Prayers in Paud

To register our plot of "Solitude", we had to go to the government magistrate in a small town called Paud, about 30 km outside Pune. Compared to the millions in Pune and Hyderabad, Paud boasts a population of about 21,000. Situated in the state of Maharashtra, where the Marathi language is spoken.....different from the Telugu that Mom, Dad, and "L" speak.

From the get-go, we had difficulties. The "Solitude" sellers communicated poorly with us, not letting us know what we needed until the day of (e.g. photos), so we had to get those taken at a nearby shop. Then our sales rep failed to show up as promised, sending one of his underlings. Once at the magistrate's building, we submitted our signatures on some paperwork, then waited for our number to be called to get fingerprinted on more documents. We waited....10 am...11 am....12 pm....1 am. We were #33 and they were only at #17. We were getting frantic, since we were scheduled to catch the train back to Hyderabad at 4:30 pm later that afternoon, and we needed at least a hour and half to get back to our friend's apartment, pick up our luggage, and race to the train station. To boot, we didn't have seat confirmations for the return train tickets we'd bought. Dad gathered us to pray. To make a long story short, after praying, the train tickets not only got confirmed, but after our friend pleaded directly to the magistrate on our behalf, we got our paperwork processed and our fingerprints in! The magistrate was a gruff, abrupt person who wielded a lot of power. Our friend was quite nervous confronting her, but somehow we found favor in her eyes. The magistrate even chewed out her meeker associates for not expediting our paperwork, given our time-crunch. Miraculously, we made it to the train station on time, marveling and thanking God for His goodness all the way.



Main road going through Paud


Veggie/fruit stand along the main road going through Paud


Stray goats outside the magistrate building that ate the peels from the bananas we bought from the veggie/fruit stand along the main road going through Paud

"Solitude"

The plot of land we're acquiring is in an area dubbed "Solitude". I found a bit of info on it here and and here.

The theme behind "Solitude" is eco-friendliness. No more than 10% of the land can be built upon...the rest can only be used for planting. We'd started the process of acquiring this plot, on the recommendation of a close family friend, more than a year ago while we were still in the States. Progress is slow when you're worlds away....



Here's what "Solitude" currently looks like (kinda desolate)....


Here's what the sellers plan to have our plot look like in 3-5 years (I think).


The road to "Solitude" was a steep, windy, dirty, difficult one, as it's still under construction (I joked that they probably called it "Solitude", because no vehicle could possibly make it there intact). With chagrin, I noticed a lot of low-wage laborers working on it. To be honest, mixed feelings welled up in me to see poor people toiling on something only folks with means could afford. Not surprisingly, I found myself asking "what would Jesus do" with the land we were planning to buy. Still asking myself that....and really hoping to find out what....

Auto-rickshaws

Once we arrived in Pune, we had to take auto-rickshaws to our family friend's apartment. Auto-rickshaws (also known as "autos") are commonly-used vehicles in India. They are small, 3-wheeled taxis, costing 8 rupees (about 20 cents) to start. They're all over the place!



Here's what an "auto" looks like from the outside....


Here's what an "auto" looks like from the inside....


Here's what an "auto" looks like when you're inside one looking at another one on the outside that's racing alongside yours....

Seen on a train to Pune...

Passengers sleeping....


....and waking up....


....and meeting other passengers....

Heading to Pune

We're heading to Pune tonight for a couple of days...going by train. We're acquiring some land near a green-city-under-construction called Lavasa, about a hour's drive from Pune. The property was recommended by a close family friend. We need to register it with the government while we're here. We leave Hyderabad around 9 pm tonight, arriving in Pune 12 hours later. Not sure if I'll have Internet access during this time, so I might not be able to get back to work until this weekend.

"Gully cricket"

Weary of working for the day and needing a break, I took a walk around the neighborhood. I happened upon a bunch of youths playing cricket in an abandoned lot. I thought I could watch inconspicuously, but a few of them saw me and shouted, "Which country?!?"

"America", I replied, somewhat embarassed at being seen.

They invited me to join them. I didn't really want to play, just watch. They peppered me with all sorts of questions....what I did, where I lived, how much money I make, how much did it cost to fly to India, etc. I, in turn, asked them about their school, home, and of course, how cricket is played, which they were more than eager to share. One thing I learned is that they were playing "gully cricket", a variation of the game meant for smaller lots. Mom warns me about some of the shady characters that wander around their neighborhood, but this group seem to be a nice bunch of kids.

When they finished and started for home, they said, "Come back again....we play 4:30 pm here".

Maybe...maybe next time, I'll try my hand at the bat.

Hosting a neighborhood clinic

Our doctor-friend whom I mentioned earlier plans to partner with Dad to set up weekly health clinics at a facility near our home. This clinic plans to deliver basic medical services to poor families (which there are plenty) around our neighborhood. Our friend will provide the services, while Dad's organization will provide $$$ for medicines and supplies.

The first clinic was planned for last Sunday, but our doctor-friend had a family emergency and couldn't make it. The word didn't get out, however, of the cancellation. We learned that several families came together anyway to await the opening of the clinic. Dad rescheduled the clinic for this coming Sunday....hopefully, things will go as planned this time. We have another doctor-friend (ophthalmologist) coming in to visit from Seattle this Saturday who, if he's not too tired, may offer help as well.

Cricket update #2

Looks like India's back on track in World Cup Cricket. Fans are smiling and hopeful again, effigies have been put back in the closet.

India thrash the shorts off Bermuda

Chandresh Narayanan/Times News Network

India's best chance at making the Super Eight stage, rested on them making the most of the inexperience of the Bermuda side and making them pay heavily for the same.

The Indian batsmen did just that as they rattled up a World Cup record score of 413 for 5 and then the bowlers did a reasonable job to restrict Bermuda to 156 to register a whopping 257-run win on Monday.

The win has boosted India's run-rate and has also put additional pressure on their next rivals Sri Lanka as the two teams square on March 23 for a place in the next stage.

Cricket update #1

India bows to Bangladesh in surprise opening-round loss!

Some folks here aren't taking it too well...

Dejected fans burn effigies of Men in Blue

VADODARA/AHMEDABAD: Unable to digest the humiliating defeat that India was subjected to by minnows Bangladesh in their World Cup match on Saturday, angry fans burnt effigies of Virender Sehwag and some other member of Team India in Vadodara and Ahmedabad on Sunday.

India'll get another chance tonight against Bermuda in the round-robin tourney. Hopefully, we'll be able to catch this one on TV. We didn't get it on our TV for some strange reason, even tho' we had the channel and time right. We'll probably head over to Uncle's house tonight to watch.

Once...twice...three times communion

We attended Mom and Dad's home church, SBF, today. Like last Sunday, we took communion (SBF take communion every 1st and 3rd Sunday). Later in the evening, Dad took me to a couple of homes where elderly parents are being cared for by their families. Because of their physical limitations, they're unable to make it to church, so Dad and other church members visit their homes to conduct once-a-month mini-services for them, complete with communion. So that makes three communions today, four communions in one week. But I guess one can never too often "do in remembrance" of what Christ did for us on the cross, especially as we head into Easter. It's also nice to share with and encourage family in Christ here in this manner.