Thursday 11th November 2010 08.11
It’s a bright sunny morning. The washing is out (knickers discretely concealed by pegging them behind less private items of clothing), and hair shiny clean. Actually, it’s clean but not really shiny. My hair is never shiny here, just a bit damp looking and sticking up in strange places. Catrine has nits and I fear they might be developing a taste for European hair and be tempted to take the great leap into my dank locks. (Post blog note: they did!)
Yesterday was Goat Farm Day. Maria is thinking of keeping goats in order to generate some income. She is taking advice from some good people. One is a veterinary doctor who has an extensive knowledge of goat farming and other schemes. He is heading a government project linked to water preservation in Tamil Nadu and actually cares about the plight of the people there. I have his e-mail address and I think he could, in the future, give us sound advice. I loved talking to him because if I said anything interesting he would shake his head as if in disbelief and say quietly, ‘Ho, ho ho’.
Maria, Catrine, Lenci, Arokia Raj and I set off at about 6.00am. After a hearty breakfast (‘hearty’ is a word Indians are fond of using) we had substantial cakes and coffee at the home of a man living in Tiruvannamalai whom we picked up en route. Then we made a brief stop as a roadside café so that the men could have a snack. We were given goat’s milk at the first farm, and then biscuits and litres of Sprite at the second and third goat farms. Yes, the third goat farm. Maria intended to visit five but we rebelled after three. Visited an impressive temple near a waterfall then headed for home, stopping only once to feast on hearty goat (!) biriani. Then, in the evening, Catrine and I went to Shanthi Lumine for an extremely hearty evening meal with Lourdusamy and his lovely wife Preya.
Back to the goats. (Sorry – that last paragraph turned out to be a sort of food ramble.) We headed north via Tiruvannamalai in the direction of Velore. Each time we visited a goat farm we picked up another goat expert. There were about 10 of us at the final farm. The roads were appalling, as usual, but we had a jolly time. Lenci bounced around between Catrine, Maria and Raj (who was crouched in the back – all 6 foot 2 of him). Lenci would have sat on the driver’s knee if he had let her.
Anyway – I need to keep this short otherwise you’ll die of boredom. We saw three goat farms, and the second one was particularly impressive. The goats were housed in raised pens. Their dung and urine dropped through wooden slats onto chopped straw-type stuff. 
This is used for manure for the goat food crop. In the largest pen were two male goats and 30 female goats; the two males looked very smug. The male goats in the pen opposite gazed wistfully over at the lucky billy goats opposite while they waited to be fattened up and taken away for sale or slaughter. We were given two 2-hour old kids to hold. They were enchanting.
I’ll bring back financial details about this scheme and we can discuss it at the next meeting, but Catrine and Maria and I all think that a similar goat farm at Kanji would be A Good Thing.
No hearty breakfast this morning – just a cup of life-giving Earl Grey.
This morning I hope to meet with Raj to collect information for the next FACS newsletter. Then I’ll go and see Catrine at work in the language lab/library.
Lots more I could share with you, but I must go and tame my hair. Catrine and I are having a good time together and I think she is a saint. More later …. Bye V