The fortuneteller and other stories

When I was walking through the streets of Ooty, I met this guy. He works a fortuneteller. I saw many of them  the streets but this guy was quite popular.  His age and experience provided him with the necessary confidence and skills to win the trust of his clients.

It was a fascinating thing to watch. First there was a talk. Then the woman  mixed the deck of cards. The parrot was locked out of its golden cage with some seeds. Then the bird picked up a card. The images in it would reveal the future of the woman.  The guy would explain to her in a kind manner the meaning of the card, asking constantly questions and watching carefully her expressions. She will nod some times of approval. At some point the guy threw some shells probably to check one of her questions. the figure the shells made would be the answer.

Later on I walked to the station. I was looking for information about the bus to my next destination. I saw a Korean girl drawing some people at the fence. I though wow! another Sketcher. I wanted to talk to her so I approached her but she was very concentrated in her drawing. So I picked up my sketchbook and I started drawing too. Then we exchanged a few words while sketching. By the time a crowd had gathered around us to watch us drawing. At some point she left when I was in the middle of my drawing. You can see in the drawing that some people very discretely get into the picture, like the guy with suit on the right, or enthusiastically  asked me to draw them like the two friends on the left.

Like in  most of the places I visit in India, the people wanted to see my sketch books and took pictures. I was always treated very friendly and with respect.

Through the Nilgiri tea plantations

The next stop of our trip was Ooty, a small city in the Nilgiri Mountains in the state of Tamil Nadhu.

The climate is quite different of what you would expected in South India. sunny and hot during the day but quite cold at night. We took a tour through the tea plantations.

The landscape is quite surreal: glowing bushes of green cover the hills. Silver oak trees grow between them.  I was told that they  provide shade in the summer, while in winter the leaves are trimmed..

The rounded shape of the bushes is the consequence of the constant trimming of the tea leaves.
The tour included a meal on a restaurant in the local village. The tables were covered with newspaper sheets. the Banana leaves served as plates to mix the food and eat.

The men wore mundu, a piece of cloth around their waste instead of pants. Here in the Nilgiri mountains the mundu were in bright colors while in Kerala were mostly white. They combine usually white a western shirt.

We took a normal bus to go back to Ooty. When you travel with bus, and you arrived to a station you have to prepare to get out immediately. Otherwise the coming passengers will block your way out.