Day 2, Hyderabad
Dec. 13th, 2019 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethlakshmiCatching up... this was actually yesterday, but I figure maybe I can go day by day. Also the ARGH computer crashed and I lost more than half of this...
It's really action packed. We seem to have a rhythm... Vidya and I do something in the morning, while the eldest is at preschool and the littlest is in the hands of his caretaker. Then back for lunch ~2:00 then I go off with the driver as an escort to do something until dinner in the evening.
About the house...
Vidya has a male caretaker - mostly for their youngest (he's 2), a cook, and the cook also does laundry and the caretaker cleans up. I met the cook on Day 2, she was sick on Day 1 - the lady I scared out of spiciness was the backup cook. The regular cook is better (sorry backup cook... but regular cook is REALLY good). And she is quite taken with me and my Indian clothing. We smile at each other a lot. At the end of the day, we got pictures together that Vidya took, I think it was prompted by the fact that I was quite well templified (remember that FB pic?).
... then I'm put into the car with a driver. Vidya and Gautam have a car, but I'm not sure that Vidya drives here.... not sure I'd blame her - Indian driving is a whole other sport. At least here in Hyderabad, there's at least three options if you have a car:
In all these cases, you pay the driver for his time, and you buy your own petrol, and pay any fees - tolls, parking, etc. The driver waits with your car... if he's waiting through a meal, you cover or provide the meal, too.
So... today's itinerary:
7:00 AM - up and out - used the group class/activity rooms to get in an hour of practice. Got everything for the 15th program done.
~9:00 AM - Breakfast! Dosa, coconut chutney and a sweet ginger pickle!
10:00 AM (?ish?) - off and running! We went to Golconda Fort. Golconda Fort was neat in that I've never seen a Muslim built anything (besides Charmidar the other night!) and I've never seen a fort in India (in fact, all my fort experience is US based, so baby, modern forts!).
The striking impression I had was that (1) - it's very Muslim - the architecture, the shape of things - very different that what I'm used to in Hindu South india. (2) it's greatest feature is all sorts of cool tricks with Sound - many of the faceted ceilings reflect and ampify sound in all sorts of crazy ways that are good if you are a king trying to protect your fort from attack both political and military.
The guide was OK. We did learn a lot. Expensive though - we paid quite a bit more than we did for any of the guides in Karnataka.
We had a bit of extra time before needing to be back so we ran to a Durga temple. Durga is quite popular here. The temple and the goddess there are quite different from Chamundashwari in Mysore. The goddess here is most strikingly a 2D face, rather than being a full body sculpture. Also - people praying at the temple sometimes pledge to do a month of austerity to augment their faith - they eat a limited diet and follow other restrictions while wearing a red garment. When they are done, they bring the red garment and tie up to something (like this wall) at the temple.
It also featured a crack your own coconut space. Every other time I've seen coconuts used, they are given to priests. Here you give directly to Shiva yourself.
It also lacked the walls and goparums I'm used to but a nice walk bedecked with orange flowers and bells. And it had a foot washing station! A great service, IMO!
2:00ish - back for lunch! This time the cook made us pumpkin curry from a pumpkin from Vidya's family's farm!, red tomato rice, a dish made from sprouts - like beah sprouts, but not a bean you see in the US, and a fourth dish that I'm now forgetting. It was ALL delicious. The pumkin had jaggery and tended toward sweet - but balanced the spicy/savory of the other 3 dishes. So. Much. Food.
Next - around 3:00 - we were off to the next stop - the Buddha Statue of Hyderabad. The site has both a tiny amusement park and a boat ride in it. You end up buying the one to get into the other, effectively making the boat ride 90 RP - kind of a pain but I'm not arguing about spending $1.25 US.
Prasad (our driver) opted not to go on the boat ride, but waited for me at the dock. I offered, but couldn't tell if he (a) didn't want to go, (b) hated boats/water, (c) would rather stay on shore and text his friends, (d) was totally embarrassed by his goofy client. We did an awkward back and forth at the ticket booth, leaving the ticket guy thinking we were some awkward couple. But really Prasad is like 15-20 years younger than me, and I prefer ... more experienced (less breakable??) men. :)
The whole thing somehow reminded me of Henry Rollins' bit about the Thai Love House - although it's totally different and much more hilarious. No way am I cool enough to torture my driver that way.
The boat experience was so typically tourist, it doesn't merit much description. But I was SHOCKED that Indians actually obeyed the rules and wore life vests. I was sure I would be the only dork in a vest.
The typical experience is to go at night, when it's lit up in multicolored lights. But I think I won - sunset was gorgeous and I think i got nicer photos with this. This is the Buddha taken in the traditional BethLakshmi family style - coming right out of my head. More pictures here.
Then on to the Birla - it's both a Temple and a Science museum. Call me a snobby American, but I felt the temple was the first priority, as science is science pretty much everywhere (although Indian science history is very different, it's not my biggest interest).
So we headed to the temple. This is my one picture - because they made me surrender my cell phone! They had both a shoe check and a mobile (of all kinds) check! And they meant it - there were two sets of guards and metal detectors checking us and my purse to make sure I'd followed the rules. So the beauty of this temple will have to exist only in my mind's eye.
It really was a fairy land -- really the only modern temple I've thought was beautiful. It's simpler in it's decoration, and the bas reliefs are really not something to get excited about. But the structure of the stairs, balconys and many levels, combined with the all white building that sits on the rock like frosting on a cake - is really otherworldly.
When we got to the top, the sun had just set, and the sky was a full moon on one side and magenta/purple/blue reflecting off the marble and the city. It truly did feel like the city of pearls. And the Buddha (now lit with multi-color splendor) was visible on it's lake in the distance. My 'OOooooooo.....!!!" of awe even made Prasad smile.
We visited the shrines - it's a Vishnu temple, and the god is fairly standard. Maybe it was my mellow mood after all the beauty, but I thought Vishnu emanated a sense of peace. As if after all my turbulent thoughts at Belur - he was saying "be cool... it's all good".
Of course I made use of the kumkum, and then we claimed our shoes (and mobiles!) and headed home.
We went straight home, so I can't speak to the museums...
8:00 we arrived, and the maid, who was just leaving - got Vidya to take our pictures. But not before she'd make sure to clean up my now very smeared kumkum job! But something about the kumkum really did it for her!
I had dinner (mostly same as lunch) and wrapped it up with a custard apple! So good!!
Vidya and I were in pretty bad shape, so Gautam and I went on a quest for cold meds. They actually have a small pharmacy in the garage, where all 5 towers in the complex can share it. I must say, wandering through a garage in search of drugs felt very sketchy - but it makes sense to put it there. Sadly, it was closed already, so the valiant Gautam went out to get meds. I am at a disadvantage on any pharmacy issue, as American supplies are so, so different. In India, it turns out, you can get antibiotics effectively w/out a proscription (yeah really). But you can't get the ingredients in Theraflu because some of them cause dizziness. ???
I ended up taking one of the antibiotics, which did give my immune system a little boost. But I really didn't want to continue it w/out a Dr., so that was my first and last... and I'm still sporting a decent head cold.
We decided to watch a movie - and picked the Croods - which seems adorable - but with all the family life happening with two very energetic boys - I really didn't follow any of the plot. Vidya and Gautam scooped up the kids around 10:30 and by 11 we were all in bed.
It's really action packed. We seem to have a rhythm... Vidya and I do something in the morning, while the eldest is at preschool and the littlest is in the hands of his caretaker. Then back for lunch ~2:00 then I go off with the driver as an escort to do something until dinner in the evening.
About the house...
Vidya has a male caretaker - mostly for their youngest (he's 2), a cook, and the cook also does laundry and the caretaker cleans up. I met the cook on Day 2, she was sick on Day 1 - the lady I scared out of spiciness was the backup cook. The regular cook is better (sorry backup cook... but regular cook is REALLY good). And she is quite taken with me and my Indian clothing. We smile at each other a lot. At the end of the day, we got pictures together that Vidya took, I think it was prompted by the fact that I was quite well templified (remember that FB pic?).... then I'm put into the car with a driver. Vidya and Gautam have a car, but I'm not sure that Vidya drives here.... not sure I'd blame her - Indian driving is a whole other sport. At least here in Hyderabad, there's at least three options if you have a car:
- Hire a driver on permanent retainer - the driver comes to your house at a certain time and hangs around all day in case you need a ride. They have (mostly) a fixed start/end time each day. At least some folk's drivers do other odd jobs if they aren't driving.
- Have driver's that you call at need - like contractor-drivers vs. FTEs. You end up knowing at least a few drivers and you hire one when needed. That's what Amma did when we went from Bangalore to Mysore.
- Use a mobile app!! Yep! - in Hyderabad, at least, there is a mobile app for just about everything. Including drivers. You book with the app, kind of like Uber, but instead of a driver and a car showing up... just the driver shows up. Like Uber, I get the sense that it's a lot easier to have an impulse need and to get a driver in an hour or so, instead of having to think way ahead.
In all these cases, you pay the driver for his time, and you buy your own petrol, and pay any fees - tolls, parking, etc. The driver waits with your car... if he's waiting through a meal, you cover or provide the meal, too.
So... today's itinerary:
7:00 AM - up and out - used the group class/activity rooms to get in an hour of practice. Got everything for the 15th program done.
~9:00 AM - Breakfast! Dosa, coconut chutney and a sweet ginger pickle!
10:00 AM (?ish?) - off and running! We went to Golconda Fort. Golconda Fort was neat in that I've never seen a Muslim built anything (besides Charmidar the other night!) and I've never seen a fort in India (in fact, all my fort experience is US based, so baby, modern forts!).
The striking impression I had was that (1) - it's very Muslim - the architecture, the shape of things - very different that what I'm used to in Hindu South india. (2) it's greatest feature is all sorts of cool tricks with Sound - many of the faceted ceilings reflect and ampify sound in all sorts of crazy ways that are good if you are a king trying to protect your fort from attack both political and military.
The guide was OK. We did learn a lot. Expensive though - we paid quite a bit more than we did for any of the guides in Karnataka.
We had a bit of extra time before needing to be back so we ran to a Durga temple. Durga is quite popular here. The temple and the goddess there are quite different from Chamundashwari in Mysore. The goddess here is most strikingly a 2D face, rather than being a full body sculpture. Also - people praying at the temple sometimes pledge to do a month of austerity to augment their faith - they eat a limited diet and follow other restrictions while wearing a red garment. When they are done, they bring the red garment and tie up to something (like this wall) at the temple.
It also featured a crack your own coconut space. Every other time I've seen coconuts used, they are given to priests. Here you give directly to Shiva yourself.
It also lacked the walls and goparums I'm used to but a nice walk bedecked with orange flowers and bells. And it had a foot washing station! A great service, IMO!
2:00ish - back for lunch! This time the cook made us pumpkin curry from a pumpkin from Vidya's family's farm!, red tomato rice, a dish made from sprouts - like beah sprouts, but not a bean you see in the US, and a fourth dish that I'm now forgetting. It was ALL delicious. The pumkin had jaggery and tended toward sweet - but balanced the spicy/savory of the other 3 dishes. So. Much. Food.
Next - around 3:00 - we were off to the next stop - the Buddha Statue of Hyderabad. The site has both a tiny amusement park and a boat ride in it. You end up buying the one to get into the other, effectively making the boat ride 90 RP - kind of a pain but I'm not arguing about spending $1.25 US.
Prasad (our driver) opted not to go on the boat ride, but waited for me at the dock. I offered, but couldn't tell if he (a) didn't want to go, (b) hated boats/water, (c) would rather stay on shore and text his friends, (d) was totally embarrassed by his goofy client. We did an awkward back and forth at the ticket booth, leaving the ticket guy thinking we were some awkward couple. But really Prasad is like 15-20 years younger than me, and I prefer ... more experienced (less breakable??) men. :)
The whole thing somehow reminded me of Henry Rollins' bit about the Thai Love House - although it's totally different and much more hilarious. No way am I cool enough to torture my driver that way.
The boat experience was so typically tourist, it doesn't merit much description. But I was SHOCKED that Indians actually obeyed the rules and wore life vests. I was sure I would be the only dork in a vest.
The typical experience is to go at night, when it's lit up in multicolored lights. But I think I won - sunset was gorgeous and I think i got nicer photos with this. This is the Buddha taken in the traditional BethLakshmi family style - coming right out of my head. More pictures here.Then on to the Birla - it's both a Temple and a Science museum. Call me a snobby American, but I felt the temple was the first priority, as science is science pretty much everywhere (although Indian science history is very different, it's not my biggest interest).So we headed to the temple. This is my one picture - because they made me surrender my cell phone! They had both a shoe check and a mobile (of all kinds) check! And they meant it - there were two sets of guards and metal detectors checking us and my purse to make sure I'd followed the rules. So the beauty of this temple will have to exist only in my mind's eye.
It really was a fairy land -- really the only modern temple I've thought was beautiful. It's simpler in it's decoration, and the bas reliefs are really not something to get excited about. But the structure of the stairs, balconys and many levels, combined with the all white building that sits on the rock like frosting on a cake - is really otherworldly.
When we got to the top, the sun had just set, and the sky was a full moon on one side and magenta/purple/blue reflecting off the marble and the city. It truly did feel like the city of pearls. And the Buddha (now lit with multi-color splendor) was visible on it's lake in the distance. My 'OOooooooo.....!!!" of awe even made Prasad smile.
We visited the shrines - it's a Vishnu temple, and the god is fairly standard. Maybe it was my mellow mood after all the beauty, but I thought Vishnu emanated a sense of peace. As if after all my turbulent thoughts at Belur - he was saying "be cool... it's all good".
Of course I made use of the kumkum, and then we claimed our shoes (and mobiles!) and headed home.
We went straight home, so I can't speak to the museums...
8:00 we arrived, and the maid, who was just leaving - got Vidya to take our pictures. But not before she'd make sure to clean up my now very smeared kumkum job! But something about the kumkum really did it for her!
I had dinner (mostly same as lunch) and wrapped it up with a custard apple! So good!!
Vidya and I were in pretty bad shape, so Gautam and I went on a quest for cold meds. They actually have a small pharmacy in the garage, where all 5 towers in the complex can share it. I must say, wandering through a garage in search of drugs felt very sketchy - but it makes sense to put it there. Sadly, it was closed already, so the valiant Gautam went out to get meds. I am at a disadvantage on any pharmacy issue, as American supplies are so, so different. In India, it turns out, you can get antibiotics effectively w/out a proscription (yeah really). But you can't get the ingredients in Theraflu because some of them cause dizziness. ???
I ended up taking one of the antibiotics, which did give my immune system a little boost. But I really didn't want to continue it w/out a Dr., so that was my first and last... and I'm still sporting a decent head cold.
We decided to watch a movie - and picked the Croods - which seems adorable - but with all the family life happening with two very energetic boys - I really didn't follow any of the plot. Vidya and Gautam scooped up the kids around 10:30 and by 11 we were all in bed.