Welcome, "DC"

A doctor-friend of ours from Seattle, "DC", arrived by plane in Hyderabad a few hours before our train did. He'll be visiting different parts of India to help out and observe ophthalmologic ministries. Meanwhile, he'll be staying with us for a couple of days. "DC" may also help out at the "inaugural" neighborhood medical camp tomorrow (if he feels up to it).

It's been getting hotter of late....almost 100 degrees Fahrenheit daily. Am told it's unusual for Hyderabad to be this hot this early. This morning, however, we did get a short stint of cool rain. Dad said it was the first in many months! Lasted but a few minutes, tho'....still, we made the most of it. Thanks, "DC", for bringing in the much-needed liquid sunshine from the Pac NW, even if just a sprinkle!

Cricket update #3

Well, the unthinkable has happened....India's pretty much out of the Cricket World Cup tournament, losing to Sri Lanka.

India virtually crashed out in the first round of the World Cup after they suffered a shattering 69-run defeat in their crunch Group B match against Sri Lanka on Friday.

A stunning batting collapse on a good Queen's Park Oval pitch condemned India to a total of 185 all out and allowed Sri Lanka to top the group with a maximum six points.

The 1983 champions were skittle in the 44th over as they failed miserably in their attempt to chase Sri Lanka's challenging total of 254 for six.

India's slim hopes of progressing now hinge on an unlikely defeat for Bangladesh in Sunday's final group game against debutants Bermuda.

Once again, disappointed fans react....

• Angry fans bring players down from pedestal


• Police guard cricketers' homes, restaurants


• 'Clones' duck for cover

Fortunately, we know or have seen no one personally who's taking India's loss anywhere THIS hard! It appears to be a minority of fans behaving this way. Besides, one could make the argument that a difference between India and the USA is that the former riots when their teams lose, whereas the latter riots when their teams win.

The multiple Championships won by the Chicago Bulls Championships in the early 1990’s instigated riots each year. The 1991 Championship was followed by 100 arrests. The 1992 Championship (occurring approximately one month after the Rodney King verdict) was followed by 1000 arrests, hundreds of injuries (including 95 injured police officers), and many burned and looted buildings. These were not the first riots of this type, however. In 1990, 7 people were killed in Detroit after the Pistons won the Championship and one person was killed in 1984 after the Tigers won the World Series.

Almost "downed" at Daund

Sunset at a train stop in Daund, India. Thinking we had time, "L" and Dad got off to shop for snacks, while "B" and I got off to stretch.


Seconds after this photo was taken, the train unexpectedly started to pull away. Yikes!!! With "B" in one arm, I grabbed a railing by the door to haul the two of us into our slowly-moving car. Mom was already on board. But where was "L" and Dad?!? Ack! Should we pull the emergency chain to stop the train? The train was picking up speed. An anxious minute later, "L" burst in....out of breath, but thankfully okay. She'd barely made it on herself. But where was Dad? What? Last seen bartering for bananas?!? Ack, ack!!!

A train employee later came by to tell us Dad made it on the next car. Whew! But Dad had to wait until the next stop to join us, since entry into our AC car was restricted to other cars. An half-hour and one stop later, we were together again. Double whew!

Otherwise, it would've been one looooong wait for another train in Nowhere-ville.

Thumb-printed!

Between acquiring propery in India vs. property in the USA, I'm not sure which process is easier. One difference is that thumb prints were required in India.



Behold!


We all got thumb-prints, including Mom and Dad who also acquired some "Solitude". "B" didn't get thumb-printed, but still wanted to get her digit in the picture.

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.