Ramoji Film City

I arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday morning and decided that my first activity would be a tour of Ramoji Film City, the headquarters of the Telugu (the primary language of the state of Andhra Pradesh of which Hyderabad is the capital city) film industry. Although Bollywood (Hindi cinema) is obviously the most famous film industry in India, most states have their own regional cinemas and since people can’t really tour Bollywood, I figured that Ramoji Film City would be the next best thing.

After the hour long drive out to the Film City, the tour started off with everyone (me and Indian tourists) taking a bus tour of the outdoor sets and gardens in the complex. The tour was mostly not in English (I’m not sure if it was in Hindi or Telugu…), but I did pick out keys words like “Shah Rukh Khan” and during one explanation in English, I did learn about a garden where the flowers are changed to match the color of the sari that the heroine wears in the scene, however since women don’t wear saris much in Indian cinema anymore (so sad), the garden is just green with no flowers. This tour was kind of fun, but became kind of absurd because we had to transfer to 4 different buses (bus driver employment program?).

As I wandered around some of the complex designed for tourists, I was kind of disappointed because there was English music playing and I saw statues of Spiderman, Superman, Charlie Chaplin,  and Arnold Schwarzenegger from Terminator, it was obviously not very Indian. I also had just seen a ‘Wild West’ stunt show. Then I went on this ride that was a total Small World rip off, but it was kind of funny because, for some reason, along with Paris, London, New York, and other international cities, they had a Switzerland section with penguins! (and if that wasn’t weird enough they were the size of the mountain goats) and an Oklahoma section (I’ve always though of Oklahoma and London as very similar). The next activity was fun, a scene from the very famous Hindi movie, Sholay, was recreated using audience volunteers. I went on a couple rides (nothing more exciting that you’d find at an American county fair) and went to a dance performance. I got really pumped for the dance performance because they were playing a Hindi song that I knew because the curtain went up, but then most of the dance numbers turned out to be non-Indian, including one to Cotton Eyed Joe that went on for way too long. After the dance performance, I was greeted by a bunch of enthusiastic Indian college boys who, after asking where I was from, started chanting Obama’s name. The last performance that I went to turned out to be a lame juggling show (almost as bad as Laser Vaudeville) aimed at kids and including a remix of Camptown Races that sounded like it had been mixed with We Like to Party by a crack addict. The day at the Film City ended and I went back to the bus. I realize that my account probably makes the day sound kind of terrible, but I enjoyed it for the most part and I just figure that I’m seeing another dimension of India.

Today, I visited the Andhra Pradesh Forest Academy and met with a woman who one of my professors had put me in contact with. I learned a little about resource management programs around Andhra Pradesh and some medicinal plants found in the state.

Tomorrow, I do a breakneck tour of the historical monuments of Hyderabad before catching my night train to a city called Tirupati, south of Hyderabad, also in Andhra Pradesh.

It’s Hard to Leave Hampi (aka Happy in Hampi)

I realized that I did a rubbish (is it obvious that I’ve been a lot of Brits?) job describing anything in my previous post and will embellish, especially since I am still in Hampi.

Like I said before, the area is beautiful and I’ve met some nice kids here. I’ve been bouldering for the past three days and yesterday was kind of neat when I realized that everyone I was climbing with was from a different country (represented where Canada, Mexico, England, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy).  Most of the people I’ve been meeting are at least a couple years out of college and are either trying to figure out what they want do with their lives so are traveling for a few months/a year or they’re people really into climbing and take their vacation time to go to different countries and climb.

I’m staying at this cool guest house that’s surround by a rice paddy on three sides. Outside of the room where I’m on the internet is a mango tree! With green mangoes that tease me because they won’t be ripe for another month. The room I’m staying at is decent (with a mosquito net, quite a few of those around) and is a little more than $4 a night. I’ve been eating most of my meals also at this guest house because they have delicious food. They have low tables with old mattresses around them so in the evenings everyone just sits around and eat and talks and plays chess (I played my first game in like 5 years and won!) or cards or reads or plays guitar (I’ve almost learned Stand By Me which is easy but cool to me). I plan to leave tomorrow for Hyderabad. So much to see in India.

Among the rice paddies

I am writing from a a funky backpacker hotel in the small town of Hampi in the state of Karnataka. I arrived on Tuesday morning and rented a bike and explored the ruins of an empire that ended about 500 years ago that are scattered around the hillsides. The landscape is incredible and I instantly fell in love with the area. The area is full of hills with lots of orange/red boulders and in the valleys there are fields of rice paddy and bananas (and a few other smaller crops). Yesterday, I met some kids staying on the other side of the river from where I was staying and went climbing on boulders with them. Today, I moved over to the other side of the river, did some bouldering, and some exploration.

Week in Bangalore

I have spent the past week in Bangalore. I’ve found Bangalore different from all the other Indian cities and towns I’ve been in so far. It’s been noted that Bangalore is a city that grew too fast (because of the IT boom) and that is evident from both the dreadful traffic, the constant construction, and the multitude of office buildings for many US companies. I’ve enjoyed little things here like seeing what Indian malls and grocery stores are like (I haven’t seen malls in most of the other places).

Other highlights include:

- The ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Conscienous) temple – A relatively modern temple, which was interesting not because it was particularly beautiful, but because of how commercial it was. As they heard you through the temple, there are ample opportunities to buy things (books, cds, vegetarian food, paintings/figures of Krishna). Also, there was one point where I was instructed to put my hand on some flowers and telling a priest (I am uncertain of the correct term here) the names of my family members so he could bless them and when I said Timothy, Margaret and Catherine he looked at me like I was speaking in tongues. I also saw a 20 minute animated feature about how Krishna defeated some serpant (if you’re interested, just youtube ‘Little Krishna’).

- Trying to make Mexican food with they guys from IBM. We actually found beef at a butchers shop, which I felt kind of bad about.  

- Doing some ridiculous things that I would probably  never do in the States because it’d be too expensive. For example, on Friday, I went go-carting for the first time which was like being hooked up to a lawn motor. On Saturday, I met up with one of the girls I met on the weekend trip to Kerala, Liza, and we went to a ‘fish spa,” which is a spa where they have fish that eat the dead skin off your feet and make them nice and smooth.

 

Today (Sunday), I am leaving for the town of Mysore (the red dot on the map of southern India). After a few days in Mysore, I plan on going up to Hampi (the purple dot on the map) before heading to Hyderabad in the state Andhra Pradesh. I hope to keep you all posted on those adventures as well.

 

Response to comments:

- Bangalore is much different from Kolkata, for example: Bangalore has more chain stores, malls, and air conditioned shops; the traffic is much worse as more people have cars or drivers; there seems to be fewer people sleeping on the sidewalks or along the road sides; I haven’t noticed as many temples and small shrines (although this may because Bangalore has sizable Muslim and Christian populations); and fewer animals on the roads. These observations are not comprehensive and it probably varies a lot from neighborhood to neighborhood.

- My sari – The green silk sari that I bought in Kolkata I mailed back to the US. Let’s hope it gets there.

- Temperature – The temperature in Bangalore is quite pleasant because it’s at a higher elevation.

- Feeling like a celebrity – Given the number of photos I’ve taken with random people and the number of handshakes I’ve had with strangers I really do feel like celebrity. It’s really odd because parents frequently urge their children to shake my hand.

 

Weekend Trip to Kerala

Last Thursday, I flew (the plane ticket was a big indulgence) from Kolkata to Bangalore, in southern India. I decided to visit Bangalore because when I went to Agra I made friends with a bunch of guys who are staying for several months in Bangalore working for IBM. I also intend to spend about the next month traveling around southern India and for your conveinence I’m posting a (very basic) map of the south.

One of the guys in Bangalore invited me on a trip with 11 (3 women and 8 men) of his IBM colleagues to the state of Kerala for the weekend so I was only in Bangalore a couple hours before meeting up with everyone at a small bus they had hired for the weekend. The bus drove through the night and I awoke Friday morning to a flat tire (luckily we had a spare tire) which gave me a chance to walk around and admire the coconut trees that grow everywhere.   

Friday highlights:

- Eating breakfast on a banana leaf. Meals in the south are traditionally served on banana leaves and are eaten with your right hand.

- Passing through a national park and driving into the mountains (the Western Ghats). Once in the mountains, the hillsides became dominated by tea plantations. The plantations were lush and green and looked beautiful.

The view for miles around Munnar

- Arriving in the mountain town of Munnar (the blue dot on the south India map) and visiting a bunch of little shops that sell tea and spices (especially delicious smelling cardamom).

Saturday highlights:

- The views of the surrounding mountains and valleys in the area.

This photo of the entire group was taken at one particularly nice vantage point.

- Snacking on tropical fruits and other fresh produce.  At every little stop there were vendors with tables full of whatever produce was in season. I had guava (Indians like to eat their fruits with spice too), passion fruit, a few fruits that I don’t remember the names of, carrots, sometime of pepper deep fried in batter, and freshly roasted cashews.

- Blasting Hindi music (largely from Shahrukh Khan films) and dancing on the bus. Apparently a moving bus is not a good place to learn dance moves.

We spent most of the day in the mountains before making our way west to the coastal city of Cochin (Kochi (about every Indian city has renamed/changed the spelling of itself, ex: Bombay to Mumbai, in the past 20 years so it’s kind of confusing) the yellow dot on the map).

Sunday highlights:

- Walking around historic Cochin and being surrounded by a cruise ship full of German tourists.

We left Cochin in the afternoon and didn’t arrive back in Bangalore until late on Sunday night. I’ve been spending time exploring Bangalore all this week and my next post will be on Bangalore.

Kali Puja and Photos

I wasn’t planning on updating so soon after my last post, but last night was a real adventure and I wanted to share it with you all, but first I’m posting a few more photos.

I took this photo from a cycle rickshaw in Varanasi. I think it accurately captures the busy Indian streets.

I took a boat ride in the morning in Varanasi along the ghats (like staircases down to the river Ganga (Ganges) used for bathing, washing, prayer, etc)

The view from my hotel rooftop in Darjeeling

In Puri, the fishermen getting heading out for the day

India is full of little shops like these two with ads everywhere and bags of chips and single units of various items hanging from the ceiling

In exchange for a picture of me, I asked this Indian family for a photo. I think it shows how most Indians I've encountered dress.

Dance off! Jyoti's on the right and Poonam's on the left. The songs they danced to are Radha Kaise Na Jale from Lagaan and Barso Re from Guru. I recommend looking up both the songs if you're interested in Hindi film music.

Kali Puja Adventure

*Note: Not being an expert in either Hinduism or Bengali tradition, I apologize if I give you incorrect information in this story*

So last night was the culmination of Kali Puja, a two day celebration of the goddess Kali, who is popular in Bengal. Leading up to Kali Puja, neighborhoods collect money to build pandals, or tented structures (of varying height and elegance), to house statues of Kali. The statues are kept their for three nights (I think) and on the last night they are brought to the river (which the Pradhans and others call Ganga, but my guidebook tells me is not the Ganga River) and submerged. The statues are made from clay so the next year when the sculptures build statues it is assumed they are taking part of last years statues. Kali is a fierce goddess and below is a picture of here I found via Google.

So around 10pm last night, I went outside to the Pradhan’s small neighborhood pandal with Kali. The married women of the neighborhood circled the statue and performed some rituals like sprinkling water and blowing a conch shell (I hear the sound of conch shells all the time and this is done during puja (worship) because Krishna blew a conch shell before and after a great battle). After this, some of the men carried the statue to a small truck that the neighborhood funds had rented. The children, women and a couple men piled into the flatbed of this small truck and we headed toward the nearest ghat on the Ganga (see earlier note about this river). Being almost a head taller than everyone else, I really stood out and as we drove through other neighborhoods busy either preparing their own statues or dancing to loud music or celebrating with loud fireworks, a lot of people waved to me. One of the older women on the truck (who I was told had a bit too much to drink) grabbed my hand and started dancing with me when we passed a group of men playing drums and simple trumpet looking instruments. The truck moved slowly as there was a procession of different sized trucks carrying different sized statues to the ghat. Some people also carted their statues on bicycle drawn carts. We had to get out and walk the statue to the river at one point because the areas largest Kali statue was too big to fit under one crossing point (this caused quite a traffic jam). The men in the group took the statue to the river and we all climbed back in the truck and fairly quickly traveled back to the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun.

Scenes from the Kolkata Tram

Ever since I discovered that I could take the tram from my neighbor to the Pradhan’s neighborhood, I’ve been a big fan. The tram is old and was built by the British and most people joke that it hasn’t changed much except a coat of paint since then. I’m a huge fan (along with others) because it costs very little (it costs me about a dime, which is 1/10 to 1/20th what those lousy cab drivers charge me). I board the tram at the bus station (near my hotel) and the tram then passes through Kolkata’s big park. In the park there are animals (mainly horses from the Kolkata mounted police squad and goats (many with markings so the owners can tell whose goats are whose) grazing) and, of course, boys/men playing cricket (and some playing soccer). Moving past the park the tram goes under some underpasses. There are quite a few families living under these bridges. Many have molded the clay under the bridges to form boundaries for their living spaces. Passing by this place smells like urine and I’m surprised the people can sleep because of all the noise. Moving on is the Kitterpore neighborhood with lots of shops and people always on the streets. The walls are plastered with posters from the latest Bollywood and Bengali movies and for the past week with messages from the Kolkata police to only light legal fireworks on Diwali. Last night was Kali Puja (a day of worship for the goddess Kali) and as I sat on the tram, I saw many trucks drive by filled with people carrying statues of the goddess Kali. Some were followed by processions of people playing drums and singing. I wish I had gotten a picture, but no luck.

Diwali was ok (probably would have been better if I had celebrated it with Pepsico). We didn’t do much during the day and at night I was semi involved in a sort of prayer ceremony at a special shrine that the Pradhans built  in their house. I dressed up in a recently purchased sari (dark green, silk) and we went outside and lit some fireworks (that would definitely be illegal by US standards). Some Hindi music (including Jai Ho) was blasting from a couple of streets over.

Glad you all enjoyed the photos and I’ll answer comments/questions and try to post some more next time.

Photos

I have finally managed to upload some photos, thus hoping to prove that I am actually in India and haven’t been making up elaborate stories.

Me at the Taj Mahal...kind of like Princess Diana

A train station, aka a place where I spend a lot of time

The Pradhans, minus the patriarch

At the temple of Konark with an Indian family who wanted to take a picture with me in my salwar kameez

Highlights (and lowlights) of my visit to Orissa

I’m back in Kolkata where I will stay until after Diwali (which I am celebrating with the Indian family featured in my earlier post, the Pradhans).  Here are some highlights of my trip to Orissa:

1. Day trip to the sun temple at Konark with absolutely beautiful carvings.

2. Being squeezed onto a 20-25 person capacity bus with at least 50 Indians.

3. Watching some guys play cricket on the beach in the evening and then asking if I’d like to take a swing. I don’t know if the term “struck-out” applies to cricket, but that’s what I did. Strike one- for America. Strike two- for women. Strike three- for me, so unfortunate.

4. Getting an English language newspaper (the Orissa regional edition of the Indian Express) at my hotel in Puri. I learned all about how the prices of onions and dal are skyrocketing. I’m also including some highlights:

- Apparently there’s a “North Alabama state of the US.” Who knew?

- My Saturday paper shocker with headline, “US woke up to double exhilaration with Obama’s selection for Nobel Peace and the Moon impact.” I also got full commentary about how Gandhi never won a Nobel Peace Prize and on what occations Obama has said that he admires Gandhi.

- To my mother- If your birthday’s on Oct 14 your horoscope is: “Your stars point both ways. You would like to stay close to hme yet your mood is lively and adventurous. In addition, you’ll find that travel,together with exposure to foreign cultures, will prove stimulating. So, look far afield if it’s inspriation you’re after.”

5. Upon returning to Kolkata, I got sick. I arrived on Monday morning and took a cab to the Pradhan’s house because we decided that I would stay at a hotel near their house on my return to Kolkata. So they took me to the guest house because I told them that I needed sleep and upon arriving I was told that I’d check in later in evening. I napped until around 5 when I tried to go check in and was informed that actually foreigners can’t stay at that guest house or many in that area. So Preeti and her dad came and got me and Preeti and I took a person drawn rickshaw back to her house where upon arriving I finally threw up. I felt quite a bit better after that and ended up sleeping at the Pradhan’s house for the night.

 

Next update will include photos of some of my earlier adventures.

 

Quick response to comment:

- I’m extremely impressed by the fact that there’s a Little House on the Prarie Musical! That’s amazing!

“Come Tomorrow Didi, Come!”

Notice: This entry is long. I am channeling Tolstoy.

Getting to Kolkata was a bit frustrating. The trains were all booked up (not too surprising since I wanted a same day ticket) so I headed to the bus station and got one of the last seats on a non-air conditioned government bus to Kolkata (a 12hr ride). While I was waiting as the bus station, two young girls approached me and asked me something in Hindi. I communicated that I didn’t understand and speak English. They walked back over to where there family was sitting and came back a minute later to ask me my name in English. I asked them their names. And they made several trips back and forth to ask me questions since someone in their family was telling them the English for their questions. After a little while they waved me over to sit with them and I was introduced to the family translator, a girl named Preeti. She told me that their family is from Kalimpong, but lives in Kolkata and said that I should visit them in Kolkata. She gave me her address and mobile number and then their family left to go on another bus. The younger girls said, “call us, Didi (which one calls an older sister)” as we parted. On my first day in Kolkata, I called the number and ended up speaking to Preeti’s father and had a somewhat confusing conversation with him about when I should visit so things were left uncertain for me.

On Sunday (the next day), I decided I would try to visit. I took a taxi to the main road near their house and was even more uncertain because the address was confusing and their phone was turned off. As soon as I got out of the taxi, I attracted a lot of attention because I was in a neighborhood that does not see a lot of foreign tourists. Luckily, a group of men soon made it their mission to find this address for me. I was lead down different streets and people started discussing where this house was and if any of the neighbor’s knew any women named Preeti. After maybe 10-15, we met Preeti’s grandmother who led me to the family’s small, three roomed house. As soon as I got there the girls shouted, ‘Didi!’ and I took off my shoes and was dragged into their house.

The family consists of a mother and father, 5 girls (Preeti the eldest (I think she’s 18-19), then Priya (16ish), Poonam (12ish), Jyoti (10ish), and Nikita (who is a cousin to the other girls, she’s 8) and 1 boy (Adi who is 3-4) (The girls have another brother, but he lives in a hostel at his school).  Preeti and the father are the only ones who know much English as the girls learn Hindi and Bengali in school.

 

Sunday Highlights

After arriving, I played some games with the girls and Priya and Preeti did henna on my hands. The girls laughed and told me because of the deep color, my husband will love me very much (this is good to know). Preeti and Priya took me with them to temple and we bought some sweets. I left around 9 in the evening with all of the girls saying, ‘come tomorrow didi, come.’

 

Monday

The father, Preeti, Priya, Adi and I walked to the zoo. The zoo had mainly animals from India and was kind of interesting. Afterward we took a taxi, then a boat, then a cycle rickshaw to the botanical gardens and saw the world’s largest banyan tree. We returned to the house and Jyoti and Poonam showed me some of their dance moves and we agreed that I would judge them again and award the winner chocolate.

 

Tuesday

During the heat of the afternoon, we often lounge around and watch tv. Sometimes Hindi serials, sometimes Hindi movies (I saw parts of Raja Hindustani and Hum Aapke Hain Koun (both of which I’ve seen before)), Hannah Montana dubbed in Hindi and lots of music videos both in HIndi and Bengali. Around 5, I left with Preeti, Priya, Poonam and Jyoti and their father to visit their uncle’s house in another neighborhood in Kolkata. Poonam held my hand the entire trip (walk, bus ride,walking again). Their uncle’s neighborhood is near a big industrial storage area and is not so nice. However the house is nice and the family is so kind. I was led to one of Priya’s friend’s house and given samosas and like 20 women crowded into the house to see me. I had dinner at the uncle’s house and amused the girls (these families have a lot of girls) by watching their dancing, dancing myself, singing some English songs and singing bits of Hindi songs I know (I think I sang Pardesi Pardesi five or six times that day). (The girls are also big fans of Shahrukh Khan, but then again how can you not be?)

 

Wednesday

DANCE OFF! Poonam and Jyoti got dressed up and we had the final round of dancing. As promised, the winner got chocolate, but so did the runner up and the rest of the family. I was also dressed up in a sari. In the evening, I took an overnight train to Puri in the state of Orissa (south of Kolkata. The orange state on the map I did my route on in Paint). I plan to stay a few days and then promised the family that I would return to Kolkata to celebrate Diwali with them.  

 

Comment Response Time:

- Keeping up the News: I check the news a little when I use the internet and sometimes I see the news in Hindi and the family’s house. I am planning further travels with the heavy rains in the south in mind.

- Puppies and beer gardens: Sounds like a good outing for the puppies. I agree that everyone should shower them with attention.

- New clothes: My salwaar kameez is beautiful, it’s light blue top with a yellow cream pant. However, my foolishness resulted me splashing in a mud puddle and now I think my next salwaar suit should have a brown pant.

- Living out of a Backpack: So far not too bad, but I plan to do some desperately needed laundry today.

- LSAT over: HOORAY!

- Accomendations: Sometimes they’re ncie, sometimes not so nice. I have paid more $12 a night. In Kolkata, I was staying in a cage like room for less than $2 a night, but Puri, I’m staying at this pretty hotel with lots of flowers, a rooftop restaurant and a mosquito next for an extravagent $5.50 a night.

- Planning: Before leaving for India, I did a lot of reading about places I would like to see and came up with a tentative itinerary. The flexibility has been very nice because I hadn’t planned to go to Darjeeling and Kalimpong and am very glad I did. I’ve had no problem showing up at hotels and getting rooms (hooray for traveling in the off season). Also, there is bad flooding in parts of southern India so my flexible schedule will allow for me to avoid that.

- Rachel Ray: Are you watching to check out our Food Network prime time competition?