Kollam
Kollam is a small town which is of no interest from a tourist point of view. I stopped there for two reasons: to transfer money from France and to wait near the AMMA ashram. I will tell you about it after my visit. The ashram is located 30 km north of Kollam. Usually visitors sleep at the ashram but the covid has been there. All foreigners are expected to arrive directly from the airport and as a precaution the ashram requires full vaccination to be accommodated. So I was forced to find another solution. Amma receives on Tuesday, so I wait for Tuesday. And in the meantime, I walk around the city, I observe, I feel.
My guesthouse is close to the backwaters, northwest of the city. There isn’t really a city center. It is a small town that stretches lazily between the backwaters and the sea. The backwaters :
The unexpected encounter
Yesterday, I was walking in a small street in Kollam and Jayan came to meet me. Smiling face, confident, he explains to me that he was looking for a foreigner to do extra work for a film. He did not find the one he had come looking for, but by chance he fell on me. He offers me the job. I do not accept immediately, he insists and his expressive face made me crack. I accepted and I did well. I had a great afternoon with the entire film crew at their studio in east Kollam.
For the elements of the shooting and the films made See in the THEMES page ART AND CULTURE post Kerala cinema
Below the film crew and the selfie with the managers :
Visit to Maithrimandir Ashram
This morning Jayan, my cinematographer friend, picked me up and we drove together in his car 30 km north of Kollam for Amma’s weekly meeting. Access to the ashram is via the bridge …
The visit to Amma’s ashram was an important step for the beginning of my journey. But then, events rarely go as planned. Fortunately, I’m not planning anything otherwise, there would have been disappointment.
For the spiritual side, click on THEMES page DAILY AND SPIRITUALITY post AMMA at Maithrimandir Ashram
Pictures from Jayan
