Day Care Center for the Aged

“Papa, are you ready? Hurry up, I am getting late for work” said my cousin as she picked up the clothes from the sofa and started to fold.

Her 80-years-old dad emerged from his bedroom and came to sit on the sofa next to me.

“You know they treat me like a little child, these children of mine” he said, annoyed at being forced out of his slumber.

Cousin starts to adjust her father's collar and buttoned his shirt, asking him to stand straight.

“I want to go to the toilet” he said and he walked towards the service room and locked the door. After much prodding and tapping on his closed door, he relented

Every morning was the same story. Cousin did not want to leave her father alone at home so she dropped her father at day-care center for the aged for few hours in the morning but her father was most reluctant to go and he preferred sleeping all day.

Every morning she had to forcibly take him to Day-care center for the aged.

But once there, he is fully entertained,

The volunteers involve the senior citizens in various activities like playing ball and other indoor games, painting and drawing. There are separate rooms for different activities that include gym, reading room, physiotherapy room, dinning room and a garden. It is a small institute with about 30 senior people of which only ten are regular.

The volunteers are informed about the medication of each person. Breakfast, lunch and evening snack is served at the institute. It is observed that women are more cheerful, they gossip, laugh and even argue amongst themselves whereas men are more reserved and often wander off in dark corridors lost in their own world.

There are many such day care centers for the aged in this town, at Tenerife, where I have come to spend some time with my family. This is a boon for the elderly whose children are too busy to look after their parent’s needs and health.

Made Ganesha Idol This Year

I still like creating handicraft stuff, really I do. Well that’s what I would do all day if I am not occupied with listening to the music, or flipping through pages of a book or hang around social media or FB, twitter, blogging, movies, food, friends. Can’t help it.   Too many distractions or should I say ‘too many interest’?

Well, last week I was with some friends in Tenerife and my friend suggested I make an idol of Ganesha for her. In India, during Ganpati season, all the stores are full of idols but in places out of India, it is difficult to find unless you visit an art store.

I have silicon mold to begin with, all I needed was the rest of the art materials.

I have an artist friend who also owns a hobby store, so it was not difficult to find the materials required to make the idol. Many years ago I had learnt to make clay by binding fevicol glue with corn flour (which is more eco-friendly) but my friend suggested I use chalk powder.

First step was to mix chalk powder with water and pour it into the mold. Let it set for 30 minutes and then remove it.

The idol was ready and now it has to be kept for drying for at least a week.

The idol has to be scraped and polished using sand paper, to give it a smooth finish, a special attention to be given to the base so that it is able to stand. I stuck the base to a rectangular cardboard and stuck few beans to give it a rough look.

After one week, the idol is coated with base solution (kind of rubber solution) that will prevent it from absorbing too much paint.

I selected white paint for the idol because it gives an ivory look.

A final coat of gold paint to highlight the jewelry on the idol.

It was important to mount it on a stand. I bought empty boxes, stuffed them with newspaper and covered it with gold paper.

And finally a decorative lace on the border did the trick.

Birth of a Music

What game did they play while their parents enjoyed a cup of coffee at the sea front cafeteria? 

Parents were watching them from far, just seeing to their safety, they were asked to remain in the same line as their vision and not disappear far away. Children were also aware that parents were around and they need not be afraid. They ran, one behind the other, laughing, chasing and speaking in the language that they understood. It was simple sentences, which anybody would understand had they paid attention, but nobody cared.

They were left alone to do what they pleased. 

“Come, see what we have here” said the girl. 

They came to stop around a huge barrel, that once was used to store wine.

Maybe it leaked and did not serve any purpose and now it was used as a decorative piece. The children moved around it, watching it from all angles, touching the smooth sides of the barrel. One of them slapped the top of the barrel and liked the sound it produced. Soon there were more slaps, in rhythmic beating like those African they had seen in a film, soon there was music in the air, not the plagiarized one, but pure creative music produced by innocent minds…

Everybody was distracted but nobody said they had heard this tune, they just relished the joy on the children’s face. The children continues to bang on the surface of the drum and shook their waist with every beat.

A new music had just been created… waiting to be copy-pasted…. Maybe by a passer-by.

Visit to the Coastal town of Garachico

Some evenings when I need some fresh air, I like to go for a drive to the picturesque town of Garachico.

As soon as I see the big rock in the middle of the sea and a long promenade along the seashore, I get ready for my niece to stop the engine and walk with me on the promenade..

Further down the path are the amazing natural pools carved out through the rocks (which resulted after the volcanic eruptions in 1706), making it a safe place to swim with tropical fishes.

There is even a mini children’s park where kids can play after the swim.

Garachico was once a port where ships anchored but this port was completely destroyed during the volcanic eruption. However the castle with the stone doorway of ‘San Miguel Castle’ still stands there at the end of the promenade. This is the finest building, a 16^th century stronghold belonging to the Count of Gomera’ that survived a volcanic eruption in 1706 unscathed.

Further up, there is a natural beach with black sand and more rocks where people can swim and fish too.

Garachico is a beautiful quaint town with rustic houses. It is very Spanish in Character with narrow, cobbled streets with cars parked on the one side of the road. It is still arguably the least spoilt coastal area of Tenerife.

During festivals, the balconies are dressed with a certain theme, for example you will find them dressed up promoting products of the village

There is a plaza in the center of the town where people can enjoy the traditional cuisine with the glass of local wine or with the tiny cup of Cortado (strong coffee)

After a short drive I come back to Icod de Los Vinos, to sit at my brother's store at 'Teban S.L.'  at Calle Sabastian, also known as 'Bazar Hindu', My brother has lots of tourist visiting our store to buy souvenirs and electronic products to take back home. I love too talking English with the tourists, which is a welcome change from speaking Spanish all day with other local clients.

Visit to Basilica: ‘Our lady of Candelaria’

While Indians celebrate ‘The Independence day’ on 15^th August, People in Tenerife celebrate ‘Dia de la Candelaria’

Thousands of pilgrims arrive on the eastern coast of Tenerife at Candelaria to visit the Basilica that houses the statue of Black Madonna. Many people spend the night on the roads on their route that leads them to this town to pay their tribute to their Patron Saint.

The festivals in the town of Candelaria are rich in religion and popular fervor, closely linked to five centuries of faith, belief and love for the Virgin.

Last time I couldn’t go to Candelaria, but instead went for a drive up to the mountains closer to my house and met up with the trekkers who were on their way to the church.

Many people trek through the steep beaten path of hills, trees and shrubs. There are signs-boards at regular intervals directing the proper route to follow. There is one meeting point on the route where different groups from different parts of the island meet. This point offers the most beautiful panoramic view of the island. It is the leisure place, they share their eats and drinks and let their hair down.

On 15^th August there is a big celebration at the church. Since I hate crowded places, I decided to go few days before the real festival.

The road leading to church is a walking plaza. There are shops on either sides of the road selling souvenir articles, flowers, clothes; there are many small cafes, bars and patisseries that churn the hunger pangs and make me drool. 

All the houses overlooking the road have flags and pictures of their deity decorated on their balcony. The street is decorated with colorful streamers, flags, pictures of Virgin Mary and blinking lights. 

The road is neatly tiled, opening to a large open space that has a line-up of bronze statues (running parallel to the sea wall) of Guanche leaders, the original inhabitants of Tenerife overlooking the huge plaza. 

The square is dominated by the Basilica de ‘Nuestra Senora de Candelaria’, built to house the famous statue of the Virgin and this is the site that is popular annual pilgrimage.

Basilica de ‘Nuestra Senora de Candleria’ was built to house the famous statue of Black Madonna that appeared on the beach in 1312 and was found by two Guanches. The current statue inside the church is the replica of the original one that was swept away by tidal wave in 1826, after surviving a fire that ravaged the church.

Indians in Tenerife believe it to be the reincarnation of Goddess Devi and normally come to this church to offer their prayers during Navratas and during other Indian festivals.

Inside the church, it is very peaceful. During the festival, the statue is placed out on the altar for full view. It is the magnificent building with high walls and intricately designed ceiling, stained glass windows depicting the figurines, flowers and abstract designs. Every wall emotes a feeling of bliss. In the inner room, there is a smaller alter dominated by a huge painting of the last supper.

Devotees offer flowers, as they enter the church, placing them in the buckets of water, lined up against the wall, they then walk to the inner rooms, which is filled with electric candles, you insert a coins to light the candle. This is the new addition to the church because initially there used be hundreds of wax candles burning all day and the room used to be very dark because of the smoke. I inserted one Euro in the slot and three candles lit up.

After spending fifteen minutes inside the church, we are out in the square. There is a fountain outside the church, where people used to throw a coin in the small pond surrounding it and make a wish. Unfortunately, Tenerife is undergoing recession, probably saving on light and water, I think, hence most of the fountains in the city are dry and this one was too.

There was lot of activity at the plaza. A big stage was being organized in the center of the plaza for the big day. There will be folklore music and dance till late hours after the mass on the celebration day.

We walk behind the church, on the promenade along the stone wall. The angry waves make a roaring sounds as they approach the shore in groups with rising crest, and splash against the shore, sending the spray of showers, two meters up in the air. There were some very old houses behind the church and a big cave at the end of the path. 

We spend one hour walking along the shore, watching the angry crest and trough of waves, its splashing against the seawall and I squeal with joy whenever I feel the sprinklers against my face.

The beach on the other side of the path has black sand and is not safe for swimming in these rough waters, nevertheless, it does not stop tourists from braving the waves and enjoy few moments of swim.

The best part of the visit is to sit in those restaurants facing the seawall and enjoying the seafood which most of these restaurants specialize.