More on Mamallapuram

The Mamallapuram dance festival takes place at the Pallava heritage site throughout January.  For the dance festival photos, credit is due to Roberta, a co-habitant at our guesthouse in Pondicherry.  She is an Italian biologist and parent from the region around Venice.  Roberta came to India on a solo holiday to help out at an orphanage.  Her task was to help with housing acquisition by a nun and the street children the nun had taken in.  Roberta is one member of a group of friends spanning Italy and France that are volunteering and supporting projects in developing countries.  The group has no religious affiliation but they have travelled and observed the predicaments of everyday people throughout the world.  Roberta went to Mammallapuram before us, and took these great photos, that she shared on her return back.

While I was in Mammallapuram, I read Kiran Desai's two books: Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and The Inheritance of Loss.   The light, comic tone of the former contrasts with the sometimes despondent, sometimes wry tone of latter. That said, if you only have time for one, I recommend The Inheritance of Loss.  It is remarkable, for its beautiful descriptions, insight, and interweaving stories of individuals in their migratory paths to and from India, the UK and the US.  I've scanned the reviews, and here are the ones that I thought are most true to the spirit and effort of the work:
1) Soumya Battacharya, The Sydney Morning Herald,
October 10, 2006
2) Sarah Hughes, The Observer , September 3, 2006
3) Pankaj Mishra, New York Times, February 9, 2006
4) Ann Harleman, The Boston Globe, January 4, 2006