Full Moon at Kanyakumari

The place was packed with pilgrims. We wandered around, looking at the fishing boats, the stalls selling souvenirs, and the temples and shrines, along with crowds of black-clad Shiva worshipers, other pilgrims dressed all in white, and families with children and grandchildren. Then we went to eat dosas and idlis at a little restaurant. Each order came with a serving of sambhar and another of coconut chutney. Our son Dom’s dosa was a huge one, called a family dosa, about three feet long and beautifully lacy. By the time we had eaten, there was a golden late-afternoon glow in the sky.