Chalk drawings

We were very interested in the chalk drawings that appeared outside the homes in Channai. Vive told us that these drawing indicate to visitors and delivery peple that the family is home and the household is up. Originally these drawings would be made with salt and pigs would come and lick away the drawings by the end of the day.

Girl marries dog????

“Breaking News” on front page of Indian Express (Indian English Newspaper)

Girl ties knot with dog
Dhanbad: In a bizarre incident, a seven year old girl was married off to a dog to ward off evil on her and the family at Kumardhubi colliery here. The girl Shivam’s teeth first appeared on the upper row and not on the lower – which according to tribal traditions here, is extremely inauspicious. The father of the girl, Kundan Munda, said his daughter was married to a dog only to remove the evil eye on her and the family.”

Women in Channi

Here in Channi (unlike Sri Lanka) women drive motorcycles.



They also ride "side saddle" in beautiful saris and salwars.


Women at work!

Trip to India

This weekend we went to visit Vive’s relatives in Chennai, India and had a fabulous weekend, shopping, dining and visiting.

Vive’s cousin, Merra, and Rob shopping for carpets



Vive’s nephew reacting to one of Rob's jokes

Its Valentines Day and Cher’s Having Fun!

We went out for fancy drinks at Galley Cafe and a nice dinner a Cheasa Swiss with Suzanne and Suranga (our friend and also our fitness trainer). Everyone except Rob was drinking heavily – especially Suranga. He turned into “the dialer” calling everyone he knew who resided in different time zones, including our families. When he talked to Rob’s dad he reported that Rob was doing well and was getting "so muscular". I gave him a kick under the table expecting him to make a similar statement about fitness achievements but all he had to say was, “ Cher, well.... she’s having fun”! Pooh!

Trip to Hikkadua

We went with Vive and Denise to Hikkadua this weekend to do some snorkeling. Later our friend Kamal joined us.


Although the visibility was not as good as the Maldives, the variety and number of fish was outstanding! When Rob and I were snorkeling there was a guy swimming suspiciously close to us. I thought he was going to try to sell us something or offer to take us on a tour. He started repetitively diving beneath me. I had no idea what he was doing but decided to get far away from him. Rob later told me that he was trying to look up between my legs when I was swimming. How pervie and inefficient. Surely he would see a lot more with less effort on the Internet!

On the way home we purchased some flutes (which we later learned were played at funerals) for our nieces and decided to try them out in the van on the wave home, much to Indika’s dismay!

Trip to Sigiriya

This weekend we traveled to , Sigirya, an ancient city built on top of a giant rock. We climbed all the way to the top, which took several hours. It seemed a bit dangerous as it was raining and the rock steps were small, muddy, and slippy. Our guide told us to be careful - yesterday a Belgian woman fell down 120 steps and was airlifted to hospital.

Michael, who is a big reality tv fan, was with us so we went to see Sigiriya village, which was the check point in one episode of the Amazing Race.

We stayed at the Amya Lake Resort, which is meant to be very ecologically friendly and integrated with nature. The resort is a acreage on a lake with cabins for guests and tree houses around the property for bird watching. One night we were having drinks in the outdoor lounge when a man climbed up into a nearby tree house and began singing and playing the flute. I was absolutely enchanted with his performance and he invited me to come up into his tree house and later to play his flute (which was a bit of a disaster). The musician however was extremely gracious about my miserable performance, unlike the women on the drums who greet you as you enter the resort. They initially invited me to join them and the abruptly put me on clap duty rather than drumming. Pooh!

Concert for Peace and Reconciliation

We attended a Concert for Peace and Reconciliation tonight in honor of Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam, a scholar and human rights activist who murdered in Colombo in 1999 by a suicide bomber because of his work for peace, democracy, and conflict resolution in Sri Lanka. The murder took place near the Rosmead Place-Kynsey Road junction, an area we often pass through on our way to drop off our boss, Charles, at his flat. There are drawings on the road at this spot and now I know why they are there.

The performance was excellent, featuring Sri Lankan traditional and contemporary drumming as well as Sufi Dhol Drummers from Pakistan. I was reminded however that Sri Lanka was a very different place not so long ago.