Mangalore, India

            Saturday, 3 March 2018 – After standing in line to obtain stamps on our “yellow cards” by Indian representatives in the Horizons Lounge, we went to the Insignia Lounge to meet for our tour.  We continued to show those yellow landing cards (proof of our Indian visa) at least 3 more times this morning before boarding our tour bus.

At about 9:00 AM our bus left the pier for our 4-hour excursion “Highlights of Mangalore” with Archine as our guide.  Before even leaving the dock area, as we headed toward the cashew factory, a cow stood within a few feet of the bus.  Indian cities are usually very dirty; however, Mangalore is noticeably cleaner than most.  A busy and thriving city, it is home to new scientific industry and several universities.  The narrow streets are very busy, sometimes congested, with traffic; and we passed stores, several temples, and churches.

Upon arrival at the Achal cashew processing plant, Archine gave us a guided tour.  First, she showed us the fruit that contains a cashew nut kernel.  This fruit, which looks much like an apple, except a cashew nut kernel hangs, externally from the bottom.  Cashews are actually grown in Goa, India and are shipped to Mangalore for processing.  In the first process, the fruit is steam-cooked, which causes it to shrink.  We watched women shelling the cashew nuts, which still end up with a thin outer covering that is bitter and not easily digested.  Then that covering is removed by steam heat.  (No wonder that cashew nuts cost more than many nuts!)  Oil that surrounds the nut and also the shell itself are usable, so that no part of the cashew is wasted.  Mangalore is recognized as the birthplace of organized cashew nut processing.

Archine told us that women here (at least in Mangalore) usually work; therefore, they also usually limit the size of their families, many times now to one child.  At this cashew nut factory, the women earn a standard wage of $5/day and benefits; their young children receive care in one part of the factory.

On Gokarnath Temple Grounds

Cow Statue at Gokarnath Temple

Our next stop was at Gokarnath Temple, which was recently renovated and is considered an excellent example of the modern architecture created by the Billawa Community of Mangalore.  Before entering the large area, we removed our shoes (and endured the heat of the pavement on our feet whenever we were in the sun).  The ornate details and statues of elephants and horses almost provided more visual stimulation than our brains could absorb during the short time that we were there.  Meanwhile, besides the crowd of us tourists standing and gazing in awe, believers who wished to seek the blessing of the Lord Gokarnath were visiting in earnest.

Our third stop was at St. Aloysius chapel, which was built by Jesuit missionaries in 1880.  Its interior was painted by the Italian Jesuit Antonio Moscheni over a period of two years beginning in 1899.  Often compared to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the unique beauty of the chapel lies in the series of intricate paintings that cover virtually every square inch of the interior ceiling and walls.  The Italian Jesuits played an important role in education, health and social welfare of the Mangalorean Catholic community, and built the St. Aloysius College in 1880 and many other educational institutions and churches.

Our final stop before returning to the pier was at the Belmont House, the private home of a Mangalorean family.  This house was built in the early 18th century as a stately residence of the Collector and Magistrate of the Canara District.  Later, the residence was purchased by the Peres family (successful coffee and rubber merchants with plantation estates).  Joan, now a widow, cares for the Belmont House; she greeted personally each of our group.  Before leaving, we were treated to cold drinks and cookies.

Although today our bus was air-conditioned, we were seated in it for relatively short times; most of the time, we were outdoors and, when listening to the guide, trying to stand in shade rather than the sun.  Because of the heat (in the 90’s) and humidity, again we felt uncomfortably close to heat stroke.  (Afterward, Jesse said if he had drunk 12 oz. of beer as he did a week ago, he might have come close to passing out again!)

As soon as we arrived in our cabin, we replaced our sweaty clothes with fresh ones and hurried to lunch – after which we napped.  Before our wonderful dinner, we swam for a half hour; and then we danced (as usual) for a half hour before the show.  This time, we stayed for about 20 minutes of the show, sitting very close to the back, in case we wanted to leave early.  Sure enough, we were tired and, although the rest of the audience seemed to be enjoying it, we decided to sneak out before the show was over.