Mango flavoured Corn Flakes, hit the spot and replenished our energy reserves. Apparently a bowl of Chocos is nutritionally equivalent to 2 Chappattis.

The routine continued for the first couple of days and on Wed afternoon Monsoon rains halted our work and forced us to stay in doors and relax. We have never been so happy to see rain, but it did leave our worksite under a foot of water and mud. The next work day was going to be some fun.

After working the morning on Thursday, we were escorted by Laksmi, a La Salle staff member, to a variety of nearby sites which included tsunami affected coastal villages and a church dedicated to the appearance of Our Lady to some fisherman just off the coast. Beside the church was a museum that housed all the offering that people had sent to the church as prayers of thanks or desperation for things they needed. We finished off the day by visiting the Tsunami Memorial Site built to remember the lives lost on that Boxing Day. Apparently the height of the memorial matched the height of the wave that hit the shores, and it was one high memorial.

Friday night was movie night, and not the type of movie that you might be thinking. All of us, that is Brothers Doss and Xavier, 13 Junior Brothers and 7 De La Coolies headed into Nagapattinam to see the latest Kollywood (not Bollywood around these Southern Parts) blockbuster. The entire film was in Tamil and again, only David could understand what was going on, but the rest of us did pick up the fact that there were twins, separated early in life and then brought back together later. Of course they were from very different parts of society and of course the moral of the story was good. Included was planet of dancing, action, comedy and romance; as well as the occasional subliminal advertising. And the heroine was too bad looking either... Two highlights of the night were deep fried eggs in batter (a speciality that Brucey should consider for the future) and a fight scene that saw a man thrown through the front and back windscreens of a car. Nice.

Early sat we were up and caught the 8am bus to Pondicherry. We took a local bus up the coast and arrived 5 hours later. Pondicherry is a French influenced town that sits on the Bay of Bengal. It has a lovely seaside promenade and the whole of the city comes out to walk along it at some point in the day. For 150Rs a night ($5Aus) we were able to stay at the Hotel Qualithe. It really was a shame that the name had absolutely nothing to do with the standard of the room. Still we all got a bed and a lovely balcony overlooking central “park”. While in Pondicherry we spent our time enjoying the western luxuries that the town offered. We had steaks, chips, beer, pasta and delicious crème caramel or chocolate pancakes; and that was all by lunch on the first day. We also did some shopping in the local markets and enjoyed the beach. That night we took a wander through the towns watering holes before enjoying another extensive 3 course meal for dinner. After an early buffet breakfast (200Rs at a five star resort if you don’t mind) we hit the streets and looked at the Indian side of Pondicherry. This included a visit to a crowded fish, fruit and flower market, which left some boys a little worse for wear. Not too worry because another 5 hour dodgy local bus ride was to await us and the good news is, that it only took 7 of us, asking about 50 people, 400 different questions, to find the right bus home. In case you are every in Pondicherry and need to get back to Nagapattinam, its the 222 from the central terminal that leaves at 2.30pm. Don’t miss it because its no fun getting back any other way...

Back at our temporary home, we had one more working day to go. We used this day to build some paths around the complex so that we could walk above the level of water that was consistently lying around the site from the weeks rain. It may be 35 degrees every day, but that water sure does evaporate very, very slowly. That night, the Brothers put on a special farewell dinner which we smashed in due course.

Tuesday was a day of travel. We left Naga at 8am and by 8pm we were at RTU in G Kallupatti. This day of travel consisted of a cramped 3 hour 4WD ride to Trichy for Lunch and swap over and a cramped 4 hour 4WD ride to RTU. What happens at RTU? Thats for the next blog. Stay tuned...