Ooh, India!: 2012-09-02

Hyderabad- City of Romance

8/29-9/2/2012

Excursion #3 (already?!)

the train station

First thing, we toured the Salar Jung museum. This ruler had collections from all over the world for his many palaces, and finally they were all brought to this one location. He had much wood carved furniture, ceramics, clocks, figurines, carvings made from tusks of elephant and walrus, dolls and toys, paintings, religious statues and paintings, animal figures, and so much more. He had collected things from the western and eastern parts of the world, and made sure to keep everything nice and in good condition.

Then we toured a palace nearby.

In the evening, we stopped by Charminar and climbed all the way to the top.

It was a little uncomfortable, because this was the first time we really experienced people asking us to be in pictures with them and take pictures of them. We had experienced this before, but it was nearly every 3 minutes or so, people were asking.

We got a great view of the city, and the four main roads leading out from the Charminar.

Back down, we went shopping in one of the famous outdoor malls again. We were easily distracted by the men selling pearls- Hyderabad is famous for jewelry and especially selling pearls, though it’s not near any ocean or body of water…

I bought a saree (YES!) and the others found sarees, perfume, and necklaces.

Then we came to the bangles. Bangles were everywhere: there was a whole street dedicated to just bangles. Couldn’t even believe it!

---

Oh, buffalo...

The next day, we went to Golconda Fort, a place where generations of Muslim rulers ruled the surrounding area. This was notorious especially for it’s efficient water system. It was built on a good-sized hill, and they needed to have efficient water in order to survive. However, they did, proven by the story of the fort being under siege, and they held out completely shut in for 8 months with enough provisions and water to last.

One of the many wells we saw:

exact replica of the Charminar, except only two minarets instead of four and strategically placed on top of the granary so that even if there were attackers, they wouldn't want to destroy the it out of fear that the mosque would fall down as well, which it was built such that it would.

King's Quarters:

stage:

View from the top, can make out the wall surrounding the fortPerpetual Indian saying, painted on the wall:

Architecture in the Queens' quarters:

We were led by a great 12 year old guide, who was Anu’s friend’s son. He showed us the best ways to get to the top and the best places to see things. Then, Anu and Laura Lou rested, and he, Becca and I went exploring. We were going to go down in the caves and then thought better of it… We did see so much more than I would have ever imagined, and it was so fun to be out of the city and walking around the park, free to explore.

BATS!

In the afternoon, we were taken on a tour of the Theatre department where the boy’s mom teaches and then headed straight out to her home for a lecture on folk art and dinner! We had great conversation and it was 11:00 before we knew it!

---

The next day we visited another outdoor crafts bazaar.

This one had anything a tourist or a local would want. It had jewelry- plenty of bangles, earrings, necklaces, beads, anklets, you name it;

paintings and cards, sculptures, figurines, kurtas (shirts), food, wall hangings and pillow covers, bags, and so much more! We definitely got our fill of shopping this trip! I bought some greeting cards, a few bangles (only five that came as a set… :) ), and a wrap skirt- I’m wearing it today!

And Hyderabad traffic, with a cool billboard. We were in the "posh" side of town, and this a little indicative of that dynamic:

8/3/2012

As part of a service learning conference that my professor, Miriam Samuel ma'am was leading, we went out to visit a backwater community (fishing community). The whole conference group (about 30 in number) went along and toured the estuarine biological laboratory ran by MCC and then got a look into the community.

Fishermen sending the sustainable boat out to the bay. It is new, just built and purchased, so the ceremony taking place is prayer and then a breaking of a coconut on the hull to bless it. This exchange took place between the Hindu group and Muslim group, if I remember correctly.

The boats directly next to the one going out to the water are boats that NGOs have brought in, thinking they were helping the community. They are painted with toxins/chemical paint, and are fiber, not wood. They are not built for the kind of water that is experienced in the lake, and so they capsize easily. Just the past week, the man leading us was saying that a family of 22 capsized and 20 died. Two young boys clung on and were saved.

Then, after the boat is not usable anymore, it pollutes even further by not being made from natural materials. The sustainable boat is made of local wood and is crafted by laborers, which helps support the local economy. They are built heavier and wider and withstand the waves better. The only thing is that this boat does not do well outside of the lake in the bay. The bay is more suitable for the fiber boats, because they can cut through the big waves.

Here is what a sustainable boat looks like in skeleton form:

We visited an old Dutch cemetery. Pulicat was originally controlled by Dutch settlers. At one time, they caught pneumonia and 100 of their people died, just in one year. So, this cemetery was constructed just for their community.