1-24-09

I got up early this morning. Really early. 5:30 early. Dad had promised me that if I got up by six we could watch the sunrise down by the fishing nets and watch all the non-tourists beginning their day. But when I knocked on his door, he wasn’t awake! You see, he hadn’t really expected me to go through with my part of the bargain. It was very strange to wait for Dad. I never get up before him! After knocking three times and whispering through the open window, I was leaning against the wall trying to reassess my next plan of action. Just then I hear Dad saying “Patrick, wake up; there’s someone standing outside our window!” I reassured him (Patrick had not, in fact, woken up) and reminded him of his promise. A few minutes later, we were off. We got some coffee from a stand by the docks and walked around for a bit. We were so early that the no one was even fishing yet. After a while, things go going. We even got invited up on a pier to see how things got done. It’s hard to explain. The nets, of Chinese design and introduced to India in the time of Kublai Khan, are simply enormous. It is hard to explain exactly how they work, but I can say that the weight of the net is balanced by about a dozen boulders, each weighing 800 kilos. The fisherman change the boulders depending on whether it is high tide or low tide. None of the nets are owned by the fishermen and when they sell their catch in the market, 30% goes to the owner and 70% is split among the four or five men working the net. Because all of the owners are Christian, the only holiday the fishermen get is Good Friday. Other than that, the work seven days a week, six hours a day (the time changes depending on the tide) and get no days off – not Hindu festivals, not even Christmas.
After we’d seen how things work, the men let dad and I have a go. It was lots of fun, but hard work and I imagine it would get rather monotonous day after day. But they all seemed really happy. Dad gave them Rs 150 when they asked for a donation, and then we took off.
After everyone else had rise and breakfasted, Mom and Dad and I went exploring downtown. Before we got to any of the tourist sites, we spied a little oil shop. Dad expressed an interest in the oude oil, so Mom and I happily trouped inside as well. In the end, Mom and I bought a bunch of perfumes as presents and Dad didn’t get anything at all. By the end, he was itching to leave. We then visited the Matencherry Palace, also known as the Dutch Palace. It was actually built by the Portuguese as a gift the Maharaja, but the Dutch refurbished it and somehow got the credit for all of it. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize until after we’d left that there was a whole part that we had not explored. What we did see, however, was both impressive and interesting. There were a few palanquins on display; they are the teensy boxes in which noble women were carried when they had to leave the palace. They weren’t built for comfort! The walls in one room were simply covered in friezes. The entire room was dedicated to telling the story of the Ramayana. I don’t imagine there was ever much furniture or other decorations in that room; it was decorated enough. Another room had portraits of all the royalty and Dewans (chief ministers) of Kochi. I enjoyed looking at all their faces and at how their clothes varied from austere to sumptuous. Beneath each portrait was a timeline showing what was happening in Kochi, in India, and in the world during the rule of each man. It was nice to have things put in perspective.
The Jain temple was closed when we got there, so after lunch, Dad headed home and Mom and I found (eventually) a city bus to take us to the next town to buy a violin. We planned on spending Rs. 2000-5000 ($40-100). The first violin I tried was Rs. 2500. It was horrible. Disgusting. Constantly out of tune. Tinny. Awful. The bow was worse. It was warped, had no rosin, and couldn’t be tightened or loosened. I was a bit discouraged, but perservered. The next violin was a slight improvement. I finally found a halfway decent (for $50) violin on try #6. After I was more or less satisfied, we tried one last violin for Rs. 5000, but decided to stay with the Rs. 2500 one.
Despite the quality of my new violin, I really enjoyed bing able to play again. I got back to the hotel and ran though a few Irish tunes, the Monti Czardas, Meadowlands, Preludium and Allegro, and parts of the Bruch Concerto. It was fun, even though my violin and my lack of practice combined to create something rather less than that ideal sound we call ‘music’. Ah well. It’s a good for fiddling if not concertos and I’m sure it will get me through my month of lessons in Kerala.
That evening, Mr. Lubin, the local violin teacher, came over to the Waltons and I played a bit with him and his son. It was fun, if very out of tune. Mr. Lubin, who only began learning the violin five years ago, is very musical but has a lot to learn technically. The only part that really bothered me was when one duet was played under tempo. I know what everybody is thinking. “There goes Eleanor, ignoring the tempo markings and rushing through everything!” But this already slow piece dragged on so much that the beat disappeared. I’m not exaggerating, I promise. All in all, though, I had a good time. Both Lubin and his son were very nice and I enjoyed basking in the admiration of all, especially Lubin’s son.