The flight on Kingfisher Airlines (Kingfisher is a giant brand in India, kind of like Virgin does music, airlines, etc. - Kingfisher does beer, bottled water, travel, etc.) landed in Hyderabad on schedule on Saturday August 20th. I was greeted by Mr. G.S. Reddy, my mentor teacher (he is the other PGT, or post-graduate teacher, in Physics at our school - Kendriya Vidyalaya Tirumalagiri) who was holding a bouquet and a placard that read "Patrick J. Kaplo". This has become my name at the school, always read in full.
"Mr. Patrick J. Kaplo Sir, would you join is for tea?"
"Yes Sir, we do know your name, it is Patrick J. Kaplo, sir."
This is a far cry from being addressed back home at CHS where unscrupulous characters (read Kirk Romein here) might call me by unmentionable names.
Hyderabad simply means the home (abad) of Hyder. The abad suffix clings to names here like ville or town does back in the US. We actually live in Secunderabad - the sister or twin city of Hyderabad. The combined population of this area is six million people. I will write more about the history of this region at a later time.
We were whisked away from the busy airport to meet the building owner, Mr. Bhanogee Rao, at our new home which is a flat on the third floor. It is a new construction, directly behind the home of my exchange partner Dr. TAV Sharma, and has turned out to be a very comfortable place to live. We have marble floors throughout, two bedrooms, and three bathrooms, a kitchen, and large open dining and sitting area. When I asked Mr. Rao about an additional room with a ornately screened door attached to the sitting area, he smiled and spoke to his assistant in Telagu, the regional language of Andrha Pradesh (the state we are in), smiled, and then replied that this was the "meditation" room. I had arrived in the east. The Puju Room, or meditation room, is typical in Hindu homes and serves as a place of offering or tribute to the ancestoral past. We have used it for burning sandalwood incense. 
Our neighborhood is awesome. The people are really friendly to us (insanely curious, actually), and often invite us into their homes for tea. Their are 15 or so small shops at the end of our narrow lane, including a bakery, stationary store, a few produce markets, a barber shop, and a sweet shop. The owners of the sweet shop have quickly come to know us as we visit the shop for freshly made Indian sweets almost every night. Although the average shop owner only knows a bit of English (way more than the Telagu I can use!), a flurry of hand gestures and a game of charades can usually get us what we need.
In short, we have an awesome new home for the next 5 months, random cows in the street included.
Note the double entrance in the corner of the room - one for practical use, and the second (double door) is a traditional Hindu architectural element promoting the flow of wealth into the family. Litchfield School District look out! 
View from the balcony and clothes drying space during monsoon rains.
Blessings on doorways. Of course the swastika symbol has an entirely different meaning in India than it does in the west.
Kitchen with propane stove.
Our bedroom
Evan's Room
1 comment:
Hey Mr. Kaplo!
India looks pretty interesting. How are the classes? School started here about 3 days ago. I had my first physics class yesterday morning and let's just say it was different from what I imagined. When I was a freshman I pictured you teaching me as a senior but I'm ready to learn from someone else. For one semester at least.
Well, I have to go make a poster for our first volleyball home game tomorrow night. Hope all is well and tell the family I said hi!
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