SUNRISE...IDEAL BEACH RESORT

Sunrise and sun saluations for me....waking up for the sunrise felt great. The feeling was calm and quiet, compared to the busy street noises of Chennai.

MULEE

At the Mamalapuram temple on Sunday, Heidi and I were befriended by a bright-eyed, young Gypsy boy who showed us the beach shortcut to the temple. Unlike the other Gypsies selling beads in a pleading and desperate manner, he was charming and didn't try to sell us anything. Instead, he asked many questions, and we entered into a bantering, relaxed conversation. He showed us his extensive coin collection and stayed with us or the group until we left the temple. We did buy some of his beads, which he discretely hid while on the temple grounds. Gypsies are not high in the Indian class hierarchy, and are persecuted here much the same way as they have been and still are in other areas of the world. Mulee was such a sparkling child, exuberant and endearing; he can't afford to go to school, yet he has a sharp intelligence and is so eager to learn. He really touch my heart, and every time I think of him, my eyes well up with tears as I wonder what will become of him.