Hyderabad Dreams

In Hyderabad, my stomach caught on fire and Jeff grew ten heads. 

Jeff as Ravana, the evil 10-headed monster from Ramayana

The minute I had saag paneer (spinach with cottage cheese) during my first dinner in India with Sudhir and Jeff, I immediately felt a blaze running through my esophagus down to my stomach. It’s been like that ever since then. Even our morning omelet is done masala style. I'm pretty sure both Jeff’s and my stomachs are wondering why we're doing this to them.

Jeff’s head multiplied because he had to dress as the 10-headed monster Ravana from Ramayana for this treasure hunt he participated in. He was part of a group that had used the ancient Hindu myth as their main costume theme. The treasure hunt marked the beginning of a series of social activities that we participated in this past weekend. Sudhir and Radhika are involved in this organization which does charity work for Hyderabad and its surroundings areas. They were having their annual gathering this past weekend. Sudhir arranged for us to go along for the ride. 

  

There was a formal event in the evening, and the women had agreed to wear their sarees for the occasion. Nalani, one of the coordinators, decided to lend me a sari that I could wear so I could comply with the dress code. Wearing a saree is surprisingly comfortable! As long as I can pee wearing it, I have no complaints!

The formal event was followed by a crazy 4 hour dance party that lasted from 12midnight-4AM.  I skipped that part because I didn't feel I was up for it. I wanted to slip into my pajamas and chillax in front of the TV. Sudhir and Radhika called me from the party to see if they could convince me to join them. I definitely regretted not going...I mean, when else could I have danced bhangra with a room of 60 Indians for 4 hours non-stop? 

One thing I learned from Jeff, who's been here since last week, is to keep my questions to a minimum. We fully trust the Nairs in their role as our hosts in Hyderabad. All we need to know is what time we have to be ready.  And then we go from there. We eat whatever is offered to us (which so far has been absolutely delicious, bursting with flavor), and we do whatever they plan for us to do.

With some gorgeous ladies in their gorgeous sarees

It's been such an amazing summer trip so far! One night I'd be having a Chinese dinner with my aunt and cousins at the heart of Orchard Road in Singapore, and fast forward to a few nights later, I was walking in a resort somewhere in the outskirts of Hyderabad wearing a sari with Radhika and her adorable son Arjun. The speed of travel access that we have to all these locations around the globe is mind-blasting!

This evening, the Nairs are taking us out for dinner and a movie. We'll be having dinner at the best place in town for Hyderabadi Biryani. The Bollywood movie we'll be watching is a new one titled "Delhi Belly", which apparently is a crude, crass movie with lots of curse words, and only lasts for 90 minutes (no intermission) compared to the standard Bollywood movie duration of 3 hours. 

I'm truly blessed with wonderful friends who have been the most amazing hosts to us firangis (foreigners) here in India:)  

I noticed how I've used all sorts of superlatives in this particular blog entry. What can I say? Experiences in India can only be described in superlatives!! (and lots of exclamation marks:)).