Birthdays and Sarees

Jessie's birthday was celebrated on Friday the 28th of September. I had secretly purchased some bangles at some nearby shops in Loth Kunta (about 1 km from our house) and a "veg" (no eggs) pineapple cake at Iyangar's Bakery.

But Jessie's real birthday wish came true when Sudha, Dr. Sharma's wife, helped her wear her very first saree. A saree (also spelled sari) is a long single piece of cloth that is tucked, folded, wrapped, and arranged in such a beautiful way. Nearly all married women wear sarees, although some younger women will wear the salwar kameez (female students at my school are required to wear them), which is a style taken from the northen regions of India.

It was a great day - but I'm not sure that Jessie would be able to "tie" one on her own...

Ganesh Chaturthi

Indians really like to party. The 10 days of Ganesh Chaturth celebrate the beloved elephant-headed son of Shiva. There are three primary gods in the Hindu tradition - Brahma is the god of creation, Vishnu is the god of existence (who through a process of 10 significant incarnations also bestowed Sai Ram (Lord Ram) as well as the mischievous yet practical Lord Krishna, often depicted playing the flute or chasing his 14 girlfriends), and Shiva is the destroyer who coexists with creation by necessity. It is Shiva's son, Ganesha, who was beheaded while fighting the demon from Sri Lanka. His head was replaced with that of an elephant.

Ganesh is depicted holding a laddu (an Indian sweet) in one hand and a book and/or pen in the other. He is corpulent (too many laddus!) and has a huge head to accentuate his intelligence - and he is in many ways the rock star of Indian gods.

The Ganesh festival begins with some Sanskrit pooja and the placement of large idols of Ganesh, usually inside a flowered tenthouse on the side of the street, all throughout the city. Communities raise money through door-to-door donations in order to purchase extravagant idols of this deity (we were hit up a few times). Each of the 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi involves nightly rhythmic drumming and street dancing under the lights.

On one such occasion I was pulled into the melee (it's basically a mosh pit) of dancing and sprayed with pink tikka powder. After busting some serious moves (you would all be very proud - think MC Hammer), I was given "prasad" - a ceremonial offering or gift of lemon rice wrapped inside a banana or beetle leaf. Our landlord, Mr. Banojee Rao took some photos and video of the occasion that I have psoted below. Check out my insane dance moves - I'm a dangerous man!

On most nights of Ganesh Chaturthi we took evening strolls through the neighborhood to admire some of the beautiful idols as well as the merrymaking. There wasn't one such occasion in which we weren't singled out and celebrated as foreign guests - often spending the evening in streetside homes drinking tea, smiling and telling stories (in an extremely limited shared language), bustin' a few moves, and never returning home without pocketfuls of prasad.

On the tenth day the idols of Ganesh are ceremoniously pulled by tractors (think Macy's floats here) to the large lake in Hyderabad, called the Hussain Sagar, in which they are immersed into the water. This year their were 11 large cranes working non stop for about 18 hours dumping all the Ganeshes into the lake. Historically the idols were made from lake mud, but lately plaster of paris has been substituted in order to create larger and more elaborate idols. I'm fairly certain their are significant environmental issues regarding this practice...

In the past 10 days I've learned a lot about Indians and a lot about myself. In 5 years of living at my home in Manchester, NH I have only met a small handful of neighbors - but here, I am invited into everyone's home for tea, "mixture", and conversation. I have danced with my neighbors in the street under the stars and shared food with them wrapped in a leaf. Indians love to celebrate life with each other in a way that I have never learned from my western culture.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GANESH CHATURTHI SLIDESHOW!

PS - I saw my first cobra (snake) about 200 yards from where the above picture was taken. Pretty sweet!

PPS - You might also be interested in a photostory of the immersions by clicking here.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

The bathroom experience in India is a bit different from what we're used to in the west. For starters, there is no bathtub. Indians are inclined to feel that soaking in your own bathwater is kind of unsanitary - so I haven't seen a tub in an Indian home since we arrived. Most people bath by filling a large bucket with water and then pouring that water over themselves to rinse in the manner of a shower, more or less. This has taken Evan a bit by suprise - who continues to cling to his western notions of a proper evening bath. His makeshift tub is the bucket and his fairly sturdy frame has a difficult time squeezing in - but he manages nonetheless to carry on happily in his various aquatic games despite the absence of the tub.

Now the commode is another story alltogether - the difference between the "eastern" and "western" versions, and all the associated business, will be left only to be discovered by the adventurous traveller...

Farwell, Hari

Our houseowner, Mr. Banojee Rao, has spared few expenses trying to make us feel comfortable here in our new home of Secunderabad. The flat is well furnished and includes many nice new appliances. He is making a living as a local area general building contractor - both for himself through the development of area residential real estate as well as in the large and sprawling defense "cantonment" area. The cantonment is a term taken from the 200 years or so of British rule (ending in 1947) in which British military garrisons established regional defense stations that were close to but not integrated with the local population. The cantonment included the usual military accouterments - airstrips, barracks, training grounds, etc - but also all support and services including things like officer housing, depots and stores, churches, golf courses, and of course polo grounds. We were able to visit the bungalow that Sir Winston Churchill resided in during the 1880's while he was stationed here during the Raj while keeping an eye on the Nizam rulers of the old city of Hyderabad.

One of Mr. Rao's kind gestures to his new tenants from the US are the constant "check-ups" from one of his assistant's, Hari. Hari is in his mid-twenties and hails from the city of Kakanida on the eastern shores of Andhra Pradesh - this is about a 12-hour train ride from our home. Hari's visits are random - he might show up at seven in the morning or at seven in the evening - it's anyone's guess. Hari is introverted by nature, but like most Indians he is curious about the fair-headed children we have brought with us on this adventure (who are these kids?!?). He'll spend hours playing with Evan or Eli, and both have quickly come to accept him as part of our extended Indian family. This is saying a lot for Evan, who is particularly choosy about whom he lets into his inner sanctum (which for him means simply who might be allowed to talk, or even look at him!).


Hari was our guide during our trip to the old city - the part of Hyderabad which Winston Churchill said "contains all the scoundrels in Asia". Most Indians have advised us to be cautious in the old city as tensions can flare quickly and without much notice (the source of this tension is still debatable depending on who you talk to. It does seem to be based mostly on some mistrust between Muslims and Hindus, but there is also possibly some outside influence from Pakistan). The Mecca Masid, which we visited with Hari, was the source of a terrorist attack in April of this year, and the recent coordinated nearby city blasts during August continue to keep tensions elevated. Of course I take a scientific approach to this and assess the risk in terms of percentages (OK, so I am being influenced by the gun/swimming pool chapter of Freakenomics - thanks Josh!). I am fairly certain that I am taking more risk in the rickshaw ride into Hyderabad than of terrorist attacks. Still, there is some fear - logical or not.

Hari took us into the city and showed us the sites. He helped carry Evan from time to time (again, he is only one of few who is allowed to carry Evan) and he has become our good friend. Hari's English is OK (he seems much better at understanding us) but it's way better than my Telagu (the local language of Andhra Pradesh). I can only say things like "hello!" ("Ella Unaru") and "How are you doing?" ("Baagunaaraa") He helped us navigate the endless bangle and pearl bazaars and took us on a special pilgimage to the Birla Mandir Temple - a gorgeous white marble temple built into the side of a rocky hilltop overlooking the Hussain Sagar - Hyderabad's famous lake. It is dedicated to the Hindu Lord Venkateshwara and was packed with pilgrims.

But Hari was being called back to Kakanata by his parents. We're not sure why, but there was a touching departure when Hari came to bid us farewell. He sat on the couch looking down and Evan and Eli wanted to bond with him - perhaps they sensed the separation. We were all sad - there was something just really cool about what we all had experienced together - and then Hari went home.

Rain, Rain, Rain

When I was a boy I remember learning about the monsoons in my Social Studies classes. Upon coming to India, I have been told that there are three seasons only* - summer, which I've been told is unbearable (when an Indian tells you it's hot, it must be really hot) and lasts from March to June or July, followed by the monsoon season which continues to the end of October and is then followed by the post-monsoon which goes from November to March.

The monsoons basically mean rain every day, ranging from a light sprinkle to the most intense downpours I've ever seen. The most severe rains make muddy red-brown rivers out of the streets and are essentially flash floods up to your ankles. The rainy season is essential to the survival of crops and indigenous flora and fauna, so the land seems well adapted to this type of cyclical and severe weather.

This picture was taken from our balcony before an afternoon rainstorm. It was sunny about 30 minutes before this was taken.

*the use of only is kind of an inside joke here - in the use of English, Indians use the word only at the end of the sentence, so I've kind of inadvertantly adopted this usage. Six weeks ago, I would have said "I have been told that their are only three seasons".

Happy Birthday, Sir!

Serendipitously, Dr. Sharma and I were born on contiguous days - I on the 13th and he on the 14th of September. This has led to a cross-continental celebration of sorts in which my advisory at CHS emailed a video of a happy birthday song and Dr. Sharma's XIIA section sang a "happy birthday" to him.

Charminar & Mecca Masjid

"Char" means four and "minar" means minaret - so Hyderabad's most famous landmark, called the Charminar, is an ornamental structure of four minarets built by Muhammad Qutb Shah to commemorate the ending of the plague in 1591. It is in the heart of the old city and is surrounded by endless markets selling pearls (interestngly, Hyderabad, which is landlocked, is the center of the pearl trade in India) as well as bangles (glass, plastic, silver, gold, gems, you name it). We took a tour up spiral staircase within the cornet minarets and then spent some time in the observation deck above the arches before walking the short distance to the Mecca Masjid.

One of the eight US teachers, Erin McGraw from Rutland, VT who is staying in Hyderabad, joined us for the day trip to the old city. She is teaching English at another regional KV school.

The Mecca Masjid, which can hold up to 10,000 people at a time, is one of the largest mosques in India amd was completed in 1694 by the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb. It is said that some of the bricks used to construct the mosque were made from earth taken from Mecca - the holiest city in Islam and birthplace of the prophet Mohammed. One side of the mosque contains the marble graves of many of the rulers of Hyderabad, including many of the Nizam family who ruled in Hyderabad until Indian Independance in 1947 (even after which the region had to be forcefully taken from the Nizam rulers by the Indian army when they refused to relinquish their control).

SEE THE CHARMINAR / MECCA MASJID SLIDESHOW BY CLICKING HERE