To Be
Wish You Happy Pongal
Inset of kolam featuring clay pongal pot and deepam
Pongal Tableau
Another inset of Kolam featuring the over-flowing pongal
A more linear tableau: sugar cane, pongal being cooked to over-flowing over a wood fire, the sun, and a plate of offerings
A few of the Pongal kolams drawn on two streets in Kuruchikuppam, Pondicherry
South Indian filter coffee is rapidly disappearing, replaced by instant coffee powder. But whether or not these street-side coffee bars use filter or instant coffee, the “mixing” of boiled milk and coffee is still done the same way.
Cooling coffee
The coffee is generally served in a steel cup with a lip and a small, empty bowl (also with a lip) so that the customer can perform a mini version of the same process – pouring the coffee from the cup into the bowl, and vice verse, holding on to the edge of the lips of the vessels (the liquid is boiling hot!) – but this time, to cool the coffee enough to drink.
And the taste? Like coffee candy.
Garland maker on Rue Francois Martin, Kuruchikuppam
Just as onion prices have gone sky high, so have the price of garlands that South Indian women wear in their hair or drape around the necks of idols or pictures of gods (or place on the pillows of their Western guests).
Garland supplies, Goubert Market, Pondicherry
Women sit on the ground or on makeshift tables and make garlands from morning to evening in long strands that they then break into different lengths depending on customer desires.
Garland maker at Goubert Market
The garlands are sold by the “arm” – that is, the length from the tips of your fingers to your elbow. An “arm” of sweet-smelling jasmine used to cost Rs. 5 to 10 two years ago. Now, they are Rs. 15 to 20, depending on the season.
The video below is a short clip of the garland maker pictured in the red sari on Rue Francois Martin in Kuruchikuppam, Pondicherry.
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