Anne and Dave outside Joville
This was taken infront of 'Joville' in Coonoor, South India, early 1967. We had been watching our Aya/Iya? (domestic/cook) that morning separating the chaff and debris from the rice or grain, by shaking and tossing it vigorously in a bigger version of those baskets on our heads. So Mum bought us one each from our visit to the shandy/shanty?(market) so we could help!! The locals would always carry their produce or on their heads....imagine us walking out of Tesco with a carrier bag of shopping on our heads!!
Sadly we were in India because our Grandad was very ill and passed away only days after our arrival. As soon as Mum knew how ill her Dad was, our Dad took out a £600 loan through Lever Bros for us all to fly out there. It was our first time we had ever met our Grandad, Sidney Austin Ince, who passed away on 3rd.February 1967.
I’ve been to the odd beer festival but never a shandy market!
ReplyDeleteThese very old photos of me, so young, are very strange to look at. I have no memory of that moment, standing there with shorts, braces, a knitted tank top and a basket on my head, but there I am, in India. Some memories I do have are being chased by Judy (cousin) with a snake on a stick and going for picnics on bikes and hearing lots of animal noises everywhere. And certain smells take me back there such as burning wood, the sort of smell you get when someone is burning garden rubbish, know what I mean?
Looking at the photo of Rob & Keith in the Joville Menagerie post, I realise that Rob was actually younger than me when he went over. You were the oldest Anne when you were out there. Am I right in thinking that Dad never went back to India and that Mum went back just twice?
Of course, Rob was in fact the oldest of all of us when he was in India... because he has been back in recent years with his family for a holiday. Look forward to hearing those stories Rob!
Deletewhen Sue and myself went to India a few years ago we never found Joville despite trying our hardest..we had a good night at a famous British club in Bangalore..still as it was during the British empire...Sue and Flis have just returned from a trip around North India including the Taj Mahal....nice picture of us all at our cottage...good shot Dave!!
DeleteThat must have been very frustrating to have gone all that way and not find Joville but you did find St Antony’s Church?
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