Dinner at Brinda's!

Yesterday we visited the Madras Government Museum in Chennai. India museums are so different in comparison with US Museums, it's crazy! There were a lot of ancient artifacts, like statues of different Hindu God's and Goddesses, just sitting out on display, protected just by railing, and completely exposed to open air and sunlight from the screened windows. We know some of them were casts, but I don't think all of them were. Either way it was different. The Natural History/Botany area was another story. This part of the museum portrayed many different animals from India and around the world. Most of the animals were either fake, or taxidermy-d. The taxidermy animals looked terrible, old and falling apart. And there were a ton of snakes, pigs, kittens, etc. in jars. All white and wrinkly; not my cup of tea. The Brass area had an increase in security, and this building was entirely Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha, and Buddha Statues. Give or take a few Gods like wives and children. It was interesting to look at the intricate detail of each statue both big and small. Unfortunately, we entered this building right as two big groups of french tourists entered. It appeared to be a fifty and older tour  ;) It's funny because every time we see white people, we keep assuming they are American, when usually in this part of the world they are European. I read somewhere that Europeans frequent Southeast Asia more than Americans because Americans don't choose to take trips to third world countries, because they don't want to see the poverty. The Contemporary Art portion of the museum was seriously lacking in the facilities area, but it still showcases a lot of beautiful Indian painters.  I am pretty sure however, that by contemporary, they were referring to any time in the last 50 years; most of the work was very dated.
When we left the museum we were pretty hungry, so we went to this little whole in the wall bakery place to eat. We each got Samosa's (potatoes,peas,spicy), and some fried dosa balls. Vidya also ordered us some fried onions, which is an Indian snack that resembles thick chunks of the crunchy coating that comes off fried chicken. Then we got some Indian sweets, which are really different, and mostly fried as well.That sounds like a really fattening lunch, but it really wasn't that much food. But this fried food is killing me. I'm glad my digestive system is up to par.
Yesterday Evening we went to Vidya's sister Brinda's house for dinner. Brinda lives with their mother, and their other sister and brother came to eat with us as well. So did Vidya's brother-in-law, and niece and nephew. They gave us each a necklace, and we talked about the city and culture, and they were comparing our Bollywood moves that we learned from our movie. We ate a delicious dinner too! Then we walked back to Niketana around ten- VERY scary. Well actually not that bad, but crossing the road was scary.