Tourism Weekend #2

This weekend, I actually did have work to do, but didn't get much of it done. It's my last chance to see some Hyderabad, as Tuesday I ship out to Jaipur, and Thursday I head out to Bhorugram (that middle-of-nowhere spot in the desert where I'll spend most of my remaining time). So, I saw some Hyderabad.

Saturday I paid a visit to one of the REACH project coordinators at his home in Kokatpally, a bit north-northwest of Hyderabad proper. In his spare time, he helps run and fundraise for a school for hearing-impaired and cognition-impaired/special-needs kids. The main point of having people like me visit is that they can have us give them a quote that goes on the website to say "See, an American doctor says we're doing good work." He was also trying to twist my arm for money, because everyone here is convinced that all American doctors are made of it. I don't think they quite grasp that medical students and residents don't automatically have attending income. Nevertheless, once I get some photos, I'll post them and maybe ask the ENTs out there about some equipment donations.

Aside from being an interesting peek into how special-needs kids get educated in India (decently well -- they understand mainstreaming and setting high expectations, even if the facilities aren't as shiny as ours), it was also an opportunity to experience public transit. To me, paying Rs 100 for an autorickshaw is not a big deal -- that's about $2.50 for a half-hour cab ride. For him, it's of course expensive. So, I got sent back home by public bus. If you're not a native, it's pretty hard to figure out bus routes -- this is the entirety of the available route map, and I can tell you they do NOT go in a straight line. However, once you know your route, it's not a bad experience -- a bit more close quarters than US buses, but at fares between Rs 4 and Rs 10, an incredible bargain. You basically just tell the conductor where you're going and hand him a 10, and he hands you back some change and a little paper ticket. If you're lucky, he gets your attention when it's your stop. Getting on and off is a bit more interesting -- "bus stop" is kind of a euphemism here. They don't stop, they just slow to a crawl. It's your job to get a bit of a running start, grab the stairwell, and jump on (or hop off and absorb the sudden deceleration). There's a bit more kindness shown if some old lady is getting on/off, but men and boys are expected to fight for it.

Sunday morning was an expedition to the Salar Jung Museum, with further bus routing thanks to a bit of a tip from my host's driver. Salar Jung is, in brief, the knick-knacks (ranging from dolls to model trains to incredible works of art to utter extravagances like a coach made of ivory) accumulated by one of the last royal rulers of Hyderabad. Sadly, it is also photography strictly prohibited, with guards in every room to enforce that. (On the bright side, it is also orderly and trash-free.) It took a couple hours just to glance at everything -- anything resembling an in-depth look would take days. It gives you a sense for the level of insane wealth the ruling class had back then. (Maybe still does -- don't ask me what's in the house of a Tata or a Mittal.)

The plan for Sunday afternoon was to try to find a sample of haleem, a local Muslim dish that's largely a porridge of lamb and wheat (with a lot of butter). It's commonly eaten during Ramadan, since it's a good way to get a day's calories in a single serving. I spent a whole lot of time in two different areas of the city trying to find the places that are allegedly good at it, but had zero luck and ended up going home empty-handed (although not empty-bellied, thanks to the ready availability of biscuits and tea).

Sunday evening, we'd originally planned to get the research group together and go see a Hindi movie. That changed Saturday afternoon, when Dr. Reddy informed us that we'd all been invited to a sangeet. Basically, it's a pre-wedding party, and it happened to be held on some land belong to Dr. Reddy's wife, hence the invite. It turned out to be the second wedding ceremony of a pair of Indian expats living in London, and furthermore, the groom's a doctor. Net result meant that the place was crawling with docs and folks who spoke English as a native language, as well as with waiters serving highly tasty kebabs and other appetizers. We didn't stay long enough for the whole-crowd dancing to kick off, sadly, but we did get a good meal and a good show out of it. I do have pictures of this, which I'll post as part of a future general-pictures update.

As a cap-off to the night, the buffet at this sangeet happened to include (surprisingly) haleem! So, I actually did end up trying it, or at least the version produced by the Hyderabad House chain of restaurants. The verdict is "meh". It's sort of a very rich oatmeal. I'm more familiar with the version my mom has made before, called harees, and IMHO that's much tastier. Still glad I got to try it, though.

Next stop, Rajasthan!