September 18-22, 2013
Chengalpattu. Chennai. Tamil Nadu. Words fall short to describe this trip. It was sheer perfection and one
of the best moments of our Design Earth Course.
The sole purpose of the trip was to build an oven for Rom, the owner of Caradi Malai Frams in Chengelpattu. Quite the animal lover, Rom was quite an interesting character. He showed us his snake catching tools and his vast farm with great gusto.
Our journey began from Bangalore, where our slightly late train at night sent us to our destination. We woke up in the morning, sweaty and sticky to the humid Chennai air. After figuring out the tickets we took a local train to Chengelpattu. Five minutes into the journey, we realized that the train that we had taken was wrong. In a frenzy we got off at the next station to realize that a few of us hadn't made it out. With a few panicky phone calls to and fro, we figured out the details and got onto the right train and our absconding partners also joined us at the next station. So with a little bit of a shock we reached our final destination to be greeted by Rom at the station. We made it to the farms, weary and hot under the Tamilian sun. We were met by Rhea,who was the caretaker of the place and who over the next few days would show us around. With brief introductions and refreshing lemon juice we took a tour of the farm. We were met by the green scenery and different kinds of insects. We saw an emu as well as a 200 year old well. We saw the delightful pool in front of Rom's house, free at our disposal. While eating lunch we saw different snake skins and porcupine quills around us. And after seeing our living quarters which included tents and some beautiful cottages,we started working.
Now the cement base was already built for us, so we started with the main structure. We laid out our bricks, which were special ones with some amount of aluminum in them, onto the surface after making some measurements. With the help of Rom's spirit level (his 'family heirloom' as it was called) we managed to make them level while cementing them. After that we put on the sand and with a little bit of water, we shaped it into a dome. We covered it with newspapers, as its main purpose is to give the shape and once the oven's done and dry, we have to pull out the sand and the newspaper tells us when to stop. We were supposed to do it on the last day, but sadly it wasn't dry enough. We ended our day with a good swim till it became dark.We saw Rhea put up the cameras at night to spot the animals and saw a few creepy crawlies on the way.At dinner we had emu meat to our surprise, which tasted pretty good.
The next morning, we started early wit a trek up the surrounding mountains. We started work early and finished it fast too. We put on the first coat of mud that we had been sifting since forever, that also resulted in a few cut fingers. Jackson had brought along a wooden frame for the opening of the oven, which we put there and started constructing the entrance with bricks around it. After slapping the first layer flat, we started the second one with lots of hay in it which was to burn out once the oven is heated, thus giving it insulation, We filled in all the gaps, made it smooth. Also I forgot to mention, that all the mud mixes were made with water mixed with lime to ward off any insects. Thus this long and tedious procedure we managed to finish in two days. What followed was Arnab and his brilliant sculpting skills. We make a normal mud mix with coconut fibers, that all of us were comfortable with and felt like heaven under our feet after the prickly and pointy hay. Arnab did most of the sculpting of the leopard with help from us here and there. After it was finished we kept painting more coats of lime over it, to make it completely secure as well as smooth from the water. After such an exhausting day, none of us even had the energy to go swim or do anything thing else at at. At night we went on our camera walks, but this time with a UV light torch, which made the scorpions glow neon green in the dark.
The next and our second last day was as we call it our 'chilling day'. A day well deserved after our toil. We swam for ages, gave the oven some finishing touches and most of all got ready for our big barbecue night. I personally cut a chicken for the first time. We kept the chicken and emu meat to marinate, with paneer and capsicum for the vegetarians. We set up or bamboo fire place and placed the food on it to cook on a slow fire, covered with banana shoots. We also put some potatoes and onions wrapped in aluminum foil in the fire to be cooked. We barbecued into the night. It was a great night to remember as we all sang to Devahish's guitar.
With a heavy heart we got our stuff together and proceeded to leave the next day, our sunglasses on, into the blazing sun, in a cramped train, back to the cool Bangalore temperature. The amount that we learnt in Chengelpattu,it certainly was a trip to remember always.
Chengalpattu. Chennai. Tamil Nadu. Words fall short to describe this trip. It was sheer perfection and one
of the best moments of our Design Earth Course.
The sole purpose of the trip was to build an oven for Rom, the owner of Caradi Malai Frams in Chengelpattu. Quite the animal lover, Rom was quite an interesting character. He showed us his snake catching tools and his vast farm with great gusto.
Our journey began from Bangalore, where our slightly late train at night sent us to our destination. We woke up in the morning, sweaty and sticky to the humid Chennai air. After figuring out the tickets we took a local train to Chengelpattu. Five minutes into the journey, we realized that the train that we had taken was wrong. In a frenzy we got off at the next station to realize that a few of us hadn't made it out. With a few panicky phone calls to and fro, we figured out the details and got onto the right train and our absconding partners also joined us at the next station. So with a little bit of a shock we reached our final destination to be greeted by Rom at the station. We made it to the farms, weary and hot under the Tamilian sun. We were met by Rhea,who was the caretaker of the place and who over the next few days would show us around. With brief introductions and refreshing lemon juice we took a tour of the farm. We were met by the green scenery and different kinds of insects. We saw an emu as well as a 200 year old well. We saw the delightful pool in front of Rom's house, free at our disposal. While eating lunch we saw different snake skins and porcupine quills around us. And after seeing our living quarters which included tents and some beautiful cottages,we started working.
Now the cement base was already built for us, so we started with the main structure. We laid out our bricks, which were special ones with some amount of aluminum in them, onto the surface after making some measurements. With the help of Rom's spirit level (his 'family heirloom' as it was called) we managed to make them level while cementing them. After that we put on the sand and with a little bit of water, we shaped it into a dome. We covered it with newspapers, as its main purpose is to give the shape and once the oven's done and dry, we have to pull out the sand and the newspaper tells us when to stop. We were supposed to do it on the last day, but sadly it wasn't dry enough. We ended our day with a good swim till it became dark.We saw Rhea put up the cameras at night to spot the animals and saw a few creepy crawlies on the way.At dinner we had emu meat to our surprise, which tasted pretty good.
The next morning, we started early wit a trek up the surrounding mountains. We started work early and finished it fast too. We put on the first coat of mud that we had been sifting since forever, that also resulted in a few cut fingers. Jackson had brought along a wooden frame for the opening of the oven, which we put there and started constructing the entrance with bricks around it. After slapping the first layer flat, we started the second one with lots of hay in it which was to burn out once the oven is heated, thus giving it insulation, We filled in all the gaps, made it smooth. Also I forgot to mention, that all the mud mixes were made with water mixed with lime to ward off any insects. Thus this long and tedious procedure we managed to finish in two days. What followed was Arnab and his brilliant sculpting skills. We make a normal mud mix with coconut fibers, that all of us were comfortable with and felt like heaven under our feet after the prickly and pointy hay. Arnab did most of the sculpting of the leopard with help from us here and there. After it was finished we kept painting more coats of lime over it, to make it completely secure as well as smooth from the water. After such an exhausting day, none of us even had the energy to go swim or do anything thing else at at. At night we went on our camera walks, but this time with a UV light torch, which made the scorpions glow neon green in the dark.
The next and our second last day was as we call it our 'chilling day'. A day well deserved after our toil. We swam for ages, gave the oven some finishing touches and most of all got ready for our big barbecue night. I personally cut a chicken for the first time. We kept the chicken and emu meat to marinate, with paneer and capsicum for the vegetarians. We set up or bamboo fire place and placed the food on it to cook on a slow fire, covered with banana shoots. We also put some potatoes and onions wrapped in aluminum foil in the fire to be cooked. We barbecued into the night. It was a great night to remember as we all sang to Devahish's guitar.
With a heavy heart we got our stuff together and proceeded to leave the next day, our sunglasses on, into the blazing sun, in a cramped train, back to the cool Bangalore temperature. The amount that we learnt in Chengelpattu,it certainly was a trip to remember always.
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