Looking for Tamil Nadu fans...

kerriakatz

I've been doing a lot of reading on this site and not many people mention going to Tamil Nadu. I am thinking about doing some volunteer work there but was wondering if anyone LOVES the area/people/places to go, etc. Looking for some positive or negative feedback.

Thanks!

Diana

Can't say that I LOVE the area yet, but I do LOVE some of the people I've met from there!

So far I've only been to Kanyakumari in TN and it was nice but rather "touristy." However, after I left there I met a super young man (the translator for a training I was giving-in Malayalam actually though his native language is Tamil) and we became good friends. He says a lot of his fellow Tamils come to Kerala like he did for work. Or, like his mom, many go to the Gulf region for jobs. So, I'm guessing TN's got some serious employment issues.

Still, some of the best folks I met in Kerala were Tamil.

Good luck on the volunteer work. I went over to help at a "special" school in Kerala and ended up starting my own program for kids with disabilities. So...I just got home and am working to go back!

yuhoo

Hi,

I'm a Tamil-ian though I have been a lot outside Tamil nadu. been for a long time in bengal , then in chennai , then blr nd nw in europe.

I didnt get what you wanted to know exactly but if your thinking if chennai /tn is a good plz to visit i'll give you a big thumbs up

Chennai is quite diff from rest of TN in many ways , more prigressive ,more cosmopolitan and in a way cut away from the mainstream tamil nadu which is down south.

best of luck for ur volunteering job ...do temme /tell us @indiamike if u need to know something

Shyam

incidentally my brother is there @ NYC too :-)

vargoje3

Hey I love Tamil Nadu specifically Pondicherry and the surrounding country. I lived there for 4 months in 2006 and miss it every day now that i've been back in the states for over a year now. The people were awsome and i also did some charity work for several NGO's and other organizations working with the local villages. My favorite expeciance was working with the native snake catchers of the Irula Tribes and learning about thier culture and how modern India has changed thier lives.

Loz

I too have spent time in Tamil Nadu volunteering and traveling. I worked in Chennai for several organizations mainly the Spastic Society of Tamil Nadu and loved it. Also loved Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram.

Good luck
Loz

nedhopkins

I'm a Tamil Nadu fan. I spent only a week in that state -- visiting Chennai, Kanchipuram, and Mahabalipuram -- but I loved every minute of it. In little over a month I'm going back, this time to visit Chennai (again) and Madurai.

I found the people in TN to be the most hospitable I encountered in the five areas of India I visited. Because the Muslims had relatively effect on south India, many more ancient (and merely very old) Hindu monuments survive than in northern and north-eastern India. From Orissa's "golden triangle" south to TN, there are literally hundreds of Hindu architectural masterpieces.

In many ways TN is the "most Indian" of India's states and regions. It is well worth a visit, and an extended stay.

moo

Yes, loved the people, food, and places BIG TIME.

Sama

hmmmm.....I think you've been reading the wrong threads. Have you read the Tamil Nadu or Chennai forums? you'll find more than enough positive and negative feedback in those forums....especially in my own threads and posts.

I'm leaving for my third trip to TN in 126 more days, my third trip in two years. So I think you can say that I love it.

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ananda2193

I love Tamil Nadu. It's a bustling, temple loaded quintessential indian state. One of my favorite states in India.

vargoje3

http://photos-238.ll.facebook.com/ph...193058_563.jpg

Thought i would include a pic while working with the Irula Tibals of Tamil Nadu.

kerriakatz

Thanks for all of your feedback! I am going to check out everything you guys mentioned including the threads you referenced (I must need an internet research refresher course because I couldn't fine anything!)

vargoje3, how did you get involved with Irula Tribals?

vargoje3

I actually studied in Tamil Nadu for an entire semester during my junior year in college. I was a geology major and just got my degree but i had enouph credits to pursue a marine science semester in India. For a month i took a class called Culture, Class, and Gender which focused primarily on women in Indian culture but we also looked into the Irula people and how they have changed in recent years. The Irula primarily used to catch snakes for thier skin as well as various other Indian flora and fauna but now they catch poisonous snakes to milk them for thier venom which they then sell to companies which turn it into antivenom for India's big 4 (cobra, krait, Russel, Sawscaled). The women now primarily sell herbal remedies for various ailments. I'm already planning a return trip to visit my host family and to visit a lot of places i didn't make it to but would love to visit in the future.

jujuma

Well, I've been here two years now and I can't say that I love it. Overall the experience has been positive, though, and I’d encourage you to try it out.
It’s a big state, so I hate to make too many generalizations. If your volunteer work allows you to travel in the region, there are plenty of options. Compared to North India, people seem kinder and friendlier on average, and many appear to be downright anxious to help the occasional stranded foreigner locate the right train platform or bus, no baksheesh necessary.
I had a chance to visit some of the Chola temples around Tanjore recently. I could have spent hours wandering around the temple grounds looking at the carvings and enjoying the antiquity of these places, but unfortunately we were on a tight schedule. Like some of the previous posters, I’m also very fond of Pondicheri. It’s beautiful, and you can have a dosa at the India Coffee House for breakfast and steak for dinner at Satsanga on the same day, if you like. I’ve also had the opportunity to become familiar with Ooty, which I am not too keen on except for the Wodeyar summer cottage, and with Kodaikanal, a place beloved of Tamil honeymooners and glassy-eyed Israelis, where you can actually feel cold in the evenings. Depending on where you are in the state, it might even be easier for you to visit Kerala, which is lovely and jungly, but I can’t give any specific recommendations there.
I do love the food! However, I see that you are in NYC, so I guess I should warn you that the cuisine is not all that diverse. If you’re volunteering for a month it won’t matter, but if you’re planning on six months or a year as I know some volunteers do, you might want to think about it. There are some variations on South Indian, and depending on where you are you may be able to get North Indian or Chinese. In Chennai I know of an Italian restaurant and a Korean one, and of course in Pondi you can get modified French.

machadinha

http://www.indiamike.com/india/
http://www.indiamike.com/india/tamil-nadu-f40/
http://www.indiamike.com/india/chennai-madras-f24/
http://www.indiamike.com/india/moving-to-chennai-f98/

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Milamber

I'm in Tamil Nadu right now. I've only visited Chennai and Pondicherry thus far. I preferred Chennai to Pondicherry. I'm moving out to a new location tomorrow morning.

I really like the feel of Southern India. It just seems more relaxed and not quite as aggressively invasive as some of it's Northern and often well-beaten counterparts. With that said I hadn't acclimatised as much as I have now.

Jon