Some of the sites in Hyderabad or my home away from home for 3 months

 Golconda Fort from the bottom

Whisper room in the fort

View from the top of Golconda Fort

At the entrance to Golconda Fort

Many of my posts have dealt with life in Hyderabad, but I have not done a post on some of the sites here; so here it is. Golconda fort was built in the 12th century and well worth the visit. We actually visited it twice, but never made it to the sound and light show at night. Both times we went it was warm which made the hike to the top seem longer. There were a couple of rooms of interest in the fort such as the clapping room and whisper room. The clapping room is at the entrance to the fort and when people stand in it and clap the clapping can be heard at the top of the fort. The whisper room was very interesting because a person could stand on one side of the room, whisper next to the wall and be heard loud and clear by the person on the other side. The first time we reached the top we could hear prayer coming from the mosque below which was very enchanting.

Shopping district neat Charminar

View of shopping district from Charminar

View of shopping district from top of Charminar

View from Charminar

View from the top of Charminar

Mecca Masjid near Charminar

Mecca Masjid

Sahoo in Charminar shopping district

Another highlight in Hyderabad is Charminar and the surrounding shopping district. Charminar is a beautiful building in the heart of old Hyderabad. The building is especially beautiful when lite up at night. The shopping area is always crowded. Each street has shops specializing in different  goods, bangles, saris, etc. We avoided this area during Ramadan, although it would have been nice to see people celebrating there after dark. The hawkers and beggars were as evident here as in other tourist areas.

Chowmahalla Palace

Jon and Sahoo next to a clock in Chowmahalla Palace

Throne room in Chowmahalla Palace

Throne room in Chowmahalla Palace

Weapons in Chowmahalla Palace

Saris displayed in Chowmahalla Palace

Antique Car in Chowmahalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace

                                   Jon and Sahoo walking the gardens at Chowmahalla Palace

I think Jon's analysis of Chowmahalla Palace on Trip Advisor sums it up pretty well:
"Nice but not the biggest attraction in Hyderabad. There is not a whole lot to see other than the buildings, some old china, photos, weapons and cars. There are not too many of any of those."

 Qutub Shahi Tombs

 Qutub Shahi Tombs

Qutub Shahi Tombs

We spent an afternoon walking with Abe and Sahoo around the Qutub Shahi Tombs, or tombs of the seven sultans, and surrounding gardens. On a hill in Hyderabad there is a great view of the tombs with Golconda Fort in the background, but I was never able to get a good picture of it from the car. The tombs are interesting from a photography perspective, but there is not much to see. I am not sure this blog has done justice to these sites, but my time in Hyderabad was spent in more interesting ways than just site seeing.

The Hope School

The Hope School in Hyderabad has about 200 children in pre-kindergarten through 4th grade. The school is located in a building and grounds about 100 by 100 feet. As may be obvious from the above photos, the kids are packed in pretty tight. There are 24 students in this room which is about 15 by 15 feet. In order to go to this school the family has to prove it is poor, which I am sure is  not difficult. In addition to English the students learn Telugu and Hindi.

I worked with the 4th grade class for a few months teaching English. I had to take an hour cab ride through crazy traffic so I have limited my visits to one afternoon a week. The teachers at this school are trying to move away from teacher directed instruction and towards a more student centered approach. I tried to do things in my lessons to model this but it was hard. The room was so small that it was hard to move the students  around and I stayed away from certain strategies because of it. There were computers at the school but not enough for all students to use. They did have some exposure to the technology.

I found the children to be a lot like kids in the U.S. The teachers at this school made the students write down homework assignments to make sure they completed them. The principal implemented a program to teach the parents in Telugu, Hindi and English so they would know what their children should doing in school. It was obvious to me that the principal and all of the teachers work very hard. I think most stayed at school until about 6:00 everyday and they work 6 days a week.

Going in just once a week I did not learn the students's names, but I certainly learned their personalities and learning styles. This age group was new for me and I enjoyed the fact that they were all eager to learn. I am not sure that I taught them very much, but I enjoyed the time I spent with them. 

Goa or Our Caribbean Vacation

 A view similar to the one we had from our room at the Leela.

 The lounge area at the Leela where we spent some time.

The pool area where we spent a great deal of time.

A woman in a typical Indian bathing suit (yes it is 2012 not 1912)

Our last outing in India was to a couple of areas in Goa for what was like a Caribbean vacation for us. We stayed at the Leela for part of it, which was a very nice resort. It was the first time in the last couple of weeks that I did not feel homesick. We were actually able to sleep with the door open because there was a screen and we could hear the birds and sounds of nature, something I have been missing very much. It was a great place to enjoy nature and we did a lot of bird watching. The resort was so nice that we never left it and just enjoyed the outdoors there during our stay. Goa is not as conservative as the rest of India so I felt more comfortable dressing in shorts and regular summer attire there. The conservative influence was still present and obvious, especially in bathing wear. We were lucky and had pretty good weather for most of it. It was also nice to be there during the off season so it was not too crowded. The season will really start up in October once the monsoon season ends.

 Fishing boats on the beach in Goa

The morning catch

 I don't know why but we found a lot of shoes on the beach as well as other trash

Hawkers on the beach in Goa

The beach was a short walk and we took several walks on the beach. During our morning walks we were able to see the fishermen bringing in their catch. It also rained more in the morning which was nice since we have not experienced very much of the monsoon season in Hyderabad. Unfortunately, like other areas in India there was a great deal of garbage on the beach. Most of it looked like it had washed up from the Arabian Sea. Our experiences here have made us think a lot about the use of plastics worldwide. There were also hawkers on the beach, as in most places where there are tourists, but I must have been more in the mood for it because I enjoyed the banter with them here more than usual. I had to buy a little something from each one of course, they know how to play tourists.

 Crazy Americans partying again

 The remains of Saint Francis Xavier

 Old Basilica built by the Portugeuse in Old Goa

 Jon entering the spice plantation

Spice plantation and still for making cashew fenny (hard liquor)

View from Chapora Fort in Goa

View from Chapora Fort

To keep down the expense we moved to the Lemontree for the last couple of days of our visit to Goa. It was average compared to the luxury we enjoyed at the Leela. We probably liked the pool bar the most. We did do some sighting here too. We saw a couple of old Catholic Churches. Catholicism is a major religion in this area; a legacy from the Portuguese who traded here. In one of the churches we saw the remains of Saint Francis Xavier. I think I was able to see his corpse through the glass but it was hard to tell. We went to an organic spice plantation which was very interesting. A very lovely young lady gave us a tour and educated us on a lot we did not know about the growing of spices we enjoy everyday. Finally, we visited the remains of an old fort occupied by the Portuguese but built before their arrival, which had a great view of the sea. Overall, I enjoyed Goa and would return there again if possible. I got the impression that people who live here are pretty happy and have a decent life, which is not something that I think is true for all areas in India. 

Being a woman in India or It's a Man's World Baby

A woman in a Sari 

Women is Saris (Abe in the background)

A woman and her daughter both wearing a kameez, tights and dupatta. 

Girls wearing a kameez and shalwar or tights and a dupatta

Women jewelry hawkers in Saris on the beach in Goa

The first thing I want to note is how beautifully women dress here. I started to ask people for pictures when they asked me for a picture so I could try to show some of the colors and beauty of the clothing. I have seen some showstopping saris made of silk, with gold threads and in vibrant colors. All of the saris seem so different too. I often find myself just looking and admiring the variety. I have seen peasant women and women working on the highway wearing beautiful saris. I think wearing beautiful clothing is one way women have control over their lives here and they go all out; however, the dress is very conservative. Shalwars are pants that are loose and long and a kameez is a loose top over which women wear a dupatta, which is a scarf draped across the chest. The clothing is designed to hide any possible curves or skin. Legs are not shown and I never see cleavage. I have rarely worn shorts since arriving, not even in 112 degree heat; however, I did on the beach in Goa.

Women in burkas in Charminar

Women in burkas and a young girl in a hijab outside a mosque

Woman in a burka in Hyderabad

Hyderabad has a large Muslim population and I see women in Burkas all of the time. I usually try to catch their eye, nod my head and smile to them and most acknowledge it with a nod and I hope a smile. I can't help but think that wearing a burka, especially the black version, in this heat is a form of abuse. It is usually worn by young women, married and unmarried, and women wear them as long as their husbands want them to. Burkas were probably first worn by women trying to hid their beauty from enemies during wars or raids. I wonder what a woman thinks when her husband tells her she no longer needs to wear the veil. "OK honey, you don't need to wear the veil anymore; no one will be looking at you." Today I think women might choose to wear one for a sense of protection, freedom and anonymity in this male dominated culture, but I have a hard time understanding it.

A typical street scene (Charminar) where women are outnumbered by men 4 to 1

A story I read somewhere recently said that being a woman in India is like being a frog in a well. If you don't jump out sometimes, then you forget how. I completely understand this. Many times I have been out with Jon and looked down a street to see hundreds of men, but no women. The local papers have stories about "Eve teasing", a disparaging term, which means public harassment of women whether it is name calling, groping, or brushing up against a woman. I don't particularly enjoy going out without Jon, but I have forced myself to do it. Because of my age I don't think I would be harassed, but I do have the foreign factor working against me. I have learned to act like I know what I am doing and just not look at men in the eye. If I am alone somewhere and I see a group of guys coming towards me, I just move along.

I have personally experienced male chauvinism here. There have been numerous times when I have been with Jon and the male waiter, driver, manager or whomever has enthusiastically greeted "Sir" and not even acknowledged my existence. I have stopped dealing with the front desk staff at the Ellaa Hotel because they seem to think I can't make any decisions and they always run it by Jon before doing what I ask of them. We have gone to dinner at the home of locals and the wife served dinner, but never set down to eat with us. That was uncomfortable for us and I wondered why they set a plate for me.

Just about every day there is a report about a woman killed or maimed because the husband or his family want more dowry money. In today's paper there was a report of a woman committing suicide because her husband and his family were harassing her for more dowry money. Dowries are supposed to be illegal here but they still happen. I have seen several stories about young women kidnapped or sold by family members to work as prostitutes. There are also stories about female infanticide. In today's paper a week old girl was found in a gutter and she died shortly after she was discovered. Women are outnumbered in this country. According to the Economist there are 914 girls aged 0-6 for every 1000 boys. This imbalance is becoming worse because of prenatal screening.

There is one area where women exercise power - shopping!!! When we are in a tourist area the hawkers are hollering for Madam not Sir. I have found that to say I have to check with my husband is a good way to discourage hawkers, so I use it. Overall, I have noticed a distinct difference in the way I am treated here. I do not understand how this treatment can be so pronounced in a country that was one of the first in the modern world to have a female head of state and continues to have many prominent female politicians. The contradictions, evident in so many areas in this country, continue.