Dad and I set out for Uncle "W's" apartment on the scooter. I was carrying my laptop. Dad went hard over a speed bump just one block from home and bent the muffler up against the back wheel, which we had to fix before motoring on. Along the way, we came close to hitting a lorry head on and a Honda sedan who pulled out not seeing us. Sca-ree!!!
We attended the memorial service for Pedemma again at Uncle "W's" apartment. Today is the 2nd-year anniversary of her death. Tho' the service was supposed to start at 11 am, it hadn't started when we arrived at 1:30 pm. Everyone was waiting for a pastor from a Baptist church that Uncle "W"s and his family attended while they were in Hyderabad. The pastor from this church and several of his staff finally arrived around 2 pm. He gave a sermon in English while one of his staff (his son-in-law, I think) translated in Telugu. We had a nice meal afterwards, served to us by Uncle "W"s' relatives. About 20 people were in attendance. During that time, I slipped into the bedroom to go online and work on Sram Ashram's website.
Mom, "L", Auntie "R", and I then boarded a series of auto-rickshaws and "7-seater taxis" to "R's" home in Kukatpally. Along the way, I saw a lot of squatter tents lining the main highway. They often bunched together in groups of 10 or 20. We'd see them lined up side by side for blocks. A whole line of them were set up by the Nehru Technological Institute, a very nice complex....the contrast was stark. Many of the squatter tents served as family businesses, selling colorful Hindu idols of all sizes that they made. Packs of honking cars, buses, scooters, motorcycles, bikes, taxis, auto-rickshaws, etc. whizzed by them in clouds of dust, noise, and fumes.
We hung out at Auntie "R's" until 9 pm. During that time, I worked on Sram Ashram's website. "R's" husband came home between that time. I had a good, controversial chat with him (Uncle "L") about politics, China, Taiwan, U.S., India relations, etc. He's a big fan of China. Not so towards the U.S. He thinks Taiwan will be taken over by China. He quoted Lenin, saying Lenin foresaw the demise of various Western nations, like the U.S., Britain, and Germany. It was interesting....it had me wondering if Uncle "L" had leanings to Maoist philosophies. After he left, we had dinner and boarded a city cab back home. The fare was over Rs. 350. Mom and Dad took issue with the driver for not showing up on time, causing the fare to go up (it increases 1.5 times the daytime fare after 10 pm). Though we'd called for a cab at 8:15 pm, he didn't show up until 9:40 pm, leading us to suspect he did so on purpose to get the increased fare.
At home, Mom, Dad, and "L" discussed the memorial service. They felt the pastor was inconsiderate in not showing up on time. They felt he was into self-promotion more than anything. He brought books on his life, sermons, and ministry to sell after the service, which seemed tacky. He acknowledged primarily the men in the immediate family (including me, who had never met Pedemma), whereas the women seemed left out. Mom and "L" expressed their dissatisfaction and disappointment with the whole affair. I kept quiet, but I could understand what they were feeling. "L" felt it was just bad business. "L" and I talked a bit more about it before going to bed.
