A Pilgrimage Party

Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Walking the Camino
de Santiago in Spain

Muslim pilgrims in
Mecca for their Haj.

A pilgrimage is generally considered to be an act of contrition, penitence, whether it is the Haj or the 800km Camino de Santiago across Northern Spain.

Life was a little livelier when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote Canterbury Tales, and if yesterday was anything to go by, a pilgrimage in India can be a wonderful excuse for a party!
I had no idea what to expect from the note pinned up on the wall of the dining verandah. We were asked to be ready to leave at 06.30; all treatments were cancelled for the day and our accounts would be credited accordingly.
Of course, this is India, so 06.30 meant that we'd be lucky if we got away by seven and nobody won my sweepstake since nobody bet later than 07.25, and it well after half-past when the bus pulled away. Before we boarded, all the staff gathered in front one of the shrines in the entrance hall and recited a prayer. It seemed that they were all taking the pilgrimage seriously.

It was a couple of hours' journey to reach our destination, and no sooner had the bus ground to a halt than all the staff were scurrying around arranging breakfast. It was efficiently organised and within minutes everyone was devouring vegetable curry eaten in the fingers with chapatis and rice-flour pancakes. The group then clustered in front of one of the monumental statues and led by Joy, the proprietor of MattIndia, sang a hymn and chanted a prayer. We then all set off through the forest, climbing towards the various Stations of the Cross that marked progress.
My legs were aching from the vigorous massages of the past 4 days, and I realised I would not be able to climb the mile or so up the steep hill.I decided that the purpose of the walk was to find some spiritual solace, and I found a rock to sit on and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

80 litres bottled water =
almost 100kg per load

As I sat there, I watched the porters follow the track, each carrying two cartons on his head, loosely roped together or tied with a cloth.
Each load was made up of 80 litres of bottled water, grossing approximately 100 kg. The journey to the top of the hill would take about an hour, and they were paid on a piece rate of 100 rupees per trip, and would make 8-10 trips per day.
Since the exchange rate is 100 rupees the the pound, they made good money by Indian standards - but they most certainly earned it!
I relished the luxury of my solitude until my fellow-guests started to come back down the mountain and, after everyone had consumed large quantities of water, we piled back into the bus for the forest by the river and waterfalls, where we would have lunch.

Thomas is generally portrayed
as a young man

Thomas was one of the original 12 disciples and is remembered for challenging the others when they claimed they had seen Jesus after the resurrection. When he did later meet Jesus in the Upper Room where they had dined together at the Last Supper, Thomas was ashamed by his earlier behaviour and became one of the most dynamic, evangelising apostles. As a Roman Jew, he could travel easily to the overseas Jewish merchant communities and sailed to South India to meet with the Jewish community and preach Christianity.

"Footprint" in the rock

He landed in India in 52AD and a shoe-shaped hollow in  a rock is revered as his footprint. He went on to establish seven thriving Christian communities in Kerala baptising thousands personally and training his own disciples who continued his work throughout central Asia.
When we later stopped to visit one of the churches, there were broad steps at the side of the churchyard, leading down to the Periyar river. Here, priests continue to hold baptism ceremonies, just as Thomas did almost two thousand years ago. It gradually dawned on me that there were Christians in Kerala many centuries before there were Christians in Lincolnshire.
After we drove away from the shrines, churches and stations of the cross, and left behind the chanted prayers and communal hymn-singing, the driver put Bollywood music on the coach's audio system at deafening volume. Within seconds, a dozen people were dancing in the aisle of the bus. As dusk descended, he flicked a switch and on came the disco strobe lighting. Everyone (well, almost everyone,) joined in clapping and singing, and the dancers were thrown from side-to-side as the coach bounced along the road.
The atmosphere was definitely Chaucerian, and everyone - having done their penance and their pilgrimage, settled into a rave.

Preparing vegetables for dinner

By the time we reached Kochi, people were getting hungry, but everything was already planned for one final picnic. 
We pulled into the front drive area of the home of someone's relative, and quickly set about preparing vegetables and putting pots of water on gas burners.

The festive mood continued through dinner and all the way home; everyone worn out and glad that the next morning's 7am yoga had been cancelled.