Stranger in a strange land..

We were in Hyderabad for a little under 48 hours. In that time we managed to spend one whole afternoon at Ramoji Film City, which according to the Guinness book of World records is the largest film city in the world. It was a very good shooting location. It was also obvious that Ramoji had visited Universal Studios and Disney in LA and pretty much lifted sections 1:1 from things like the bus tour, the sign boards, the restaurant areas or the shows.

At some places it felt like we were in Universal and it is really a place to see. The only thing different between Universal and Ramoji is the crowd. Not the numbers, but the behavior of the folks in the crowd.

It clearly says "Wait from this point is 15 minutes" in most of the lines for various shows. Once you are in the line, you cannot get out. That said, pushing the guy in front of you is not going to get you in any faster! They send 80-100 folks inside at any one time. Unfortunately the majority of the folks in that crowd were not grasping that concept. They did not even have any sympathy for the kids in the line. It was one mad dash to compact everyone in the line. Finally figured out why the phase "patti kaatan in mittai kadai" existed. Except for the unruly crowd, the rest of the experience was nice.

However, Jr. and the little one now have a phobia for Desi theme parks. They are really scared of standing in lines where we cannot get out. Time will fix that. That need we checked out Bikanervala restaurant. Have never tasted a butter naan that good in a long long time. Simply melted in my mouth. Divine food! We need a branch in the bay area. Hopefully they will hear this plea! They have one in New Zealand for crying out loud.

The next evening we went to Charminar area to shop for Bangles, Mehendi etc. That was followed by a late evening adventure at Hussain Sagar lake including a boat ride to see the Buddha statue, a car ride for the kids and a few security friskings in all these places.

The hour we spent in Charminar was very interesting. Have been the only non white guy in a see of white faces, have been the only brown dude in a group of black folks, have been the only south Indian with a bunch of desis from the north and west, but being the only "mottai" with a couple of women in brightly coloured Chudidhars among a sea of women in veils and guys in tight jeans with skull caps made me feel like a stranger in a strange land.

There was a reason for not feeling odd but odd and scared. There are a couple of rowdy elements in plain sight in this area. One dude came and hit the bangle seller who was trying to bargain with us. Did not understand what he said but it was pretty clear that the seller was being discouraged from dealing with us.

It was me, San, SIL and three little kids. Me watching the curious kids and fending off as much as 5 to 6 dudes per minute trying to sell me the same pair of Rayban sunglasses while San and SIL checked out bangles. After that guy's hitting the bangle seller, just wanted to leave that area and get out in one piece. The kids were asking me why everyone was dressed differently in this area and why we could not see any of the girls faces. We had good explanations for them at the lake.

By the time we were at the airport trying to head to Delhi the little one asked "We are in Hong Kong already?". The Hyderabad airport is truly amazing. Excellent ambiance, customer service at the airline counter, stores, etc. Way better then any Indian airport we have visited.

Hyderabad is a fun city. We were not well oriented for it and by the time we got to know the city a little better, had to leave. . .

Next time, we will be ready for a better experience.

.

Independent India

We left Mumbai in the wee hours of Independence day. Every trip to India, especially the metros shows how rapidly the country is changing (On this trip we visited Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai).

The Mumbai we visited 3 years ago and the Mumbai today shows a marked difference. The "goshala" which was visible from the apartment window is now an 18 story building. The sunset from the 6th floor window is not an available sight anymore. There are 4 high rises between the window and the sun.

There is a 6 story mall in Chembur that beats the local mall here in Cupertino hands down. Similar stores, similar prices, same "sales" and "deals", International food courts with popular Indian food chains thrown in, movie theaters with seat reservations and reclining seats and digital projection, Cleaning crews that regularly clean the floors every 5 minutes, paid parking lots, super clean restrooms, etc. etc.

India has also caught up or gone farther than the USA on some of the bad stuff. There is a security check with two metal detectors and a guard and a frisking booth to enter a mall. Same thing for any big restaurant, public park, etc. etc. The population should have gotten used to being checked and frisked at least 4-5 times a day as part of the daily routine.

The big cities have also learnt how to segregate the poor and hide them from the eyes of visitors for the most part. In the US, you don't see poor people in the suburbs. If you go to San Francisco you see homeless folks and beggars but not in huge numbers. The last visit to Mumbai had lots of poor folks trying to make a living and lots of beggars everywhere you went, from the airport to the busy road sides. This trip we did not see beggars. It is like they have all disappeared or relocated! The poor folks trying to sell trinkets to make a living were still there.

Still this experience stood out..

5-7 years ago when I was more hot blooded and less pragmatic, there would have been a different reaction to this 5-6 year old kid selling Indian flag pins few days before Independence day on a busy road where he was risking his life to make a few bucks (in all probability for someone else). Now that I am older and more sober to the reality of the world the way it is today, was content enough to pin the flags on my little girls and watch the smile on the kids face as he took the 10 rupee note.

If the poor go out of sight, they will soon go out of mind, if it is not the situation already!

The young twenty somethings in the metros who have salaries that allow them to spend and go to malls, especially with the lifestyle of living with their parents have become "americanized", not only in how they talk, dress, eat, shop, but also with the way they seem to treat the poor as unfashionable.

In the US it is okay to wait tables, it is okay to be part of a clean up crew as a "summer job" or a means to make a few bucks. I know kids who work the local grocery store as clerks and the local movie theater here at the ticket booth whose parents are well to do. That needs to catch up in India. That way there is a respect for everyone who does any job. That would be a welcome change.

A kid like that going to school and selling trinkets as a part time job from a safe store on the sidewalk would be an equally welcome change!

More travelogs to follow...

.

Back in the backyard after a month

A whirlwind trip of India covering Chennai, Trichy(Gunaseelam), Hyderabad, Delhi, Manali, Chandigarh and Mumbai.. not to mention the various airport experiences...

This photo was taken in Gunaseelam after the mottai (mundan) three weeks ago..

This one was taken earlier today..

We are now back as is our hair! It has been a rocky 24 hours with the little one throwing up and daddy and Jr. reserving a bathroom each as designated resting places for the last 24 hours. Cathay Pacific airline food really needs to be checked for germs! Mommy who was wise enough to stick to grandma given "thayir saadam" and blessed enough with immunity has been taking good care of us.. ie., more thayir saadam for everyone!

Many thoughts to pen.. will need the brain to collate before the posts come out.

.

Chasing elephants

A trip to India to visit family, see some sights never seen, get the girls back comes to a close.

A countable number of hours before we board the flight back and get to our routine.

There are enough photos and videos to fill a Travelog for years, but more importantly we have all tucked away memories that will last a lifetime!

More when we come back...

.

Democracy

Today a very well read and knowledgeble Chinese American Colleague (I know he is a US Citizen) told me "India is going to vote today, huh?". They are saying the Beejaaaypeee is going to come back! Aren't these the guys who persecute moslems?

I took him aside and told him that I don't get to vote in India because of my US Citizenship. Got to vote for Obama and that was enough for a lifetime.

Power corrupts. Absoulute power corrups absolutely.

(Most south Indian's attribute this quote to C.N. Annadurai. Apparently it is from Lord Acton)

So no one knows if Obama will end his term or terms with his integrity intact. Still one can always "hope". He is doing things right so far and hopefully will continue to steer change the right way.

That said, it appears as though almost all my desi blog buddies are resoundinly saying that this year going to the polls is a waste of time because all their options are the same and they don't believe anyone is worthy of a vote.

Some have gone far enough to say that the only reason they would walk to the polls is to tick on "I choose not to vote" to make sure someone else doesnt exercise the vote in their name to a standing candidate.

Based on my limited knowledge of today's Indian politics ,explanation to my colleague was :

Congress = pseudo secular communism
BJP = religious socialism

If you have a way of explaining what these two parties stand for in three words or less, do let me know.

Relatives are all just shrugging their shoulders on talking about voting. Their response is "Yaarukkavadhu votu pottu dhane daa aaganum?" (we have to vote for someone right?") and they try to choose the lesser of the two evils.

Democracy is something, isn't it?

So much of this world has been changed, destroyed, remade in the last decade, all in the name of spreading democracy and hundreds of millions of people who are all part of a very large democracy get to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Is democracy something worth losing so many lives across the globe, when politicians the world over seem to be poor choices?

.