Well its been too long, I’ve been ‘rounding’ as they put it here, it’ll be a brief run down of the last six months, I don’t think either you (the reader) or I could take all the details.
So at the beginning, I rushed back for the monsoon, which was a mistake thinking my house would keep me dry, and I had some romantic idea of watching the incoming storms of the Bay of Bengal in my hammock….
After this wet and miserable month, things cheered up with the arrival of my sister, having ventured to India in the eighties, she was quite prepared for India and its ‘unique’ experiences.


We headed west after one night in Mamallapuram, to Ooty a hill station in the nilgries (mountain range) it was even cold enough to sleep under a blanket at night, with brandy hot chocolate to ease the pain of walking, and walk we did, my ‘determined hiker?’ of a sis at the lead, we covered most of the sites.


It is littered with colonial buildings, the ‘toy’ train and the stations on route are straight out of Enid Blighton, well with an Indian tint. The bluemoutain railway took us down to the next town a few days later.
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After an interesting night in a budget hotel, very budget, in house entertainment was provided in the form of my old friends the fire ants, either they hitched a lift or they were resident, we spent a few hours trying to convince them to move rooms. A thankfully early morning saw us at the station, just across the road. The train was as Indian as ever, cosier than the trains at home, you have no chose but to get to know the other passengers in your compartment, still they weren’t short of any Indian hospitality, we got off the train fully fed and watered.


Cochin town isn’t such a find, the familiar dust noise and pollution, fort cochin however is a different experience, I’ll let the photos do the talking, suffice to say we had good food, good weather, good rooms and it wasn’t hard to find my favourite bar ‘seagulls’, bit more difficult to leave.


Mum and Dad arrived mid way threw a prearranged tour of the western Ghats, it was great to see them, unfortunately they were in a hotel in the main city, fortunately that same hotel served a really good bacon sarni, which is as rare as an uncorrupted government official here.


We managed get ‘invited’ along on one or two of the excursions, including a luxury boat on the backwaters…. Not bad!!




Jane and I moved on to Varkarla, to get a bit of sun and relax after the exhausting luxury barge trip, the beaches there are great if you walk abit to find them, as my intrepid sis did, as I, well, cant move that time of the morning, or I don’t remember the last attempt.


we had deserted beaches to relax on, with only the occasional encyclopaedia sales man?!, more good food, and I discovered ‘White Russians’, great!, but the walk home was a bit risky after a few, the cliff top walk way being all of three foot wide in parts, coincidently the part I had to pass on my way back to my room seemed to be the narrowest.


After a good holiday we headed back to Mamallapuram to meet Mum and Dad. The following few days were interesting Mamallapuram meets the stonestreets, it’s a nice place so I didn’t have too much to worry about, I’m still getting asked as to the families health and happiness daily, so I know they made an impression, My friend Guru still happily recounts his experiences of Dad and his shirts (it’s a small town with very little happenings). Mum got surrounded by the gypsy children on a regular basis, if I had known they were giving 100 rupee notes threw the lack of change I would have been there as well.
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The gypsy kids got there ‘pongle’ ice creams, that I’ve been promising for the last year, (thanks mum and dad) its caused no end of trouble, thankfully not for me as we left one of the aid workers here with the responsibility of sorting out the absentees, of course they were many, more than twice the ice-cream than children, as a wave of memory loss swept the gypsy community, there are 125 gypsy families resident in Mamallapuram with numerous offspring, a dream come true for the ice-cream man.
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The Stonestreets spent Xmas in Mamallapuram, our first Tamil Xmas. My house was a haven of imported alcohol and cheese for some time…..well, never that long here. The blue house dogs got a bath on the beach, don’t think the locals had seen this too often, and I’ve never seen my dad in a sarong…. Unfortunately/fortunately theres no photographic evidence of this…
After New Year and appropriate celebrations, mine I think was possibly a bit too appropriate, judging by the next day. After a few days rest, we had an engagement with the local collector, a very very important man here in Tamil Nadu, to open 50 tsunami houses?! Courtesy of VCDS a charity based organisation we know here, I wasn’t expecting so much attention, I was sat on the stage with some of the heads of various international charities, not quite prepared for it, when a speech was mentioned, I thought of the best man for the job, the trained public speaker of the family, and for the 10 minutes preparation time it was impressive, and in comparison, just the vision alone of me standing there mumbling in bad tamil….. Thanks Dad.





We left for Delhi a day or so later, Spent a few days seeing the sites, saw a lot of things I’d not seen in the various times there, including my mum and dad in peddle rickshaws!.



After 4 or 5 days rounding in Delhi, Mum and Dad left for England. It was a great holiday and I think we all survived relatively unscathed….. as for India, well she’ll recover in good time we hope….



Some of the residents of Mamallapuram returned from the Uk around the same time. Some headed straight home to mamalla, some went to the kumbha mela, me included, one of the largest human gatherings on the planet, only this time it was a half mela, so only thirty two million showed for a bath.








It’s a very religious affair and full of holy men doing their bit for enlightenment and a god, the nagga sadus are renown for their fighting tendencies, you can spot them if you look hard enough, they are the naked ones covered in ash, with spears, the standing sadus are, just that, never sitting or lying, sleep standing, and then theres the devotees that are driven to hold a limb, as far as I know mostly arms?, in the air with the same conviction one for 18 years
All mela’d out after a few three days, we headed for Varanasi, have a look, it’s a great place, not counting the bodies in the river. One of the holiest places in India, if you are burned and you ashes thrown in to the river, you are released from the life death cycle of reincarnation? Well that’s what I heard.



Due to an extreme aversion to over 24 hrs on any Indian train, some of us stopped in puri on the way back to Mamallapuram, Its got its similarities, the fisherman village, is very much a working beach, and has one of the more unwelcome similarities to Mamallapuram, being the local toilet….. The other way up the coast has its own pit falls, and I fell for it to the cost of 1000 r/s, that’s a lot, but I got cocky thinking I’d been here long enough to handle the sales pitch and just drink their chai and leave….. anybody want any pearls??


A 21 hr train ride landed me back in sunny tamil nadu, in time to get a few weeks work done, and teaching, yep, me, teaching soft stone pendant carving to 14 juvenile delinquents from Holland, it went very well, they all managed to smoke numerous cigarettes and drink litres of pop whilst me and Murugan tried to convince them to have a go, some did, some waited for us to make the first few stages for them, some used there initiative and waited till the first night and got the local carvers to make there designs….. and why not?



At this time theres a very special festival, I’d heard of it, but never seen it before.


They train by sewing lemons to their skin, its an honour apparently…


It was then time for a new visa, Nepal this time, lovely place, Kathmandu was fun, and pokorah was sooo relaxed, still it didn’t end how I’d planned with unforeseen expenses taking their toll, and my duty free was ‘confiscated’ at customs.




After six weeks? It really was time to leave and get back to Mamallapuram and work….


Got back in a day, thanks to air Deccan the budget airline of India…..
Finally home, first thing as always is to reclaim my house, this time, only the cat had peed on my sofa, so all good, a few ants to deal with, that only took a few days, and ready for work, but of course there’s always something else, and this time my neighbours birthday, not in Mamallapuram, but in the jungle the other side of Ooty, so the weekend was spent in the jungle 15hrs drive away, really nice, and a much needed break from the heat, 42 degrees c in Mamallapuram and only 25 in Kathmandu, it was a little shocking.

On the 27th May the daughter of the fisherman’s family I stay with Sundara was married, an emosional and expensive time for our hosts, a group (all the current tenants) decision was made to avoid the pre wedding day drinks with the men of both families, weve all been in enough situations with the local drinking culture to know not to venture were there be fishermen and local rum. So we opted for the morning ceremony.



Works been moving on, and you can see the updates that I’ve managed so far on the site. I’m planning an exhibition in Chennai for 4/6 months time, in partnership with Murugan the boss at the yard, so I really need to get the hours in even in this 43 degree heat, have a look at his site, don’t complain about the design of the site, its still to be worked alittle, but his work speaks for its self, worried? Me!

I’m starting to plan the next visa run, and although October isn’t the best month for a holiday, from the tropics, in England, it looks like a lightly option. It will be the last chance to see some of my closest friends in one place before they move to various parts of the world and to catch up with other friends and family.

Well that’s the run down, a bit of light reading for you all.
Until next time…


A personal note, after the events of the last month back home in blighty, my heart goes out to Marki, fi and little sonnie, and all my love to Nina.

November already…. Been back a month, the first two weeks were fine, work went well and all was quiet in Mamallapuram, then…..



It started with a cyclone, the bamboo blinds that cover my windows went horizontal and somebody poured a couple of swimming pools through the gaps, all at 2.30am, not a nice awakening from my slumber.



Two weeks of patching and boarding up, I now live in whats not too far from a Tupperware box, I think I’ve bought out the local supply of plastic..



The enjoyment didn’t stop there, as the roof slowly saturated, the water found some exposed wires and sockets, and my house has become part of India’s national grid, even the afore mentioned blinds carried a considerable charge, and the small rivers and lakes that cascade across my floor make any journey in or out of my hammock like walking on hot Coles.



The cyclone took its toll on my work as well, the field I work in turned to sinking sand and the post that carry the weight of my thatched shelter either sank or fell over.



All in all its been an interesting return to mamalla, things have picked up alittle in the last few days, the patching and repairs made have meant I can live in half my house, and I can now sleep with out my rain coat, which is nice…

Hello, its been a while since my last update, things have been good in Mamallapuram, I’ve been attempting to carve gifts for home, not as easy as I’d expected and I’ve learnt how long it takes to carve traditional designs. So much so, I only managed one finished piece in the six weeks I gave myself to finish three. Another important lesson.
I’m currently writing from the comfort of home in Hastings in sunny blighty, having been on the longest eater-thon of recent years, cheese being the main stable diet, as well as discovering the joys of drinkable beer in good pubs with my friends and family, need less to say, I’d best get back to India, before I need two or three seats on the plane and a winch in to the rickshaw at the other end.
The recent months in Tamil nadu has been a little bit of an endurance test, what with killer crows and curious rats, never mind the ever present red ants, but the work has been good.



The crows are having their babies at the moment, and due to a small mishap, ie I threw something over the stairs nearly hitting the concealed nest, they have taken a distinct disliking to me. Firstly the mother on the right was the aggressor, in the last week she just became the decoy, whilst the others attacked from a different angle, drawing blood three times from my head. I’m hoping the locals answer to this will not be necessary on my return; they just get the gipsy’s to come with their muskets and shoot the lot for 50 roops, about 60p.



Staying on the subject of unwelcome guests, these little fury monsters were found under my sink, just two days before leaving, I’ve left them in my house till I return, after all they might well get rid of some of the rats, still, its cost me another mattress, as cat pee isn’t easy to get out of the cotton wadding the mattresses are made from.



Ok, well that will be me, as I was at the end of eight months in Tamil nadu, three weeks later, I don’t look the same, the incessant cheese eating has added a ‘few’ pounds.



Amul, the chai boy, he’s been working in the yard for about 5yrs, in all honesty he knows a lot more than me about certain aspects of granite work, check out the bare feet, don’t know how they manage it, the granite on the floor is much the same as smashed glass. The work is my current piece; still have a long way to go on this one.

Well as in the daily news on TV here, we have to end with a totally unrelated piece, heres a bus speeding its way to Chennai at 7am in the morning, I normally get a taxi.



Well that’s it till next time, to all those at home I’ll see you all soon, if I haven’t already, and to all the cheese makers in Europe, fear not, I’m still here for another month….

Whats been going on:
Well its been awhile since my last entry, I’m still here, and still alive…
Where to start? The last two months have seen Mamallapuram closing for the ‘off season’, so the shops that are open are running short of pretty much everything, most with any common sense have left the south for the mountains. It has cooled recently, un seasonable rains have brought the temperature down to bearable, and even made some work possible.

I have had to go to Thailand for a new visa…. Poor me! Well, I am now if I wasn’t before, cheap living is available in Thailand apparently, mind I didn’t find any… Still it was a joy to find different food and drinkable beer, this is where my budget took a wonder I think, still nice to go back, found a few familiar places, best breakfast on koa san road, wallies restaurant, the Susie bar, first ventured into in 1997, still as much entertainment as ever, if more towards the local taste.

Pictures? Well, I guess most of you know what koa san road looks like, and I thought better of taking my camera with me on my cultural nights out, theres already enough evidence on random cameras and phones, hope fully to be deleted as ‘that bloke on holiday’ snaps.

Well here is the sunset over Koa pang gang, even managed the full moon party, till a reasonable hour for an old man, theres still some life left me, very entertaining, mind I don’t remember doing some of the things that were going on…. (Thank fully no photos of that evening/morning)







Two weeks in Thailand was enough, 8 nights in Bangkok, nearly killed me, so thankfully I returned to India reasonably unscathed, well apart from my wallet.

Ofcourse nothing stands still here in Mamallapuram, and I return home to find, my neighbour has had a windfall, the speculation as to where it came from is rife, as is the gossip on anything that happens here. This is what they are doing with it...



So my view of the national heritage monument is at risk, and I will soon have dinning tourists as my close evening and morning guests, lucky them!

The other joyous home coming I had, was some unexpected visitors, RATS!! ….. they had made them selves at home, eaten most of the soft furnishings in the house, and generally using it as a toilet and playground, my mattress was there favoured spot, it looked like it had had a run in with a maniac with a black and Decker drill….

Of course being India, and the rat being a sacred animal, Ganeshes (the elephant god) side kick, the usual methods of rodent eradication seemed impossible to get hold of, till I chanced upon a not so holy shop keeper, still the traps are not meant to kill the rat, just house it over night till you can take him somewhere to release him in the wild, and the poison, well I started with one rat, put some poison down…. Only after waking up with the rat in my bed with me…. Not so nice, the mosquito net had been nailed down to stop him getting in, and of course we were both trapped inside for a while, i managed with the aid of a book to 'usher' him out, a good back had sent him flying in to the rafters… I digress, the poison, well it seems they like it a lot, I think he just invited his friends as the numbers multiplied over night…..

His demise came when I trapped him, left him with a piece of cake to eat till the morning and his release, well….. we do have a problem with red ants here, They eat anything and everything, and bit the rest, and they got to the cake before he did, and then him before i did.

The Heat has been something I’ve never experienced, its not directly recognisable as its been a gradual increase, but the energy levels have slowly waned, and workable hours have diminished to 3-4 a day, till the resent rains.

I have finally had a permanent shelter built in my field, so the sun and the coming monsoon, shouldn’t hold my work back so much.
The workers had a great time scamming me for as many rupees as they could, breakfast, lunch; I managed to avoid dinner and the invites to buy them all beer in the evening. Still its done, and apart from the daily visit from some wild dogs, goats and a few cows, its all mine….





For the work updates please view the carving pages on my site.


Some pics of the shore temple, the storms here are really something...

Went to Goa, on the south west coast of India, watched England loose a t cricket, very entertaining being one of the few English supporters in 60,000 celebrating Indians.
The rest of the trip was spent on the beach..... Hard life...
heres the obligatory sunset photos....









All very nice, but glad to be back in mamallapuram...

the tsunami hitting mamallapuram 26th last year... the photos have been collected by Muthu the japanees man who has been here for four years. the photos of peolpe on the beach are between waves, curiousity etc...





second wave
the street next to mine...







the sea rock restaurant....



where i live now, the tsunami was 15ft high here....









There are many aid agencies still working here, so much money has come here from the charities, alot has been miss used, ie, there are far too many fishing boats, and not enough fishermen, nets and engines....

i'll post more as i find them....

Masi Maghan Festival, celebrating the alignment of the planets, could not quite get the actual planet names, well not in English any how, and the full moon, thousands of Indians descended on Mamallapuram, to stay up all night, eat loads of rich food, drink a few beers, and then go for a swim….
It was great, mayhem in the streets, noise and smells of varying palatability, all powerful enough to knock you senseless, but it think the daily walk to work (I think I walk the length of the mains drainage system on the way to the stone yard) has just about put pay to any sensitivity in my nose.



It’s a gypsies festival originally, and there were plenty of them…. It went on all night, the local tribes come here to make prayer, and cleanse themselves in the bay of Bengal.



The next morning ‘my’ normally peace full beach ….. And then!



The Gods are also entitled to a day at the beach…..



And then….



The marriage/celibration of the gods is acted out in a long long ceremony



Then its bath time……



Fully clothed, sleep deprived, and over excited.... the indians were having fun as well.

Well Life’s not the most eventful here, so I’ll just fill in some important blanks for you…..



My new pets.. my gecko, growing every day considering there aren’t supposed to be any mosquitoes here on the beach front…



Blackie the dog, like any local she’s loyal to any one with a spare egg byriani.

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‘no rain here! , now summer!’, hmmmm, so after believing the story once, with the obvious out come…..




When it does rain, its not a gentle shower…..



My indoor swimming pool, a rude awakening form my post work slumber….


I decided to line my roof top... maybe some windows?

Oh, before I forget…. Its prawn season…..

Hello all, just to say fpr some reason my eamils have been being rejected as 'spam' or as an infected with a virus.... please ajust your settings to allow mst72nge@mstonestreet.com
to those who havnet recived anything, please check your deleted mail and junk boxes, and the rest, i'm getting round to sending you all some babble.

My new room in a semi state of completion, still waiting for the storm proofing, which is apparently comming 'tomorrow' it has been for some time. Still its very nice during the day when its too hot in town.


This is the rather nice second floor, my bed at the end, still awaiting a good mattress, but that is 'also comming soon', theres more to come as soon as i've the time to do it.