I realize it's a crap picture

New glasses
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

but how do you ike the glasses? (comments appreciated)

Yesterday

More Golconda
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

While I was at the tombs, I noticed another foreigner, and since he had a guide with him, I went up and said hello and asked some questions. It turned out that he was from Charlotte, NC, and was in town on business. He was in town for business, and had a car and driver for sightseeing that day, so he invited me along. In this way, I ended up seeing not just the tombs, but Golconda fort, the Salar Jung museum, Lad Bazaar, and the Chowmahalla Palace, as well as a Biryani at the Shadab, my favorite restaurant in the old city. Towards the end of the day, he said he had thought I was Indian, and wondered how an Indian woman got a Nalgene bottle, and had thought my English was really good.

A nice, unexpected kind of day.

Qutub Shahi Tombs

water buffalo
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I'd never been to the tombs near Golconda fort in Hyderabad-- I'd seen them from a distance, but I wasn't really that interested, but I went yesterday morning, and they were fantastic. I didn't realize how big they were, and this is one of the few pictures I took that give a sene of the scale of them. It's really peaceful there, which made me realize that after a month here, quiet kind of makes me nervous. However, while I was inside one of the tombs I heard the familiar and intensely irritating sound of someone just outside GOING THROUGH ALL THE RINGTONES ON THEIR CELL PHONE. But in all, it was really beautiful. I took lots of pictures, but got lazy about labelling them, so sorry if it's not that informative.

the roads and the weather both suck

the roads and the weather both suck
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I really, really miss nice, long peaceful walks. There's a road-widening project going on, basically between my office and my house, and while not all of it is quite this bad, the motifs of "nowhere for pedestrians to walk" and "exposed wires everywhere" is recurring. I had to do some errands yesterday, and since I refused to take an auto for a ten minute walk, this is what I was faced with. It's really really irritating.

alcohol problems

alcohol problems
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I went to the health museum again today, since I was in the neighborhood, and got a clearer picture of this poster. Apparently the penalty for a DUI in Hyderabad is a 500 rupee fine. This is about $12.50, and I am scared.

I remembered that a lot of the best sayings were close to the front desk, where I couldn't take pictures, so I took some notes:

"Accidents can be prevented!

Plantain peelings on the floor causes sliping while treading upon (child slipping on banana peel. Yes, the sign said 'sliping')

Can with hot milk pouring on the body if properly not handled (child being scalded by a pan of milk)

Loose sari end catches fire due to the carelessness of the woman (woman on fire. She was apparently careless)."

Other favorites:

"fresh air: elixir of life!"

"some are born with disease, others have it thrust upon them, but most bring it on themselves with their ways of living." which is only funny if you've been reading article after article on the social ecological framework approach to health promotion.

Finally, there were two pigeons nestled together, sleeping on a painting of Hygeia. They were very cute.

As close as I got to Falaknuma

As close as I got to Falaknuma
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

Yesterday I decided to just try to get near the Falaknuma Palace, since I had already hit most of my Hyderabad landmarks. It's outside the city, South of the Charminar, so it was nice just being somewhere less densely populated. It's a huge palace up on a granite hill, so you can see it from pretty far away, and can tell that it's massive. There are a few old mosques on the hillside that look like they predate the palace, and this temple, which marked the closest it seemed I could get up the hill without be chased by a security guard. Anyway, I walked up to the guardpost to see if I could talk my way in, and while I couldn't I spent a pleasant half hour talking with the security guard in Telugu. He was really nice, but not nice enough to let me in. However, in the half hour I was there, at least 4 other people in cars or on motorcycles tried to get in, too, to no avail. So, maybe it's not meant to be. And after all, a European influenced palace is nowhere near as interesting as the Indosaracenic ones around town, even if it's dining room table does seat one hundred.

"Modern Hair Dressers"

"Modern Hair Dressers"
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

The sign says "modern hairdressers," and before you think my Telugu is good, the English is just spelled out phonetically in Telugu script. It's near my house, and I like seeing it in the morning. Nothing says hot like the thoroughly modern mullet.

The worst pants in the world

The worst pants in the world
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

They are called chudidars, and they are the weirdest pants ever. I actually changed me mind and am taking them back. They're too demoralizing.

Mysore bhajjis!

Mysore bhajjis!
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

These are Mysore Bhajjis, perhaps my favorite Indian snack. This might be because they aren't served many places, and when they are, they're only served between 3 and 7:00, and no amount of cajoling can get them to make it for you outside those hours. I still don't have a good explanation. Anyway, they come with sambar, two kinds of chutney, and ketchup. Yum.

oh yeah,

The Vengaboys are on the stereo, I am so happy.

I am waiting to watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which you could not pay me to see if I was at home. Why am I here? Ah yes, air conditioning.

Sorry I'm not doing anything terribly exciting this weekend, so very few pictures to show. However, i promise to show you a picture of my chudidars, also known as the ugliest pants I've ever seen, yet still wear.

Good slogans

I really like some of the slogans I've been seeing around town. These are my two favorites: Background: on the rear windshield of a car "Beware! Zombies 'R' Inside!" (in that profoundly un-scary dripping blood font) Background: Man in bikini underwear, behind bars "Euro men's unders: prepare to be ASSAULTED!"

Inside the Charminar

Inside the Charminar
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

Today I broke down and bought another copy of White Mughals, mainly for reference and for new ideas of places to go around Hyderabad. For those of you who haven't read it, he talks about how shocking it is that so little historical research (in English) has been done on the Deccan, and how little interest there is in Hyderabad. This is my favorite line: "Unlike the immediate, monumental splendor of Agra or the Rajput cities of the north, Hyderabad hid its charms from the eyes of outsiders, veiling its splendours from curious eyes behind nondescript walls and labyrinthine backstreets. Only slowly did it allow you in to an enclosed world where water still dripped from fountains, flowers bent in the breeze, and peacocks called from the overladen mango trees. There, hidden from the streets, a world of timelessness and calm, a last bastion of gently fading Indo-Islamic civilisation where, as one art historian has put it, old 'Hyderabadi gentleman still wore the fez, dreamt about the rose and the nightingale, an mourned the loss of Grenada." It's the most perfect description I've read.

Anyway, if you look in your trusty copy of the book (Megan, I'm basically talking to you), you might recognize the symbol from this picture, unless its only included in the "for sale in the Indian Subcontinent only" version.

Outside where I checked my e-mail

Outside where I checked my e-mail
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

There are lots of camels in Hyderabad these days. It makes me happy.

British Residence

British Residence
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I got it into my head that I wanted to go to Raymond’s tomb on Sunday. No particular reason, except that I had not checked it off my list of things to do in Hyderabad, and for some reason I thought it was in seconderabad, where I was and, as it turns out, it was not. After a lot of random driving and asking people about it, I gave up, and went to the Osmania University College for Women, AKA, the British Residency. At the Nizam’s museum, I saw the letter that ceded it back to the Nizam at independence in 1947. I’m guessing went down hill a bit for the building since then. It is a mess. Crumbling, there is literally a pack of feral dogs and piles of burning trash lying around (and keep in mind this is a functioning college). At the same time, it’s beautiful – you can absolutely tell how grand both the grounds and the building used to be, and it’s very quiet and peaceful (except when the feral dogs start fighting.) I actually ran into the same guy from the UK who had been at the HEH Nizam’s museum – he was with the principal of the school, and said his company was going to finance part of the restoration that’s going to take place, so that made me happy. After walking around outside, I decided to be bold and look inside the foyer.

I lived in DC long enough to pick up on the fact that lots of the really fancy buildings around town are horrible, soul-crushing thowback to the 70s cubicles inside, which give you no concept of what kind of building your actually in. While I know that it’s different here, I was still expecting the same kind of thing. I looked in the front, and there were beat-up desks in the room, but when I looked up, there were huge chandeliers, and even in the dark I could sort of make out the detailed, Islamic designs painted on the ceiling, two flights up, and a beautiful, if dusty balcony. But I lost my nerve, and didn’t start poking around (like a big jerk, I might add.) The guard who let me onto the grounds (partly, I think, because he seemed really amused by my bumbling Telugu), said that I should come at nine the next morning, and although I tried to explain that I had to work, I think I might take him up on the suggestion later one this week, when everyone is on their retreat, because I’m dying to see more of this building.

So more later. It was a really fun little outing. I really like this town. Even on the way home from my little excursion, I saw another huge palace up on a hill (and this was is really enormous) that I had never seen before. It seems like the supply of gorgeous ramshackle buildings just doesn’t run out here. So why isn’t anyone interested in seeing them?

Fish cure

Fish cure
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

These are the fish from the famous fish medicine. As you can sort of see, they aren't that big, but they are definitely, wrigglingly alive. If made a video of that, so e-mail me if you'd like to see it.

Purani Haveli

Purani Haveli
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

A picture of the Purani Haveli palace complex. I'm out of storage space on my photo hosting account, so let me know if you want to see more and I'll send the link to my snapfish photo album, which has all of my amateurish, blurry photos for your perusal.

Hyderabad Monument Quest

I'm trying really, really hard to find someone who will get me into the Falaknuma Palace (it's closed for rennovation by a big hotel chain). Apparently, people staying at the hotel could get in for a while, but now when I asked them, they said that the only way to see it was from a hill half a kilometer away from the place itself, but I am not taking no for an answer. Since this hotel company has a couple of places in Hyderabad, I am going to try another one and see if they can help me out. I've taken to going to extremely expensive hotels and buying one drink on Fridays after work, so I can spend some time in air conditioned comfort reading (at the one I went to Friday, they bought my a tray of olives and lychees, which I hadn't had before, so that was cool, too).

However, today I did score with the Purani Haveli, which is another Nizam-era palace. When I got there, I realized I had seen it before on a tour of Muslim Hyderabad when I first arrived. At that point, I knew almost nothing about Hyderabad history, and absolutely nothing about Islam, so the tour was totally wasted on me, which was too bad, because the tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable, and I feel embarassed now that on the 5th or 6th dargah one of us asked "so what was the battle of Karabala?" He just recommended we read one of his books. So...the palace was really, really big, and most of it has been turned into a couple of schools, but one part has recently been turned into a small museum. The best part about it is that there lots of pretty silver replicas of buildings in the city, which was really cool, because they're places I'm really fond of (fond is a fussy word, but it's accurate.) And there were lots of requisite ivory hookahs and ugly french plates and things. But it was really just how stately and serene the building was that made it interesting. The museum staff were nice guys, and outside, no one seemed to mind that I was walking around their school taking pictures. If you're coming to Hyderabad, admission is Rs. 60, and pictures are Rs. 50 each, which is unfortuante. Just ask for Purani Haveli, and auto drivers seem to know where it is, and once you get close, there are big signs up for the museum. My pictures up soon.

In just thirty mint's

boldness
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I don't know why I like this guy so much, I just do.

Charminar from Lad Bazaar

Charminar from Lad Bazaar
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

City gate

City gate
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

This (I think) is one of the gates from the original walled city. I've been reading more about Hyderabad, and looking at old paintings, and it's really hard for me to imagine what it was like before it became sprawling and massive. I know that the temperature in the area has gone up a lot, with more roads and buildings, and fewer trees. It's a city of 7 million people and everyone burns their trash. I've never been anywhere where the impact of people on the environment seems so clear and immediate.

Charminar

Charminar
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I went to the old city this weekend, and found out that they had opened the upper levels, for 5 rupees Indian, 100 non-Indian. I think I could've gotten through, but one of the post card hawkers I had blown off ratted me out. Still, it was worth it.

tiger and dog

tiger and dog
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I know this isn't a great picture, but I wanted to put it up. In the family I'm staying with, the father was both a forestry official (through which he wa shot in the face stopping illegal loggers), and a zoo curator (through which he was bitten by a cobra trying to protect lion cubs.) He's a really amazing person, and this is a picture from his book on tigers. It's of the tiger that he raised in his house. I really like the dog's expression.

Barkatpura flyover

Barkatpura flyover
Originally uploaded by Maleaji.

I never would have believed it, but there it was, the flyover, which takes you right from the Barkatpura bus depot lane to Himayat Nagar.