Sweetness

Breakfast, dosa,i a rice pancake, sweet lime juice, papaya, pineapple, baked beans- not the Heinz kind, coconut chutney, white rice and urad dhal, white lentils. There was no sugar in the ayurvedic centre but when I got out on the streets I soon discovered that everything is sweetened. The chai, the coffee, the milk shakes , fruit shakes- sugar is always slipped in . One has to be very firm- NO sugar. The number of times I went for a juice or lassi, seeking a sugar-free, more natural option, and as I drank the sweetness, thinking to myself, this is too sweet to be true,  lo and behold , there was added sugar.

The juices, pineapple, pomegranate, watermelon, and banana lassis ( a yogurt and fruit based drink). Fresh papaya, firm and tender- a cross between cooked pumkin and a carrot ,only sweeter. Fresh coconut meat and juice. All in abundance for a few rupees. Speaking of watermelon, one day in Varkala , I got a lift-taxi to the Naranaya ashram. He stopped to chat to some fellas on the side of the road. When I enquired what he was doing i was told he was getting the watermelon skins for his cows. Now that is exotic; No wonder the milk tastes differently here.

Out on the streets of Mysore, my eyes gleamed with amazement. I had heard descriptions but to be here amid wandering goats, cows, mad driving rickshaws, buses driving head on , until the very last moment.A man drives by on a motorbike, 2 people on the back and is that a goat in between them- yes, a goat straddles the seat. Infant-like disbelief and joy arises. OOOOOOOOh india.