The best bookstore on the beach!

Of course I am biased but I really think that my friend Joy's bookstore (Ancy's bookstore - named for his daughter) is the best one on the beach. From humble beginnings (maybe 30 books eight years ago) he has built up a very good collection of just under 2,500 books (as of when this entry was initially written in 2008 - now, in 2009, he has about 3,000 books). He's got about 1,300 English books, 400 German and 300 Swedish and a smattering of other languages.

I spent the last few days of my visit helping get the store ready for the upcoming tourist season - we painted and installed five new shelves (still have paint in my hair) and put the English, German and Swedish books in alphabetical order by author. The photos show me putting the English books in order and finally admiring my handiwork!

























Joy still has some work to do including an exterior paint job on the shop, giving the floor a good clean and installing some lights. If you're in Kovalam Beach and need something to read (or just want to say hello) do drop by. The shop is behind the Velvet Dawn restaurant which is down near the lighthouse end of lighthouse beach (another landmark is Hotel Sea View Palace which is just next door).

Disappearing Sights

There are many things in India that used to be very common 10 years ago but now are seen infrequently. One is the sight of men climbing coconut trees (see left) to bring down coconuts or 'ready to drop' branches (so that they don't fall unexpectedly and hurt someone/something). The men wrap a circle of rope around their ankles and shinny up the tree quickly and expertly.










Another disappearing sight is that of the tea man. This tea seller would come by Kovalam Beach most afternoons but you certainly don't see 'mobile' tea sellers as often as you used to. And another unfortunate change (for the environment) is the replacement of the old recyclable clay cups with plastic ones and the use of individual teabags rather than readymade tea (so the tea seller has hot, heavily sugared milk and water in the urn and he just adds it to a teabag in a plastic cup when he serves it to you - YUCK!)

Signs of the times

It is not hard to see change in India although much of it seems very superficial. For example this billboard near Kovalam Junction embodies many of the aspirations that seem to be uppermost for young Indians - to dress, look and behave - as Western as possible.

In a reversal of the way things are here 'readymade' (or off the rack) clothes (like blue jeans and T-shirts) are much more expensive than tailor-made.









Death is handled differently in India. Despite it being a hot climate people will sometimes keep a body at home for viewing before a funeral or cremation. Obviously you are going to need refrigeration to do that and then you need to call the people at the mobile mortuary (left photo) who will supply you with a plug-in platform (right photo) for your loved one to rest on.



Finally you may come across signs like this one that I spotted in Chennai - it seems sex is a concern no matter where in the world you go and I think this poster has covered most of the male sexual problems very thoroughly.