Hyderabad Photo Blog

LPG cyclinders

2008-02-04T00:11:00.001-08:00

LPG cylinders being delivered in an autorickshaw. Cylinders from different companies have different colors. Some are red, some are blue, and these are red-blue-yellow. Most households use LPG cylinders for cooking. In Mumbai they deliver gas through pipes. There always seems to be a shortage of gas cylinders and sometimes it can take many days before a replacement arrives, so many families have two cylinders. To get a cylinder you have to be registered with an LPG cylinder dealer. To register you need to produce a ration card which acts as a proof of residence (even if you are not buying anything on the ration card. Things such as rice and kerosene are available at cheaper rates on ration card.) I am not quite sure how people who come to the city on a short duration of a few months manage because they would first have to obtain a ration card. Now-a-days many autorickshaws run on LPG. I have heard that the people who deliver the LPG cylinders make money by selling the cylinders to the autorickshaw drivers for some extra money, and they tell the dealer (for whom they are delivering) that the customer's door was locked. I have also heard that people who run out of gas for cooking, bribe the LPG delivery guys and get a cylinder from them. I am not quite sure how the delivery guys exchange the empty cylinder they bring back to the dealer. There are LPG filling stations for the autorickshaws but they are not enough to fulfill the demand. Just like petrol prices, the prices of LPG cylinders is a sensitive issue in politics and usually prices don't go up till the elections.

The autorickshaw delivering the cylinders is made by Piaggio. The Italian company, which makes the world-famous Vespa scooters, will once again be introducing Vespa scooters in India.

For the language buffs - it says "Bharatgas" on the cylinders. The word "Bharat" is the official name of India in Hindi, Sanskrit and Marathi languages. The name in other Indian languages is a close variation of this word.

"Natural gas is hemispheric. I like to call it hemispehric in nature because it is a product that we can find in our neighborhoods." -George W. Bush

A Head Above The Rest

2008-01-31T16:53:00.000-08:00

I saw these characters attracting attention at the opening of this bakery. I don't recognize the characters. This is the first time I have seen these for the opening of a new shop. The man on the chair is preparing for the opening by hanging garlands of fresh flowers. Now-a-days I have seen the sidewalks have various patterns formed by cement blocks of two or more colors. Traditionally sidewalks (footpaths) are lined with stone slabs, but in some places, especially in front of shops, they use these two-tone interlocking cement blocks, which are easy to remove and replace during repair work.

Many of these bakeries don't bake their breads and biscuits, but rather are supplied by people who make it somewhere else. Sometimes you see these baked goods being carried on a bicycle to such bakeries. The goods are not even covered and are open to dust and flies. But once inside a nice-looking display case, it is difficult to imagine how it got there. Some of these bakeries bake their own pizza though.

"Nothing seems to please a fly so much as to be taken for a currant; and if it can be baked in a cake and palmed off on the unwary, it dies happy." -Mark Twain

9999 Bottles Of Beer On The Wall

2008-01-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

The walls of this house are lined with beer bottles! The top narrow part of the bottle has been removed, and only the bottom cylindrical part has been used. I tried to take a closer photo (below) but unfortunately my photography skills are rather poor and I have not been able to get a shot good enough where you can see the bottles clearly. (I could see the bottles by zooming in using Windows Picture Viewer.) I stood across the house on the other side of the street and took the photo. I did not have much time to take the photo and I was feeling pressured because there was a "no paking" sign from where I was taking the photo and there were guards standing there because it is the house of the Chief Justice.

I thought of the title "9999 bottles of beer on the wall" based on the song 99 bottles of beer on the wall, and later while looking at the magnified picture of the house, I saw it has the number "99" on both sides of the gate!! I wonder if the owner knows the song! In front of the gate a rangoli drawing can be seen. Rangoli drawings can be seen in front of most houses, if not in front of the gate, then inside the gate in the yard, and are usually made by the maid servants when they sweep the yard and sprinkle it with water in the morning, but sometimes female members of the family which resides in the house also make the drawings.

The British beer company Cobra Beer was created by a Hyderabadi called Karan Billimoria. Cobra Beer is setting up plants in India now.

Have you ever had Indian beer?

"I was court-ordered to Alcoholics Anonymous on television. Pretty much blows the hell out of the second A, wouldn't you say?" -Paula Poundstone

Desert Coolers

2008-01-26T05:46:00.000-08:00

These desert coolers are on display on a sidewalk in front of an appliance store. Summer is fast approaching and it will be pretty hot soon. These desert coolers are very noisy but they are supposed to cool the room like an air conditioner. Because they are noisy and take up space, they are placed in a balcony, or outside a window. They are also called Nagpur desert coolers because they are very common in the central Indian city of Nagpur where the temperature is usually over 40C (104F) during summers. Here as well the average maximum temperature during summer has increased to 40C - 43C , so perhaps some people prefer these desert coolers, not to mention that these are significantly cheaper compared to an air conditioner. There are other kinds of coolers which look nicer but they don't cool as much as these, although they have a pretty good air throw. On three sides of the cooler there are "curtains" or "filters" made of grass. Sometimes a kind of fragrant dried grass called khus is used which gives a nice sweet smell to the air coming out of the coolers.

In the background there is a white car called "Ambassador". It is a very popular car sold in India since 1957 and is based on the Morris Oxford Series III. Many government officials still user/prefer this car. The ex-Chief Minister of this state has what is called as "Z-plus" class security, and wherever he went there were five exactly identical white Ambassadors accompanying him. They all had the same number plates. His car was bullet and mine-proof. Today, I saw the Republic Day parade in Delhi on the TV and many of the ministers were shown getting down from cars which looked similar to the one in the picture. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.

Also in the background is a signboard which says "Ladies Tailors". This particular building has several tailor shops. Even though the city is flooded with ready made clothes shops in the recent years, there are still quite a few tailors around. Another sign is that of the Korean company Samsung, which sells appliances, TVs, cell phones and computers here. Other Korean companies which are doing very good business here are Hyundai and LG.

Language buffs may find it interesting to know that Samsung means "tristar" (sam = three, sung = star) and Hyundai means "modern" in Korean. They are phonetically similar to the Chinese words san (three), xing/shing (star) and xiandai (modern).

"How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?" -Unknown

I was given the "You Made My Day" award by bc.
I have given the "You Made My Day" award to Neva, sam, zakscloset, ash, nihal, weboj, jules, sandy, fenix, and bc. Please pass on the award to 10 people whose blog makes your day. You may receive multiple awards.

"Inauguration of Modern Lighting"

2008-01-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

Click on photo to enlarge

These banners advertise the inauguration of the "modern lighting" by an MP (Member of Parliament), an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly), and a member of the ruling party. The new street lights are on taller poles and the electric cables are underground. Sometimes you see the name of the public official who "inaugurated" a particular high-powered street light - on a plaque placed at the bottom of the pole! If I get a chance I will photograph one of those. It is the custom in India to have someone "important" inaugurate pretty much anything - a new train service (usually the railway minister or someone high in the Railways), a new plane service (the aviation minister), a new shop (local politicians or film stars) and so on. It is also the custom to place photos of these important people in the newspapers when an inauguration is advertised. I just wonder how they have time to go around inaugurating these things when there is so much work to be done... Perhaps they coordinate these things with other work they have in the area - yeah, right!!

The politicians above may be fine politicians, but it is a sad fact that many MPs and MLAs are convicted criminals, especially in the North and the East, and some have cases against them for very serious and violent crimes. But I think that is a facet of democracy. It is indeed very ironic that the police who are trying to put them behind bars are forced to provide security and protection for them once they are in public office! Attempts to introduce bills to bar criminals from running for public offices have failed...

Do you have important politicians doing such inaugurations where you live?

"Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them." -Lilly Tomlin

"Politics: "Poli" a Latin word meaning "many", and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures"." -Robin Williams

"Men say I am a saint losing himself in politics. The fact is that I am a politican trying my hardest to become a saint." -Mahatma Gandhi

"Only For Indian Market"

2008-01-20T17:17:00.002-08:00

We bought this bottle of pickle from the store below. It says "Sweet Ginger Pickle". Because I like sweet stuff, I took a big dollop of it on my food and was soon gasping. It was HOT. Not hot as ginger is, but hot as chilli. I checked the ingredients: "Ginger paste, Jaggery, Edible vegetable oil, Tamarind, Salt, Chilli powder and Other spices". Now, for some reason I thought the ingredients were supposed to be listed in the order of decreasing quantity. Perhaps they did, and the chilli is extra hot - after all they haven't listed which chilli and India has many varieties of chilli including the hottest chilli in the world. Upon retrospect, the warning in red should have alerted me - "ONLY FOR INDIAN MARKET"!! However, not all Indians eat (or can eat) hot stuff! "Sweet(ness)" seems to be a relative term. This thing about degrees of hotness reminds me of my favorite Mark Twain quote below.

"In India cold weather is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy." -Mark Twain, Following the Equator

New Retail Shops

2008-01-18T16:29:00.001-08:00

New retail shops are opening up all over the city and all over India. This shop, called Reliance Fresh, is opened by the Reliance Industries. Here you get fresh vegetables and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods). The first store was opened here about a year ago and it was an instant hit because it sold good quality fresh fruits and vegetables in one place at reasonable rates. Reliance bought directly from farmers and planned to grow vegetables in its own farms. But as it started to open stores across India, it hit intense opposition in the North and East, particularly in the big but lawless state of UP, and also in West Bengal which has a communist government. Reliance stores were destroyed by angry vegetable vendors who were losing their business because of the new store. So Reliance changed its model a little and it started selling supermaket items in these places, and instead of going retail with vegetables, it is now going to sell cut vegetables and fruits on wholesale to other big supermarket stores. In some cities in India, you get cut vegetables and fruits, but not everywhere. With Reliance and other retail stores this will change now. I have read that Wal-Mart faces opposition in the US where it causes local businesses to close out, but here the opposition is very violent and destructive, and most of the time this spills into destroying public property. India is growing at an unprecedented rate and there is a large middle class emerging with good purchasing power, but if the growth is not inclusive of all elements of the society, they can cause disruptions and destruction, because afterall a large portion of the population still makes only about $2 a day! But those that have disposable income now due to the tremendous number of jobs are spending wildly. There is a pent up demand because many of the goods were not available in India before this, and now they are available and people have the purchasing power. Consumerism is here - with a vengeance! Unexpected changes are seen frequently. Due to the huge demand for housing (both owned and rented) in the cities, the land around the cities where vegetables used to be grown is being sold off. This has caused shortage of vegetables and their prices to go up sharply. Some other local and national companies have followed in the footsteps of Reliance and have opened up retail stores and they all seem to be doing very well.

As Reliance and others open retail stores across India, there would be a great demand for transport aircrafts. Right now commercial aviation is growing very rapidly in the passenger sector. Next would be the transport sector. I read somewhere that Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries had announced that their transport aircraft would be piloted by women! This would open up great opportunities for women, who are already training to be pilots. Incidentally, Mukesh Ambani is the second richest Indian at about $48 bn after Lakshmi Mittal. Mukesh's brother Anil Ambani is close behind him at about $45 bn. Their father Dhirubhai Ambani is a rags-to-riches story.

International retailers such as German retail giant Metro, the French hypermarket Carrefour and the American retain giant Wal-Mart want to open stores across India. Wal-Mart has partnered with a company called Bharti and at least for now may not be using the "Wal-Mart" name when opening their stores to avoid problems. Carrefour may partner with Reliance.

"My first rule of consumerism is never to buy anything you can't make your children carry." -Bill Bryson

"Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase." -Erma Bombeck

"I love to go shopping. I love to freak out salespeople. They ask me if they can help me, and I say, "Have you got anything I'd like?" Then they ask me what size I need, and I say, "Extra medium." -Stephen Wright

A Modern Furniture Shop

2008-01-18T02:06:00.001-08:00

A new furniture shop. This building has five floors full of all kinds of imported furniture, mostly from Southeast Asia. Many furniture shops have cropped up all over the city, but they are not all as nice as this one. As the living standard goes up, people are spending on buying new furniture and new houses. It used to be that when people bought a flat, they would take along their furniture from their old one. Then as people earned more and more, they got custom furniture made when they moved into a new house. As imported furniture started becoming available, now people are furnishing their new houses and flats with it. However, housing costs quite a lot more now as prices have gone up insanely. It costs more to buy a flat or a house than in many places in the US!!

"I used to sell furniture for a living. The trouble was, it was my own." -Les Dawson

Kites in a Tree

2008-01-15T16:51:00.000-08:00

More kites in the tree. Many kites drifted in and landed in the trees and in the yard. This tree is called a "bael" or "bel" tree. The botanical name is Aegle Marmelos and the fruits and the leaves have medicinal properties. You can see the fruits if you click on the photo.

It has started to get warm and summer is approaching fast.

Rangoli - Indian Sandpainting

2008-01-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

Click on photo to enlarge

During the festival of Sankranti, called "Pongal" in South India, you can see sandpaintings in front of houses. You see it more in lanes and bylanes, as the one above, because there is no traffic there and hence last longer.

Another Eastern tradition which has sandpaintings is that of Tibetan Buddhist monks. The mystical sandpaintings that they draw are quite colorful, complex and exquisite.

"The true work of art is but divine perfection." -Michelangelo

"The most beautiful things that we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who no longer pauses to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead ... his eyes are closed." -Albert Einstein

Loser in a kite fight

2008-01-12T16:21:00.001-08:00

This kite was seen hanging in the ixora tree. It had lost a kite fight and drifted into the tree. There are many colorful kites with various designs, some quite big that take part in the kite fights during the festival of Sankranti. The abrasive line (called "maanjaa" here) used to fly the kite is coated with crushed glass and rice glue and some dye. Two or more kites engage in a fight and the one still in the sky is the winner. Groups of people gather on the roof/terraces of buildings and shout vigorously when they win a fight. Young children run through the streets unmindful of the traffic chasing drifting kites that have lost the fight.

During this festival people have colorful Rangoli (sandpainting) in front of their houses and they make traditional dishes. For colorful pictures of sandpainting and the reel used to wind the coated line to the fly the kite, take a look at this blog.

"A certain amount of opposition is a great help to man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind. Even a head wind is better than none. No man ever worked his passage anywhere in a dead calm." -inaccurately attributed to Lewis Mumford

Tata Nano

2008-01-11T16:10:00.001-08:00

Click on photo to enlarge.

All the newspapers yesterday carried news about the new car called Nano, manufactured by a company called TATA. All the TV channels are talking about this car. It is priced at USD 2500 (plus taxes). In the newspaper headline you see the words "Rs 1-lakh" - "lakh/lac" is one hundred thousand. This is supposed to be the cheapest car in the world. There is a mood of exuberance everywhere. But there are also concerns about how this and other similar small cars will add to the already chaotic traffic in India.

Did you like the play on words - "Nano second to none"? (nanosecond & second to none)

The Tata Group is the largest Indian business group and recently Ford has agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata. Coming up with the Nano, and buying the premium British brands, Tata has caused Indians to be proud. The Tatas are a wealthy Parsi family who have contributed through many industries to the growth of India for the last 100 years and have been at the forefront of giving back to the society long before CSR (corporate social responsibility) became a buzzword in India.

The car has a 634-cc two-stroke aluminum engine which generates 33 bhp and is supposed to give 20-22 Kmpl or about 50 mpg. This ad was seen in many newspapers. Click on the photo to get a better idea of how the car looks.

"To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That's the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed." -Bernard Edmonds

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" -Robert F Kennedy

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded." -inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson

Holy Cow!

2008-01-10T14:17:00.000-08:00

Two women bring a calf door to door to get food for the calf or alms in the name of the cow. They are shouting "gou mata, gou mata". (See explanation of words below.)

Feeding the cow is considered a good thing to do. The cow has been considered sacred in India for a very long time. There are several reasons for this. In the olden days, and to some extent even today, people were dependent on the cow (like we depend on our mothers when we are young), especially in the rural areas. Cow milk is said to have medicinal properties, and so does the clarified butter (ghee) from cow milk, although vegans do not agree with it. Cow urine is also used/recommended in traiditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda). Cow dung has been used in the rural areas as fuel after drying it in the sun, or to produce biogas. Since it has insect repellant properties, it is used to line the floor and walls of rural dwellings, which usually have mud floor and mud walls. Since the cow provided all these things, it was considered sacred. I have heard that meat shops operated by Hindus do not carry beef, whereas those operated by Muslims do. Although many Indians are switching to a non-vegetarian diet in India, fast food shops such as McDonalds's do not carry beef in their menu. For that matter there are no pork products in McDonald's either because Muslims don't eat pork. Traditionally most Indians have been vegetarians, and some eat meat occasionally. But that is changing fast here and abroad. As many Indians go abroad, they eat meat there for the first time. They justify this to their family (if at all they tell them) that it is "necessary" to survive there. This, we all know is "bull" because many Indians, and an ever increasing number of Westerners do live on a vegetarian, even vegan diet. :) (Incidentally, it is the same explanation given for taking up drinking. That it is so cold abroad that it is necessary to drink alcohol. :)) I find it interesting to see that people can selectively eat whatever meat they eat and in their minds justify that, and at the same time look at others with horror/disgust/disbelief because they are eating some other kind of meat. What I mean here is that most Indians who eat meat here can't imagine eating beef (but think nothing of eating lamb or chicken, and now emu), and most Westerners who eat meat cannot imagine eating a dog or a horse. The same goes for eating or not eating certain parts of the animal. In this regard I think the Chinese and some South East Asian cultures are more practical and don't have a holier-than-thou attitude. The Chinese eat all parts of the cow and the bull including the ears, the tongue, the tail, the internal organs, the reproductive organs, and even the eyes.

Interestingly, now many experts believe that cows are causing global warming.

The Sanskrit word for "cow" is "gou". Do you notice the phonetic similarity? There are many words in English that have an Indo-European origin. In India, some people refer to the cow as "gou mata". The word "mata" (mah-tah) means "mother". The Sanskrit word is "matr", another word with phonetic similarity to the German word "mutter" and the English "mother/maternal/maternity" and the Spanish word "madre".

"Don't have a cow, man!" -Bart Simpson

"Who was the first guy who looked at a cow and said, 'I think that I'll drink whatever comes out of those things when I squeeze them' ?" -Calvin and Hobbes

"Do you know why they call it 'PMS'? Because 'Mad Cow Disease' was already taken." -Unknown

"Science is not a sacred cow. Science is a horse. Don't worship it. Feed it." -Aubrey Eben

Tibetan Buddhist Monks At The Reopening of Laserium

2008-01-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

A Deccan Chronicle Photo

Tibetan Buddhist monks pray at the Lumbini Park laserium at its reopening ceremony. The laserium was closed for four months following twin bomb blasts in Hyderabad in August 2007. The laserium shows the history of Hyderabad with lasers on a water screen.

Lumbini is the name of the place where the Buddha was born, and it is in present-day Nepal. The monks above are wearing yellow hats. The Dalai Lama, who is the spiritual and temporal head of the Tibetan people, belongs to the Yellow Hat Sect, called Gelugpa in Tibetan. Tibetan Buddhism consists of Red Hat and Yellow Hat schools, not to be confused with the red hat and yellow hat in the six de Bono hats. :) For Red Hat Linux enthusiasts, a while ago linux.com had published a April 1 piece called "Dalai Lama announced Yellow Hat Linux." :)

After the Chinese invaded and annexed Tibet, they forced the Tibetans to change their society, and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee to India. (This is depicted in the movie Kundun, for which director Martin Scorcese and writer Melissa Mathison were banned by the Chinese Government from ever entering China.) The Dalai Lama set up a government-in-exile in Dharamsala in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. (Richard Gere is a frequent visitor to Dharamsala.) Even to this day, Tibetan refugees continue to enter India. Many Tibetan refugees also live in Tibetan settlements in South India. The thing that strikes me most is how joyous and ever-smiling the Tibetan people are in spite of the hardships!! It is indeed ironic and sad that a democracy like India no longer allows anti-Chinese demonstration by Tibetans when Chinese dignitaries visit!!

"There's a certain Buddhistic calm that comes from having money in the bank." -Tom Robbins

"The Dalai Lama visited the White House and told the President that he could teach him to find a higher state of consciousness. Then after talking to Bush for a few minutes, he said, "You know what? Let's just grab lunch." " -Bill Maher

"If you have fear of pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry." -Dalai Lama

Shrine on wheels

2008-01-03T14:00:00.001-08:00

This is a shrine on wheels. These carts are pulled by a horse or a bull, or sometimes by a rickshaw. You can see a man in saffron shirt sitting on the curb. The cart belongs to him. Sorry about the picture quality, the details are not clearly visible. The image near the top of the cart is that of Sai Baba of Shirdi, a saint from the 19th century who was equally revered by the Hindus and the Moslems. His original shrine in Shirdi, Maharashtra is very popular even today. He is not to be confused with Sathya Sai Baba, who is living now and is considered by his followers to be a reincarnation of the former. Sathya Sai Baba's ashram is in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh (same state as Hyderabad). These carts go from lane to lane and collect donations. I am not sure if the donations reach the original shrines. They blare devotional songs pretty loudly, which is very annoying because of the volume.

"The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and he has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end." -Rabindranath Tagore

"Oh senseless man, who cannot possibly make a worm, and yet will make Gods by the dozen." -Michel de Montaigne

Two's company, three's a fine, and six's an accident waiting to happen

2007-12-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

Click on the photo to see a larger image.

I shot this sign at a traffic signal under a flyover. According to it, "Triple Riding" has a fine of Rs 250. It is very common to see three youngsters riding on a motorcycle, or a family of two adults and two kids, usually without a helmet. I don't quite know what "Lane Crossing" is in the sign above. I assume it means you are crossing the line at the signal, not really "lane". There is absolutely no lane discipline anywhere.

The building in the background is the Secretariat, where the state government offices are located. The other day there was quite a scare in this building as one young man was seen throwing his cell phone and three small paper bags. People who saw the man dump his cell phone ran fearing there must be a bomb somewhere as cell phone activated bombs are used in most bombings in the country. Police ran after the man and apprehended him outside and everything became clear. It turned out that three people had lost their jobs somewhere in the state and they had come to the Secretariat with some cash in paper bags in the hope of getting their jobs back. Two of them had left their paper bags with this one young man and went off for a cup of tea. The remaining young man was watching a blue film on his phone and when he saw some cops he got scared that they would catch him with it. So he dumped the cell phone and the bags along with it.

In the photo below, which a reader of the popular local newspaper Deccan Chronicle shot, not three but SIX people are riding on one motorcycle, none of them with a helmet. I wonder if there is a fine for this, or they just confiscate the license or bike....... Anyway, the fines are usually "settled" on the spot by paying a smaller amount and you don't get a receipt.

"Do you know anything on earth which has not a dangerous side if mishandled and exaggerated?" -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist

Auto Rickshaw

2007-12-27T04:49:00.003-08:00

This Times of India photo shows auto rickshaws waiting in line to get digital fare meters installed. December 31, 2007 is the last date after which they will be fined if they don't have digital meters. According to a court order this should have been done by Dec 2006! However, as things stand in India, the auto rickshaw drivers unions protested and dragged out things till now. The auto rickshaw is used by many in most Indian cities because public transport such as buses are not convenient or are too crowded. The new digital meters are supposed to be tamper proof, but some auto rickshaw drivers themselves say that they are not. Auto rickshaw drivers all over India are known for using tampered meters, charging exhorbitatnt rates. Now that they are legally forced to install digital meters, which will show not only the fare but also the distance traveled, the auto rickshaw drivers want their minimum fare and the fare per kilometre increased quite a bit!! These auto rickshaws, called 'auto' for short, are chartered to ferry school kids back and forth to school. According to law maximum 6 kids can be seated (crammed) into these autos, but it is common to see 9 or more hanging out, which has been responsible for many an accident. Policemen are stationed near the schools to fine auto drivers if they carry more than 6 kids, but the auto drivers "outsmart" the police by dropping off the excess kids a little distance away from the school. This tendency of skirting the law can be seen in pretty much all aspects of life here, but most of all in traffic rules. The autos have different color schemes in different cities. You can read a lot more details about the autos here.

A variation of the auto rickshaw is the tuk-tuk, which plies in Thailand. Some foreigners who come to India like the auto rickshaw so much that they buy one to take home! If you are the adventurous type, you may want to participate in the Indian Autorickshaw Challenge.

For language enthusiasts, as mentioned in my World Tourism Day blog entry, the word rickshaw is short from Japanese jinrikisha. jin = man, riki = power, sha = carriage.

"We cannot solve out problems with the same level of thinking that created them." -Albert Einstein

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T15:14:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings to all my online friends!

You have all enriched my life by enhancing my knowledge of the world, and by your kind and encouraging words. I am grateful for this!

Taking a break from the usual series of photos, here is a photo of a huge cake in a local bakery. The photo is from Times of India. Isn't it mouth-watering? :)

Hazardous job

2007-12-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

A young man painting poles. These poles are 30 foot or more in height. This guy was sitting on a makeshift swing. Another guy is holding the other end of the rope and lowered it bit by bit. This guy climbed up the pole with his bare hands and feet. The rope was swung over the horizontal bar that houses the lighting unit at the top of the pole. He was not wearing any gloves, helmet or eye protection. His hands and arms were covered in the silver paint he was using to paint the pole. He was using some rags instead of a brush. He dipped the rags in the can of paint and within a few seconds he was painting almost a couple of feet! It is common to see young guys painting the rapidly growing new buildings without any safety harness.
Some of the reputed builders provide their employees safety harnesses. Due to the rapid growth, all the skilled people (electricians, carpenters, plumbers) and even most unskilled people are able to find jobs easily. Some of the skilled people are able to upgrade their skills because the bigger companies that employ them use modern equipments and tools which they would not be able to learn otherwise. I am not sure if there are safety laws, but from what I have seen around, it seems that there aren't any, and even if there were, it would be extremely difficult to implement them.

"New legislation has just been adopted by the International Labor Organization on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, such as bonded labor, prostitution and hazardous work." -Carol Bellamy

"Some companies now have their own codes of conduct against the use of child labor. The problem is monitoring their implementation." -Carol Bellamy

Moving House

2007-12-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

Looks like someone is moving to another house. The auto rickshaw has "Horn Please" written on the tailgate. Most, if not all, goods transport vehicles, such as trucks, have this written on the back. On the left side you see a scooter and an auto rickshaw moving on the wrong side of the road. Increasingly, the roads have dividers now, so people have to travel to the next intersection and make a U-turn. But some people just drive on the wrong side of the road and go in the other direction endangering pedestrians (there are hardly any sidewalks), other vehicles and themselves. People do this even if there is no divider, if the distance they are traveling in the opposite direction is "short" (in their view). What we need is spikes!

"I broke my arm folding bed. It wasn't the kind that folds." -Steven Wright

"Some guy hit my fender, and I told him, 'Be fruitful and multiply,' but not in those words." -Woody Allen

'Near Misses' is not a term to unnecessarily worry about

2007-12-16T13:11:00.001-08:00

Click to view a larger image.

This message issued by the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation - the equivalent of FAA in the US) appeared in the newspapers during "Air Safety Week". Air traffic has grown considerably in Hyderabad from just a few flights a day to over 125 per day. The current airport, called Begumpet Airport, is also shared by an Air Force station. In March 2008, Hyderabad is scheduled to get a world class airport (although the road connecting to it is not going to be completed by then!!) It is a well known fact that the current infrastructure is inadequate to support such a rapid growth. As airlines continue to buy more planes, they are trying various ways to find people to fly them. One of the ways this shortage is addressed is by hiring pilots from abroad. Some of the foreign pilots from Eastern Europe, Brazil and Indonesia are rejected because they are not proficient in English. On the other hand, pilots above 60 who cannot fly in their own countries find jobs in India because the DGCA has raised the age limit to 65 because of the shortage of pilots. (Just this week the US Senate also passed the legislation to increase the mandatory retirement age to 65.) Another way this is being addressed is by reducing the required hours from 250 to 200 to qualify for the Commercial Pilot License!! You would think you need more experience to deal with increasing traffic, not less! It is common to see reports of near misses in the newspapers. You also see TV images of planes that have skidded off the runway. Every winter (which is now) you see TV reports of hundreds of domestic flights grounded at the New Delhi airport which is fogged in because most of the domestic airlines don't have pilots trained in using the Category III Instrument Landing System which is used in fog. Once in a while you read reports of one plane clipping the wings of another while taxiing. The DGCA itself has less staff as compared to 4 years ago when there were fewer airlines and fewer flights. There is dissatisfaction among Indian pilots because foreign pilots are being paid much more (you don't want a dissatisfied pilot flying your plane, do you?) Many Indian students are rushing abroad to get a license (and a disproportionate number of them are dying in accidents). After they get a commercial license, they are required to get certified here. Recently, an "examiner" who certifies them was in the news who charged a hefty amount to these students and certified them without even asking them to get into the cockpit or to take an exam! If you knew all these things are going on, would you feel reassured by reading such "informational messages"?

This site has a lot of news items about Indian aviation. To read about the safety issues, enter "safety" in the search box there.

"I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather... not screaming and yelling like all the passengers in his car." -Unknown

"Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what is dangerous." -Unknown

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"
Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

Control Tower to a 747: "United 329, your traffic is a Fokker, 1 o'clock, 3 miles, Eastbound"
United 329: "Approach, I've always wanted to say this... I've got the little Fokker in sight."

Milkman

2007-12-10T14:19:00.001-08:00

A milkman with a can of milk on a scooter. Most people buy milk in sachets from the dairies now-a-days. Milk is not sold in bottles anymore. Either someone drops the sachets door to door in the morning, or people buy it at the grocery stores. But some prefer to buy fresh from milkmen such as the one in the photo. I have even seen a guy who brings his buffaloes to his customers. One of these days I hope to get a photo of that guy. Most milk is buffalo milk, although in some places cow milk is also available for a premium. Traditional Indian Medicine (Ayurveda) prefers cow milk for its medicinal properties. The scooter is an old one based on the Italian Vespa scooter which has the engine on the right side.

"Truth, like milk, arrives in the dark
But even so, wise dogs don't bark.
Only mongrels make it hard
For the milkman to come up the yard."
- Christopher Morley, Dogs Don't Bark at the Milkman

Free Parking

2007-12-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

A Deccan Chronicle photo

If you build, they will come - and fill it up in no time! The new flyover built for solving the traffic problem is filled up as soon as it was opened for traffic! The city is trying to catch up with increased traffic by widening the streets and by building such flyovers, but with the number of new two-wheelers and new cars coming onto the streets every day you sit in traffic jams for 1-2 hours. And even if you don't sit without moving, it is common to spend 30-45 minutes to travel 6-8 km. This picture is from the popular local newspaper Deccan Chronicle.

In spite of emission tests, vehicles (especially buses) emit a lot of smoke. It is just horrible to travel on two-wheelers and in auto rickshaws as the smoke from the exhaust hits you right in the face, especially when the traffic is moving very slowly. Things are really bad for the traffic policemen who man the street crossings. They are exposed to vehicle exhaust and blaring horns. Recently, I read a news item that said the traffic cops will be provided oxygen but they have to go into police stations to get their dose. There was talk of banning air horns but it hasn't happened yet. Even if they ban, it would be one of those laws that cannot be implemented, and there are quite a few of those. In cities like Pune, women who ride two-wheelers cover their head and face with a large scarf and they wear long gloves that cover their arms to protect themselves from the exhaust and dust, but for some reason the girls here don't do so.

"Modern technology
Owes ecology
An apology" -Alan Eddison

You honkin' at me? You honkin' at me?

2007-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

A Times of India photo

Traffic slows down with buffaloes on the street. The buffalo behind the car has a rope tied to its neck, the other end of which is tied to its foot. This is to prevent him from running away. It can only move very slowly in this position. Sometimes there is a wooden log or a wooden pole attached by a rope to the neck to slow the animal down. This photo appeared in the Times of India.

"The buffalo isn't as dangerous as everyone makes him out to be. Statistics proves that in the United States more Americans are killed in automobile accidents than are killed by Buffalo." -Art Buchwald

"Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam
..." -From the Official Song of the State of Kansas

Dancing Dervishes

2007-11-29T09:26:00.000-08:00

A Times of India Photo

Whirling Dervishes perform the sema ceremony (mystical dancing) at the Taramati Biradari on a hillock near Golconda Fort last week. This photo is from the Times of India. The "biradari" is a pavillion built with Hindu and Persian architecture as a tribute to the renowned dancer Taramati in the court of Qutub Shahi kings.

"Dancing faces you towards Heaven, whichever direction you turn." -Sweetpea Tyler

"Dancers are the athletes of God." -Albert Einstein

Road Widening

2007-11-27T00:07:00.000-08:00

A building in the process of being demolished can be seen on the other side of the road, just beyond the silver SUV. All the buildings along this road have had the front parts demolished in order to make way for road widening. The guy in the blue shirt is about to cross the road. There is a road divider but he will cross it, putting himself in danger and also at the risk of causing an accident to the vehicles as they try to avoid him. There are no convenient pedestrian crossings (either zebra crossing or foot overbridges) . The road surface itself is of good quality, but a ditch can be seen where the road has not been carpeted because there is a manhole cover there.

Sorry, I have not been able to post pics nor been able to visit other DP blogs in the past week due to circumstances here. I will try to post when I can and visit when I can. Sorry about that.

“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.” -Stephen Hawking

P.S. I read that people dodge speeding vehicles in Teheran while crossing the road and that the vehicles there usually drive at much higher speeds than here. However, the author wrote that if an old person is trying to cross the road, even on a red light for the pedestrians, the vehicles respectfully stop for him to cross the road. Drivers here would do well to learn something from that.

Clock Tower

2007-11-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

This is the Secunderabad Clock Tower. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are twin cities. This tower was inaugurated in 1897.

“My cousin's gay, he went to London only to find out that Big Ben was a clock.”
-Rodney Dangerfield

“Enemy fighters at two o'clock!
Roger. What should I do until then?”
- Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

Tank on the Tank Bund

2007-11-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

An old tank captured in the 1965 Indo-Pak War is on display on the Tank Bund. The Tank Bund is a bund on the Husain Sagar lake connecting the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. I don't remember which tank it is, but perhaps it is an M48 Patton Tank. I took the photo while going past the tank.

"A day will come when a cannon will be exhibited in museums, just as instruments of torture are now, and the people will be astonished that such a thing could have been." -Victor Hugo

"In Pakistan anti-American protesters set a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on fire. The protesters mistakenly thought they were attacking high-ranking US military official Colonel Sanders." -Unknown

To pee, or not to pee, that is the question

2007-11-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Can you guess why these religious symbols are on the wall here? The first symbol from the left is an "Om", the second, of course, is a Christian Cross, the third is an Islamic Crescent Moon, and the fourth is a swastika. If you are not able to guess the reason, look for the answer in the pic below. (You will have to click on the pic below.)

It is common for men to relieve themselves against walls, so by placing these religious symbols on the walls, they want to discourage people from doing so. New public toilets have been constructed where you pay a nominal fee to use them. Now there are fines for relieving in public.

"What is the difference between the American and Indian democracies?

In America you can kiss in public but not pee;
in India you can pee in public but not kiss."

The above comparison was seen in the Times of India when there was a controversy over Richard Gere planting a kiss on an Indian actress (Shilpa Shetty - people in the UK may recognize this name) in Mumbai during an AIDS awareness program earlier this year. It was all blown out of proportion, and a judge from Rajasthan (a Western state in India) even issued an arrest warrant for Gere!! The judge was later transferred for this.

November 14 - Children's Day

2007-11-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

A Deccan Chronicle Photo

A child ragpicker lifting a huge sack. November 14, the birdthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru is celebrated as Children's Day in India. UNESCO's Universal Children's Day is on November 20. This day is filled with fun and frolic for most children, but some kids like the one above have to work every day for a living! Although the government has policies and laws against child labor, it is quite common to see kids employed in small shops. At traffic signals kids are seen begging or selling confectionery or nicknacks. Some time ago a racket came to light in which some elements of the society in collusion with unscrupulous doctors amputated kids and made them beg on streets!!

I usually see ragpickers a bit older than the above boy, but I felt very awkward taking a photo. There are some NGOs helping organize and settle the ragpickers, a majority of whom are women. Although they seem like a nuisance (they empty the dumpsters and sort through the contents and leave the garbage outside the dumpsters), according to an article I read they are actually providing a service to the city in that they help recycle things (by salvaging plastic, metal, etc and selling it), and also they are useful in some big cities where the services provided by the City are inadequate for garbage removal.

"Children's talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives." -Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." -Angela Schwindt

"Sex education may be a good idea in schools, but I don't believe the kids should be given homework." -Bill Cosby

"Childhood: the period of human life intermediate between the idiocy of infancy and the folly of youth - two removes from the sin of manhod and three from the remorse of age." -Ambrose Bierce

Dial-A-Tanker

2007-11-13T15:10:00.000-08:00

The Hyderabad Metro Water Board has set up a number to dial a tanker. It costs Rs 250 (approx USD 6) for a 5000 ltr tanker. During summer it costs more because of black market. The above tanker is probably not through this service though, because it does not display the "Dial-a-tanker" logo and number. The above tanker is providing water for the apartment complex behind it. The water supply is sometimes not enough to fill the underground sumps of the apartment complex. So people order extra water through tankers. During summer it becomes a necessity to order water through tankers. Even though you dial the number and they take your information, sometimes the tanker does not show up for more than 12-24 hours because some people just go to the place where the tankers are getting filled up and pay the driver some money and "hijack" the tanker. Even though the Water Board claims that the water is clean, it is doubtful that they actually inspect the condition of the tank or enforce any cleaning of tanks. Therefore, it is always safe to filter and boil water before using for drinking and cooking. When traveling it is always better to carry bottled water bought from a reputed or reliable shop, because even bottled water available in some shops and railway stations is said to be duplicate!! There are many such "duplicate" things including medicines as some consumer oriented TV channels keep warning their viewers. Talking about bottled water, there was news on TV which said India will be exporting mineral water from the Himalayas to the USA and other countries.

Water supply is for a few hours a day or every other day in some areas. The Chief Minister has promised a 24-hour water supply. Things were not always like this. Many years ago the city used to get water 24x7, but over the years things have deteriorated to this level.

As India and China are the most populous and most rapidly developing countries in the world, by 2015 they will be severely water stressed. The CIA predicts that water shortage will contribute to ongoing conflict in this region. This is an entirely believable scenario looking at how neighboring states fight for water within India, but more so because of unstable countries such as Pakistan, which also possesses nuclear weapons and is distributing the technology to its cronies or to those who pay for it!

"Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over." -Mark Twain

Water Pump

2007-11-12T17:51:00.001-08:00

There are water pumps like this for public use. In some places you see public taps.
The street is littered with garbage from firecrackers from the night before.

There are multi-storey (typically 4-5 floors) buildings pretty much all over the city. One of the first thing that the developer does is dig a borewell to access groundwater. After the building is finished, the residents continue to use the borewell, usually with the help of a water pump. Groundwater has been going down due to inordinate amount of construction activity. Recently rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory for all new buildings, and this replenishes the borewells to some extent.

Coca Cola is responsible for depletion of water in the southern state of Kerala causing the residents hardships, and where its plant had to be shutdown, but it is criticized for its water usage in other states and countries as well.

"When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water." -Benjamin Franklin

"In their efforts to provide a sufficiency of water where there was not one, men have resorted to every expedient from prayer to dynamite. The story of their efforts is, on the whole, one of pathos and tragedy, of a few successes and many failures"
-Walter Prescott Webb, The Great Plains

"Till taught by pain, men really know not what god water is worth." - Byron, Don Juan

Diwali - 2

2007-11-09T13:35:00.000-08:00

"Lakshmi bomb"

Today was Lakshmi Pujan (propitiation of Goddess Lakshmi). Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and today was the most important day of Diwali. People clean their houses thoroughly as it is believed that Lakshmi enters the house on this day. In the evening people do the puja (worship/propitiation). Even though it is a holiday today, the stock market is open in the evening for one hour during Mahurat Trading as trading is considered auspicious today.

There is irrational exuberance in the stock market as it (Sensex) touched a new high of 20,000 this year. On July 6, it was at 15,000 and on October 29, it reached 20,000! So many foreign institutions want a piece of the pie in the rapidly growing maket that the Government has had to try to slow down the inflow of foreign funds by placing curbs on Participatory Notes. The realty market has gone through the roof as well and people have made a lot of money. All this is reflected in the mad shopping spree.

People light firecrackers of all sorts during Diwali. There are some firecrackers named after Hindu deities, such as "Lakshmi bomb" or "Vishnu bomb". It is strange to see that people would buy these because when the firecracker blows up, the image of the god/goddess is blown to pieces with it. Only very recently some organizations have woken up to this and tried to unsuccessfully stop such images appearing on the crackers. Another strange thing seen today is that gambling, which is considered a vice, is considered "OK" by a few today and people indulge in it, especially the nouveau riche. Their justification - it is auspicious to win any amount today.

Religion has been used by mankind to discriminate, to abuse children and even to wage wars. Here we have air and noise pollution in the name of religion. There are no strict laws regarding where people can light firecrackers and fireworks. A few years ago it was legally banned to manufacture and sell crackers that produce more than 80 db sound, but papers report sale of crackers producing 120 db. The manufacturers/sellers simply print the month of manufacture so that they can pretend that they were manufactured before the law went into effect. Such loud noises cause various problems - blood pressure shoots up, irritability increases, it is not good for people with heart problems, breathing problems worsen, not to mention loss of sleep. Some people have started to buy their kids noiseless fireworks, but these still cause air pollution. Can you imagine the noise and smoke produced when millions of people light firecrackers/fireworks? Some people used to leave town to avoid these problems, but according to the newpapers this is not a solution anymore because traces of metal and other harmful chemicals can still be found in the air days later. Once in a while someone is caught employing children to make firecrackers illegally, which is yet another problem. Some enlightened people and NGOs are starting with the kids and educating them about these problems so that they can ask their parent to simply light lamps and not buy fireworks. All homes look magical when lit with a lot of lamps.

"Cleverness has limits, stupidity has none." - Unknown

Diwali

2007-11-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

A Times of India photo

Sorry I have not been able to post daily. The above photo appeared in Times of India. Diwali or Deepawali is the Festival of Lights. People hang these decorative lanterns outside their houses at the doors and in the balconies. They come in many shapes and sizes. At night they are lit up with an oil lamp or an electric bulb. Now-a-days, we get decorative lanterns from China as well.

Of the two big lanterns, the one on the right has a swastika in the middle, flanked by the Sanskrit letter "Om". The swastika is an ancient and universally positive symbol, although due to its subversion by, and association with the Nazis, it has become an objectionable symbol in the West. The swastika is usually drawn in red and can be seen on many buildings in India.

For those who like to see similarities between cultures, it is interesting to note the similarity to Christianity. In Hindu philosophy, "Om" is considered the primordial sound at the beginning of the universe. ("In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -John 1:1). Some say that another similarity is that the Swastika is like a cross.

"Let us remember .... that India was the motherland of our race, and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all." -Will Durant. The Case for India

A hole in the ground

2007-11-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

The cast iron manhole cover has been stolen as iron fetches good price in the market. Someone has removed a stone slab from the sidewalk and placed it on the hole, or rather in the hole. (The other debris is from digging up of the street for laying electric cables.) This serves as a "warning" that there is a hole in the street surface. There are many such holes, even on streets with a lot of traffic. One of the newspapers carries photos of such holes in an attempt to shame the authorities into action and it lists the number of days since the pic has appeared in the newspaper. It seems to be working and holes are being covered. The streets here have both square and round manhole covers. Most of the square ones are made of cement concrete.

The photo inadvertently came out in sepia as I tried to figure out the "manual" mode instead of the usual "auto" on my camera.

Can you think of two reasons why manhole covers are generally round?
Did you know that there is a volcano called hole-in-the-ground?
Did you know that India is the world leader in manufacturing manhole covers?

"This is the only place in the world where the pavements consist exclusively of holes with asphalt around them. And they are the most economical in the world, because holes never get out of repair." -Mark Twain

State Legislative Assembly

2007-11-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

A Deccan Chronicle photo

This photo appeared in the Deccan Chronicle, an old and popular newspaper in Hyderabad. This is the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly. Hyderabad is the seat of the state government and capital of AP, the fourth largest state in India. The building was lit up on the occasion of AP State Formation Day which was on Nov 1. The mainly Telugu-speaking state was formed on Nov 1, 1956. In spite of its religious pluralism and cultural pluralism, India was divided into states based on languages (!!) after independence from the British. To get an idea about India's amazing cultural diversity, please read this article.

Do you recognize whose statue that is?

"A man's wife has more power over him than the state has." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (attributed)

"If we moms can push 9-pound babies through our bodies, some of them with heads as big as bowling balls, surely we can push legislation through the halls of Congress." -Donna Dees-Thomases

Internet Mania

2007-10-31T17:08:00.000-07:00

An ad for an Internet Service Provider. There are several ISPs and most of them route their cables using the telephone and electric poles, adding to the unseemly jumble of cables that seems to be ubiquitous in the city now. There is intense competition and once in a while the linesmen of one ISP cut off the cables of their rival and it takes hours to fix the problem! The other time we lose Internet connectivity is when they take huge Ganesh idols for immersion.

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks." -Unknown

" Warning: the Internet may contain traces of nuts." -Unknown

"A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click. " -Unknown

" You can't take something off the Internet - it's like taking pee out of a pool." -Unknown

(The last quote is referring to the fact that websites are archived. If you are not able to find an old website, you can look for it at the WayBackMachine.)

Digging Up Everywhere

2007-10-30T15:50:00.000-07:00

This boy, who seems younger than 18, is digging with a pneumatic jack hammer. They have dug up the street to lay electric cables underground. The young guy is wearing flip-flops and no protective gear such as work boots, gloves, protective glasses, or a hard hat. The jack hammer is powered by a compressor on a tractor. The hole to the right of the tractor has been dug up for the new pole which is supposed to be used for the underground cables. Of the two poles seen, one is a telephone pole and the other one is for a high intensity street lamp which has been turned off to save on power, and they are back to the old incandescent lamp (which is on another pole!!). Obviously aesthetics is not high on the list. After the cables are in, they don't resurface the street; they just push in the dirt that was dug up and it is not quite level with the street. Shoddy work is the norm, and there is no accountability.

"No man is born into the world whose work
Is not born with him. There is always work,
And tools to work withal, for those who will;
And blessed are the horny hands of toil. " -James Lowell, A Glance behind the Curtain.

“You'll never succeed in idealizing hard work. Before you can dig mother earth you've got to take off your ideal jacket. The harder a man works, at brute labor, the thinner becomes his idealism, the darker his mind.” -D.H. Lawrence

Telephone Booth

2007-10-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Telephone booth of a different kind. This makeshift booth was set up in front of a telephone shop. You can see makeshift booths on streets displaying/selling all kinds of stuff - mobile phones, water purifiers, and so on.

The cell phone subscribers are growing at the rate of 5 million per month!! India already has 250 million cell phone users. The huge number of subscribers has caused a frequency crunch and according to the newspapers service providers are jockeying to get larger spectrums.

"Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance." -Ambrose Bierce, Devil's Dictionary

"Mobile phones are the only subject on which men boast about who's got the smallest." -Neil Kinnock

Knock, and it shall be opened to you - NOT !

2007-10-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

A huge faux door on a building of jewellers. "Gehna" means jewellery. Jewellery and precious stones business is booming. Within the last 12 months, an Indian company, Gitanjali Gems has bought one US-based company, Samuels Jewellers, and bought a majority stake in another US company, Tri-Star worldwide, continuing the global buying spree of Indian companies.

"There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel." - Bible (Proverbs 20:15)

Drive By Shopping

2007-10-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

A Deccan Chronicle Photo

Vegetable vendors right in the middle of traffic. If that is not crazy enough, take a look at the video (below) of traffic in the city. The photo is from a local newspaper and the video is from youtube.

We don't need no stinkin' drugs to get a high. Life here is a reality show and driving in traffic is one big rush. ;)

"I hooked up my accelerator pedal in my car to my brake lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and I'm gone." -Steven Wright

"If everything comes your way, you are in the wrong lane." -Bumper sticker

Top Heavy?

2007-10-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

An autorickshaw carrying of a load (of mattresses?). Bicycles, autorickshaws, scooters, buses all sharing the same road. "Mininum clearance" is not in feet, but in inches or centimeters, if at all. Almost all cars are dented or scratched. Horns blare incessantly, not only to overtake but also to let others know of their existence.

"Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams." -Mary Ellen Kelly

Flyover

2007-10-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

One of the new flyovers being built. Many flyovers have been built as a measure to reduce traffic congestion. The other measure is to widen the streets. It only worked initially but now the number of new vehicles coming on the road is so high that traffic jams are a daily problem. These flyovers don't connect to any expressways/highways. You just get onto it and fly over intersections below. That is all. But now you see traffic jams on the flyovers as well!! All kinds of vehicles on the roads (bicycles, rickshaws among cars, and 2-wheelers) and no lane discipline, as well as poor or no proper design of lanes, turnouts, islands, etc. all contribute to traffic coming to a complete standstill. In such circumstances (when traffic stops) sometimes the policeman can be seen standing on the sidelines rather than directing traffic. It is probably too overwhelming. In a study done, most of the traffic policemen were found to have suffered a permanent hearing loss due to the din of the traffic and blaring of horns.

A couple of months ago a section of a flyover collapsed after heavy rains. It was being touted as "terror proof" but came down even before its inauguration!!

"The shortest distance between two points is under construction." ~Noelie Altito

Helmet Law

2007-10-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

These guys have been stopped by the police for riding their motorbikes without a helmet. "Negotiations" are going on, and people are let off after money changes hands, and by that I don't mean that the guy pays the fine and gets a receipt. Many people ride without helmets even if they have them because it is very hot, or because they want to talk on cell phone!! The law does not require the pillion rider to wear a helmet!! Policemen wait on streets in groups to catch helmetless riders. When they see one, they waive him down. Sometimes the riders speed up instead of slowing down and are able to get away. But at other times, the policeman tries to hit the rider with his stick if he tries to speed up!! In one such incident a youngster lost his life after falling from his bike. There were several minor accidents due to this crude approach. Now the police are beginning to issue an e-ticket (called an "e-challan" here) which arrives by mail after the policeman notes down the number or gets a video. They do this for several things including driving/riding while talking on cell phone, for riding without a helmet, and more recently for driving with number plates which have fancy (difficult to read) lettering. The other day I saw a policman with a small video camera filming the number plates of vehicles at a stop light. But some people have fake licences or fake addresses, so they don't get these tickets. If they have given a fake address, they get caught when they go to renew their licences and have upaid fines. The DMV (Dept of Motor Vehicles, which is called RTA here - Road Transport Authority) is quite modern now and waiting time is said to be less than at the DMV in the US! But I keep hearing that it is still possible to get a license without taking a test (either written or driving), as long as you show up to get your picture taken, if you find a right broker.

When the helmet law was put into effect, there was a mad rush to buy helmets. But they did not have enough helmets and so they were being sold in the black market at a premium. Even in helmets there are fake ones!! There was an uproar when people got fined when enough helmets were not made available at the dealers. So they extended the deadline - several times! Only helmets that bear the ISI (Indian Standards Institute) mark are said to be genuine, although I don't know how anyone would know if the fake ones also carry that same mark....

The motto of the traffic police painted on the red pedestal reads: "For You With You All Ways" (sic)

"It is a great mystery why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets." -Unknown

No Free Parking

2007-10-23T15:42:00.001-07:00

If you are not able to view this pic, please click here.

The guy in the green shirt is a parking attendant and is carrying a small machine which prints out receipts. He is having an altercation with the guy on the left who does not want to pay because he "just went to deposit a check in the bank" (meaning did not park long enough).

If you click on the photo you can see a guy in a black t-shirt with blue lettering holding hands with a guy in black shirt. In India if you see guys holding hands, or a guy with his hand around the other guy's shoulder while walking or chatting, it does NOT necessarily mean they are gay!! Beyond them there is a kid in orange shirt riding on the gas tank of a motorbike. The guy riding the bike is carrying TWO more kids behind him, but in the photo you can see only part of the leg of the kid sitting right behind him; there is one more kid behind that kid! Needless to say it is illegal for more than two people to ride a bike but it is a common sight to see three youngsters on one bike. It is also a common sight to see people walking in the street as there are hardly any sidewalks left, but even when there are sidewalks, you can still see people walking on the street causing traffic to go around them or causing traffic to slow down. Every day a few pedestrians are injured or killed. Walking is a risky activity.

The municipal corporation has invited tenders from developers to build parking lots, but NONE have come forth so far because the land prices are exorbitant. The municipal corporation should ideally build and operate parking lots but they are more interested in selling land at exhorbitant prices.

"A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works." -Bill Vaughan

"There are two kinds of pedestrians - the quick and the dead." -Thomas Robert Dewar

"Ah... so many pedestrians, so little time...." -Robin Williams

Acronym Bazaar

2007-10-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

Do you want to learn SAS, SAP or ABAP? Or perhaps you want to get certified as a CCNA, CCNP, CCIE, or MSCE? (yes, strictly speaking the latter ones are abbreviations, not acronyms) Then you have come to the right place. On both sides of this street are numerous buildings with all kinds of computer related classes.

I hope you will excuse me for posting more than one photo today.

This building is on the main road, not on the street pictured above.

There are no strict zoning laws here which separate businesses from residential areas. So in a building like this, typically the ground floor and the first floor are set aside for offices and businesses, and the floor above for residential flats/apartments. But in this case, even the floors above have been occupied by businesses as can be seen from the sign boards. In some of the flats/apartments where there are no signboards, you can see laundry hung out to dry.

The right side of the building above. (I don't know how to "stitch" these photos together).

There are computer classes all over the city, but here there is a concentration of them. And then there are national chains (not in any of these pictures). Education is big business in India - from English and computer classes to Engineering schools, all are minting money.

Students who enroll sometimes have no clue about which classes to take. They go by someone else's recommendation about what will help them make more money, and it doesn't always work out that way because the quality of the classes and the student's own lack of proper educational background can mean that the student has wasted the money on these classes. Some of these classes offer "live experience", which means they put the students to work on projects which have been outsourced from clients.

Most companies here look for at least 1-2 years work experience when they hire people. And when people don't have that work experience, some fake it on their resume. Companies have gotten wiser and in order to weed out the fake ones in the interview they ask not only academic questions but also questions about the exact location (e.g. which floor) of the company where the candidate claims to have worked, and not only the salary they got there, but also how much tax they had to pay on that salary!!! Recently one of the big IT (Information Technology) companies here let go over 500 people because the company found that they had doctored their resume.

" "Technology" is what we call whatever didn't exist when we were born."
-- Alan Kay, computer scientist at Xerox and Apple

"Incomprehensible jargon is the hallmark of a profession."
-- Kingman Brewster, diplomat and president of Yale University

Westward Ho!

2007-10-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

Many companies have sprung up offering assistance to people who wish to go abroad. After 9/11, the number of students going to the US had temporarily dipped, but has picked up again. Universities from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France and Germany are sending their representatives to India to showcase their universities, and they are offering financial assistance. Earlier students used to mainly go to the US and also UK, but now a large number of students go to other countries as well. Interestingly hundreds of students are now going to China for medical education (in English). On the other hand, management graduates of IIMs (Indian Instiute of Management) make headlines every year for being hired by foreign companies for higher and higher compensation, the latest being for around $250,000! Another indication of global opportunities is that Americans and Europeans now come to India to get experience in IT and MNCs (multinational companies).

Did you notice that the glass facade has windows in it that can be propped open? Many new buildings are coming up with reflective glass facades. The overhead cables from telephone, power, cable and Internet companies are an eyesore throughout the city.

"Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." -John B.L. Soule

Tamarind Man

2007-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

What looks like a heap of dirt on that cart is actually tamarind. Tamarind is used in Indian cooking. Many people buy tamarind paste and packed tamarind from the grocery stores. The word "tamarind" comes from Arabic tamr hindi, lit. "date of India." In spite of the name, according to some sources, tamarind is native to tropical Africa and was introduced into India long time ago.

"They sharpened my teeth till I could have shaved with them, and gave them a "wire edge" that I was afraid would stay; but a citizen said "no, it will come off when the enamel does"--which was comforting, at any rate. I found, afterward, that only strangers eat tamarinds--but they only eat them once." -Mark Twain, Roughing It

Security Check

2007-10-18T14:39:00.001-07:00

Looks like something strange is going on, but if you click on the photo you can see that the bank guard is checking the bag with a metal detector. This is the first time I have seen this happen at a bank. While I was clicking one of them came by and asked me what I was doing. I think it is not very smart to be taking photos like this because there is a lot of paranoia given the recent bombings. I am tempted to get a cell phone with camera so that it is not too obvious when I take photos in such situations. People are taken in for questioning if they are found in "suspicious" circumstances. Even though India recently complained about the treatment given to an Indian doctor in Australia while he was being questioned in connection with the Glasgow airport incident, according to local newspapers, there are thousands languishing in Indian jails without any specific charges. That is scary.

"Because that's where the money is." -Willie Sutton, American bank robber when asked why he robbed banks.

No Parking

2007-10-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

There are two signs. The big one says "No Parking-Towing Zone" and the small one says "Parking at owners risk" (sic). There are TWO rows of two-wheelers parked here! If you are parked in the first row, good luck getting your bike out when you leave! The big sign is by the traffic authorities and the small one is by the bank. There is a huge rush at the banks and there is no proper parking space provided. Once in a while the enforcers make a round. While I was there a policeman came by and talked to the "security guard" at the bank who went in and made an announcement that the bikes are going to be loaded onto the tow truck. Out came a large number of people and they scrambled to move their bikes temporarily to another place. Banks are so crowded that it took us more than 30 minutes just to deposit a check. There are drop boxes, but there was some problem recently with checks dropped in drop boxes and some people prefer not to use them. Banks are giving good interest rates - a fixed deposit for 500 days gets over 9% interest.

There was no forethought about the growth that India is experiencing and as usual policy plays catch-up as huge number of new two-wheelers and cars come on the street every day. It will get worse as a huge number of new small cars hit the street. TATA, an automobile company, is coming out with a car that costs Rs. 1 Lac (lac = hundred thousand; 1 lac= USD 2525 or Euro 1780). Incidentally, TATA is bidding for Jaguar and Land Rover as Indian companies continue to go global, while Mercedes and BMW have set up their manufacturing units in India.

"Politics ain't worrying this country one-tenth as much as where to find a parking space." -Will Rogers

Eid Mubarak - Happy Eid

2007-10-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

A big banner greets commuters on the recent occasion of Eid (the Islamic festival which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan (spelled "Ramzan" here). If you click on the photo, you can see the Chief Minister of the state donning an Islamic cap. The CM himself is a Christian. Although India is predominantly Hindu, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh is a Sikh, the chairperson of the ruling coalition, Sonia Gandhi (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi) is a Catholic, and the ex-president who just demitted office very recently, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is a Muslim. The politicians world over seem to please their constituents by donning their garb and participating in their festivals and making sure that others see it. All through the month of Ramzan, there are "Iftar parties" in the evening. "Iftar" is when the devout Muslims break their fast in the evening. Newspaper photos show local, state and national level politicians holding their own "Iftar parties". Even Iftar has been politicized. The sorry state is reflected in a recent cartoon which showed a bureaucrat asking a politician -"Shall we also invite some Muslims to the Iftar party, Sir?"

"It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat." -Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian author and the 1988 Nobel laureate for literature

Forbidden (custard) fruit

2007-10-15T15:34:00.000-07:00

A monkey eating a custard apple. A group of monkeys visits every few weeks around this time of the year. They pick fruits off the trees, and throw them at us or the dogs! They are pretty bold. Monkeys stealing fruits is one thing, but even people do it. Around here, some people don't consider it necessary to ask for permission. They just pick fruits and flowers off the trees, pulling the branches in order to get to them while standing on the other side of the compound wall, and in the process sometimes breaking the branches. The botched prune job on the bouganvillas can be seen on the left. The "gardner" used a sickle because he did not have a pair of garden shears.

According to one research article, Chimpanzees steal fruit to impress the lady Chimps!

"You are what you eat. Avoid FRUITS and NUTS." -Bumper sticker

Let the games begin!

2007-10-14T14:55:00.001-07:00

Ad from Deccan Chronicle

The Military World Games began here today. Members of the US team are participating and security is extremely tight as there have been blasts in the city in the past few months and India remains on Al-Qaeda's target list. Because of the security ordinary citizens cannot view the games! I wish they would at least televise them. In the bottom left corner of the ad you see the famous landmark of Hyderabad, the Charminar (char = four, minar = tower), which was built over 400 years ago.

"It's not whether you are knocked down, it's whether you get up." -Vince Lombardi

Lion

2007-10-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

A lion soaking in the sun at the Nehru Zoological Park.

"The lion and the calf will lay down together, but the calf won't get much sleep." -Woody Allen

International Convention Center

2007-10-12T14:13:00.001-07:00

Hyderabad International Convention Center - HICC. This is a world-class state-of-the-art convention center. Now that Hyderabad is on the world map, it really needed something like this. Recently the 58th International Astronautical Congress was held in this center. Another indication that Hyderabad is on the world map is that the World Military Games are going to be held here in the next week, and in Jan 2008, the sixth SIGHAN workshop on Chinese Language Processing will be held in the city!!

"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India." -Max Mueller

Saraswati

2007-10-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

A statue of goddess Saraswati in the Crafts Village (Shilparamam). Saraswati is regarded as the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. She is depicted in white clothes with a stringed instrument called "Veena".

"Art! Who comprehends her? With whom can one consult concerning this great goddess? "- Ludwig van Beethoven

Crafts village

2007-10-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

Near the HITEC city is a crafts village called Shilparamam. A large number of stalls sell a variety of beautiful handmade products.

"Everything has it's beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

Cyberabad

2007-10-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

HITEC City.

Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consultancy City. This building houses software companies. This part of the city is called Cyberabad. When Bill Clinton visited Hyderabad (the first US President to do so) in 2000, there was a huge billboard which said "Welcome to the H1B capital of the world." H1B is the visa for working in the US. A large number of software professionals working in the US are from the state of Andhra Pradesh (of which Hyderabad is the capital), or many from other parts of India have got their education/training in Hyderabad. I hope to post some photos of some nice buildings in this area called HITEC City. There are an unbelievable number of classes available in Hyderabad for various computer languages and packages, and from what I understand they are running full. As with some other large cities in India, there are many BPO (business process outsourcing) offices providing call/support center, back office and medical transcription services. India is moving up from BPO into KPO (knowledge process outsourcing).

Although BPO and software industries have raised the living standards and contributed to a rising middle class, which in turn has stimulated consumerism and many MNCs (multinational companies) are opening their development centers and factories, young Indians have begun to pay the price with their health. Long hours of sedentary work, a change to fast foods, and the fact that Indians are genetically predisposed to diabetes and heart diseases, all contribute to younger and younger patients showing up at the doctors. And it does not help that India is moving in the same direction as the much criticized US healthcare system.

"They have computers, and they may have other weapons of mass destruction." - Janet Reno, US Attorney General in the Clinton Administration during an address at the Conference on Critical Infrastructure Protection at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

A series of arches at the Qutub Shahi Tombs

2007-10-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

A corridor of arches surrounding the main chamber of the tomb. The group of people seen is standing at the entrance. On the ceiling between two arches there is an exquisite pattern in a circle and each one is different!

You walk through a series of arches, so to speak, and then, presently, at the end of a corridor, a door opens and you see backward through time, and you feel the flow of time, and realize you are only part of a great nameless procession. -John Huston

Qutub Shahi Tombs

2007-10-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Qutub Shahi tombs are located near Golconda Fort. The rulers of Qutub Shahi dynasty who ruled Golconda for 170 years starting in the 16th century are buried in these tombs. Arches, domes and minarets characterize these tombs. Each tomb has a crypt below and a sarcophagus crowning the burial vault. Some of the vegetable based colors can still be seen today. However, the tombs have fallen into disrepair as are many, if not most, of India's historic monuments. The rulers were Shia muslims and Iranian scholars have offered assistance in restoring the tombs.

"While man is growing, life is in decrease;
And cradles rock us nearer to the tomb.
Our birth is nothing but our death begun."
-Edward Young

View from above

2007-10-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is the view while coming down the steps of Golconda Fort. The area you see below was the private bathing and grooming area for the queen. The royal bath and other areas of the fort received water through clay pipes fed by a series of Persian wheels which raised water to the upper terrace and from there channeled to various areas such as baths, gardens and kitchens . You can also see some of the buildings I mentioned yesterday abutting right against the outer walls of the fort.

"Like tourists huffing and puffing to reach the peak we forget the view on the way up." - Friedrich Nietzsche

Golconda Fort

2007-10-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

This magnificent fort is 500 years old. Through the arches are the barracks. Amazing acoustics allows a person clapping in the portico at the main entrance (seen in the back, right of the tree) to be heard a long distance away atop the 300-foot citadel. A system of ducts allows natural "air conditioning" in parts of the fort. UN Heritage status eludes this significant monument of history because of encroachments within 300 meters of the fort. Year after year they apply and are rejected. Authorities are not able to remove encroachments and prevent new ones that crop up. Implementing law and order is a significant problem in India. Lack of political will, rampant corruption in the system from top to bottom, lack of pride and civic sense in people, all contribute to this sorry state. The fortress city was known for diamond trade. The Hope diamond was excavated from Golconda mines.

It is interesting to see that there are two towns called Golconda in the USA - Golconda, Illinois and Golconda, Nevada.

"There are four kinds of readers. The first is like the hourglass; and their reading being as the sand, it runs in and runs out, and leaves not a vestige behind. A second is like the sponge, which imbibes everything, and returns it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtier. A third is like a jelly bag, allowing all that is pure to pass away, and retaining only the refuse and dregs. And the fourth is like the slaves in the diamond mines of Golconda, who, casting aside all that is worthless, retain only pure gems."
---Samuel Taylor Coleridge

What kind of a reader are you?

October 4 - Free Burma - International Bloggers' Day

2007-10-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Please show your support by signing up at http://www.free-burma.org
(Thanks to Kate (Visual St. Paul) and The Toranto Team (toronto-photo-a-day.blogspot.com), I joined this bloggers' movement.)

My dad used to work in Rangoon (now Yangon). I have seen it through his black and white photos.

Another Burma connection we have is Mr SN Goenka, the venerable teacher of Vipassana. He was born and brought up in Burma, learned Vipassana there and has been teaching it in India for decades.

Truly sorry to see the strife and violence in wherever great philosophies and religions were born and practiced - whether it is the Middle East or Burma, or Bihar (an Eastern state in India) where Buddha attained Enlightenment and taught.

"In the East the Master is considered to be a living Buddha, but in Minneapolis, they wonder why He does not have a job!" - Robert Pirsig

Peacock - the national bird of India

2007-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

A peacock in Nehru Zoological Park. I wish I could have
taken a photo with the feathers spread and raised.
Someone told me that keeping a peacock feather in the room
keeps the house lizards away. Don't know if it is true.

October 2 - International Day of Non-Violence

2007-10-02T03:11:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not having a proper Hyderabad photo today. Instead I have an image of a 500 rupee note depicting Mahatma Gandhi on the front, and on the back it depicts him leading the Salt March to Dandi. On the left side of the back, the currency denomination (500 Rupees) is written in the different languages of India. Gandhi has been depicted on the following denominations of the Indian currency notes - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000. It is quite common to see people with 500 rupee notes now. The UN has declared October 2nd, Gandhi's birthday, as the International Day of Non-Violence, which I think is quite ironic given that there is so much violence right here in the land of Gandhi and other spiritual giants. He would be turning in his grave seeing the terrorist attacks in India and seeing the antics and waste in his name. Gandhi was quite witty. When asked what he thought of western civilization, he replied, "I think it is a good idea." Another favorite witticism of mine is his response when he was asked about his modest attire when meeting King Edward VII of England - "The King was wearing enough for both of us."

White Tigers

2007-10-01T04:21:00.000-07:00

White tigers at the Nehru Zoological Park.

Future global workforce

2007-09-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

Picture - Deccan Chronicle

Youngsters going to school. This is a common scene during morning and evening hours.

In 1967, Paul Ehrlich, author of the book The Population Bomb, and currently a Stanford professor wrote - "India couldn't possibly feed two hundred million more people by 1980. ..... I have yet to meet anyone familiar with the situation who thinks that India will be self-sufficient in food by 1971." But India did manage to become not only self-sufficient but also a leading agricultural nation as a result of the Green Revolution. Looking at the picture above, you cannot imagine that the 58th International Astronautical Congress took place recently in Hyderabad. American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Williams was here to attend it. Or looking at this picture, you cannot imagine that many of the world's leading aerospace companies are planning to open a global R&D hub in India. The population in Europe, Japan, China and Singapore is graying rapidly amidst a fall in birth rates, whereas India has a large number of people under 25. This will be the workforce of the future. Till 2030 or 2040, anyway.

See you next year

2007-09-29T03:02:00.000-07:00

Picture - Times of India

Huge Ganesh idols being taken for immersing in the
Hussain Sagar Lake (temporarily called Vinayak Sagar -
'Vinayak' being another name of Ganesh. 'Sagar' means 'sea'.).
The Indian tricolor flags are seen as an expression
of pride for India winning the T20 Cricket Championship.
The idols in Hyderabad compete in size with the idols in Mumbai,
which is famous for its huge and beautiful Ganesh idols.
Many people place smaller idols from their homes on the trucks
to be immersed in the lake. The cleanup of the lake begins
the next day when the large idols are pulled out. Some people
are just waiting for this as they get into the water, break
the idols and take out the iron rods and sell them.
It is customary to bring an idol and keep it for 1,3
or 10 days. A majority of them are taken to be
immersed on the 10th day. This tradition of
public Ganesh ceremonies (puja) was started
in the last century by Balgangadhar Tilak, an
intellectual, to bring Indian people together
during the British Raj days. Cultural programs are
organized during this time. In Hyderabad, this tradition
has evolved (deteriorated) into collecting money
for these huge Ganeshs from people living around
the neighborhoods/localities where the idols are temporarily
established. While the money is used for decoration and the idol,
some of it is used to play very loud music from Indian films
(which has nothing to do with Ganesh), and at night many of
the organizers get drunk. Many of the organizations are made
of people with questionable moral values and means
of living. This ugly part of the Ganesh festival
is usually unspoken. A beautiful and useful tradition
has turned into an ugly and damaging one. There is
always tension during this time, especially in the
Old City where there is a muslim majority, when Ganesh idols
are taken from all parts of the city in long processions
(such as the one seen in the photo), and so a huge
police force has to be deployed. This year, there
was a particular threat from terrorists, especially
since there were twin blasts last month, and also
since Osama's deputy, Al Zawahiri, had in a video,
listed India as one of Al Qaeda's targets. For some
reason, people in the West have no idea about the
extent to which India is a victim of terrorism. The
Global Incident Map shows some of the problems
in India, and Hyderabad was on this map last month
because of the twin blasts.

Every year overhead power, TV and Internet cables are cut to
let these idols pass through. This year, as in the
past, we lost Internet connection twice - once
when the idol was brought in our lane and once
when the idol was taken out. The Internet connection
was down for about 36 hours, but the power was restored
in about 3 hours. I wish I could have taken a photo
of the drunken dancing taking place in front of the
trucks carrying the idol. Some say this is a safety
valve for the otherwise frustrated lower class people
who are not able to get a piece of the pie in the rapidly
growing economy.

World Tourism Day

2007-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Picture - Deccan Chronicle

September 27 is World Tourism Day. Foreigners
in an autorickshaw. (Rickshaw is short from Japanese
jinrikisha. jin = man, riki = power, sha = carriage)
You hardly see any human powered cycle rickshaws on
the streets anymore. More and more foreigners come to
Hyderabad to study. I was surprised to know that students
from the following countries are studying English here -
Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ukraine, Korea, China,
Thailand, Mongolia, Nigeria, Kenya among others. Will the
world be speaking Indian English? ;)

Relishing the window seat

2007-09-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it turned out that there was not enough light for this.
The teenager who was sitting in the window pulled back
and hid his face when he saw me taking a photo.

Lost in the city

2007-09-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

Photo from Times of India

A horse and a camel confused on the streets of Hyderabad.

Huge Ganesh idols

2007-09-12T09:23:00.000-07:00

(Picture courtesy - Deccan Chronicle)

Hyderabad has huge Ganesh idols during the Ganesh festival. This particular one is about 40 feet tall. Despite requests by the police to keep the idols small and orders by courts too, people simply don't want to accept the realities - huge idols mean huge problems on the day they are taken to the Hussain Sagar Lake and immersed there. Toxic colors are used in painting the idol and these pollute the lake water. However, some makers of Ganesh idols are beggining to use biodegradable/non-toxic paint.