yellow fever

There's something about a culture with a special day set aside in the calendar intended just for buying gold. That something would be "crazy." I don't think you'll find any country on this earth where gold is so important. It's not just decoration but money as well. Women are given gold as dowry and it's a backup reserve and source of financial security in times of need. It's always valuable, it's indestructible, and it cannot be produced, hence making it highly useful as a form of currency.

Yesterday was Akshaya Tritiya, day which falls on the third day of the new moon of this particular lunar month. It's a highly auspicious day, especially for buying new gold and jewelry. If you invest in gold or other major assets on this day, it is considered lucky and you will get higher returns over the long haul. We've been in the middle of an advertising maelstrom the past couple of weeks. Banks want you to come in and buy gold coins and bars, and jewelry stores are trying to draw folks in to purchase some major bling. And if you drop thousands of rupees they'll even throw in a free gold coin for good measure.

It is a source of great confusion and consternation to the folks of this country, especially the women, that I don't wear very much jewelry and I absolutely never wear gold. Not only are my clothes considered out of style, but I look like a pauper because I wear so little "decoration." I try to explain to people that 24-carat gold looks absolutely hideous on fair skin. This explanation is accepted more readily than the "I just don't like jewelry" argument which simply doesn't fly here. Or even more blasphemous, the notion that jewelry is simply a waste of money. This is certainly an American idea. Last night Tamilarasi and I strolled around the jewelry district, looking for instances of drishti paranoia during this busy shopping day. I told her that I might need to look for a silver chain and it was really comical to her, the notion that I would walk into one of the major jewelry stores on Akshaya Tritiya and ask for a silver chain. I think you cannot get more low class than that!

Over the next few days I'll add more snaps from Pondi.

Better wear a helmet or you might look like this guy.