The shower’s around back….
January 18, 2007
I was looking through my collection of old India photos from previous trips. This was from about 4-5 years ago when we were driving from Madras, north through Andhra Pradesh on our way to Simhachalam. In Simhachalam there is a wonderful Narasimha temple where the main deity is kept encased in Sandalwood for all but a few days each year.
Before making the trip I had looked at a map and determined it was something like 350 miles, and I figured that it would be a very long day, but tolerable. What I had not counted on was driving it at 35 miles an hour through endless construction zones and very small roads crowded with trucks like what you see above.
After driving most of the night we stopped at a roadside restaurant for breakfast. At that point we had been driving for about 14 hours and I was relieved to get out of the car for a while. A quick look around and the place seemed very nice. It was basically a huge thatched roof house with a kitchen and pot washing place (see below) out back.
No problem. And Narasimha asked me if i wanted to take a shower before breakfast. Oh yes. That sounded refreshing and absolutely delightful. “Where is it?” I asked. “Just go around the back of the building. Its right there.” Grabbed my towel and off I went. Rounding the corner this is what I saw. Four “showers” right in a row. I managed fine…but it was a cultural eye opener! (and there was a great view of the rice field).
