Profiled in Kerala

Yes profiled.  I know Kerala is a long way from Arizona.  They don't have a large illegal alien problem.  They aren't Republicans.  In fact the communist party has a strong presence in Kerala.  Just goes to show ya profiling isn't unique to the right wing.

It happened on the southwestern slopes of the hilltop I fell in love with.  It was harmless and didn't cause any serious problems.  It was about religion.  Shanmogan and Ayyappala talked about the Mongeese coming out in a particular locale.  There were a lot of them and they could be fed by hand.  I thought all along they meant "Mongoose" killer of cobras.  I even had a brief flash on this wonderful photo op of a Mongoose goin' at it with a big King Cobra.  Not exactly.

Word was they came out at dusk.  Around 6 PM.  Around 5:30 we picked up Ayyappala and Kesaveda and headed out.  Driving on those winding clay lanes that go up that high ground would put driving in Bengalure to shame if there was much traffic.

When we arrived there were preparations.  Turns out the Mongeese were monkeys, not killers of Cobras.  They came out and played in the yard of a particular Hindu temple.  I wish I could remember the name of the temple.  Apparantly it is a very old temple.  We arrived in what resembled a gathering area in a small village at the foot of a big staircase.  Whatever was at the top was hidden by the scale of the staircase.  Reminded me of a Mayan pryamid of sorts.  I flashed on being sacrificed to one of the Hindu gods by hungry monkeys; but only for a moment.  We were summoned from the top of the stairs.

We climbed the long stone staircase and arrived in the yard of this very old temple.  There was a protracted conversation accompanied by hand waving and head shaking going on in front of the temple.  Ayyappala was making a case about something.  Then Kesaveda came over and said,

"You're not going to like this."

First of all I was relieved at the absence of a sacrifical alter but then began thinking what could possibly be going on here?

"What?"

Kesaveda turned his head slightly and said,

"They don't want you around here because you're not a Hindu."

I thought to myself I could have some fun here.  I loved my internal dialog.  Suddenly I felt like it was a "Bill Maher" moment.  My imagination raced.

"I beg your pardon.  What could possibly make you think I'm not a Hindu?"

"Oh I get it.  I'm white so you think I was sent by Jimmy Swaggert or something."

"Well, hey.  Ganesha, Shiva, Lakshimi......and lots of others I can't remember."

"I haven't been to temple that often lately.  But still, a white Hindu.  Live with it."

There you have it.  Profiled; and by the communist party at that. 

However, none of that came out of my mouth.  I remained quiet and smiled a lot.  Peace was ultimately negotiated.  I could remain but certain areas of the temple yard were off limits to me.  I was not offended and my pix were not compromised as I had a long lens mounted.

We proceded.  There we no monkeys in sight.  Shanmogan gave some guy about a dollar.  He fetched a big bag of fruit.  Kesaveda and his dad, Ayyappal along with some other fellow took the bag and walked into the area forbidden for me.  Actually I was to remain behind an imaginary line.   Shanmogan being the wonderful host he was remained with me in the neutral zone.

The forbidden zone

The guys began calling and the monkeys came.  I would say fifty or so.  They came right up and ate out hands.  Many of them were carrying babies.  It turns out the guy who showed up to help feed was the temple florist.  It was amazing and I loved some of the pix I got.  At the end of the feeding I had forgotten the profiling incident.

Manjunath, Ayyappa and the florist guy

If you look closely at one of the pix of a monkey sitting on the wall eating you will notice a bulge in his throat.  It was explained to me that they eat all they can and then store a bunch in that throat pouch.  I did not know that.

The temple florist

Look closely at the monkey's throat pouch.  It's full of bananas

We fed monkeys until it was nearly dark.  We were in Ayyappa's neighborhood.  He wanted us to stop at his house for some refreshment.  Kesaveda said he had a surprise for me.  It took a minute to get there.  A long walk up a poorly lit forrest pathway was required.  Flashlights lit our way.  Then we came to his house.  It was a beautiful forrest setting.  At least that's what I imagined from what I could see in the dark.

Somewhere along the way the subject of "jack fruit" had come up.  You know that spiney thing that Andrew Zimmern couldn't negoiate.  That big ugly, smells like rotting onions, can't eat it in public places thing.  It turns out Kesaveda had his mom serve us some along with a south Indian favorite, jack fruit jam.  That was the surprise.  I was game.  It didn't smell bad at all.  It was very sweet and the jam was good.  I liked the jam better than the actual fruit.

Jack fruit, jack fruit jam and tea.

For some reason Shanmogan was in a hurry to leave and I didn't have a chance to finish my jack fruit snack.  I only had a taste.  I learned later that jack fruit makes some folks sick and Shanmogan was afraid I would get sick.  Lookin' out for the white guy.  I like that.

We made one more stop.  Another fellow in the neighborhood was one of Shanmogan's school mates.  A fellow with a great southern Indian name, Velayudhankutty.  He was a retired school principal.  We stopped there for a short visit with his family.  His son and his wife were there along with their two children.  Beautiful people.  Notice how beautiful the children's eyes are.

Mrs. Velayudhankutty, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Velayudhankutty, his daughter-in-law and two grandchildren.

It was a great day.  I loved the adventure with the monkeys.  I loved the Bill Mayer moment and truely enjoyed meeting the families of Shanmogan's buddies.