India - Day 4

The fourth day started off slowly. I read a book and practiced the bass, again having toast for breakfast and skipping the lunch. In the afternoon, Tom took me to his tailor, and after essential hesitation about the price tag (2150 Rb or around 530 kr) I still decided to let them make me a set of shirt and pants from very finely woven wool.

Tom then showed me to the computer stores, which were located in one building, but instead of one, there were around 40 on the ground floor and another 30 in the basement with only one of them being large enough to pass for a store in estonia :) I asked Tom about the shopping algorithm there, and he said that you basically walk into the first store and say what you want. They will tell you they have it later.. so you come back later and they will have it. What goes on in the mean time is that they will find the store that actually has it and buy it from there, then add 5% for themselves. However, good luck finding the place that really has the stuff, as all of them will claim they do, so the 5% is pretty much inevitable and there is no point in inconveniencing oneself with trying to get away without that.

I then told Tom I would walk home on my own. I had a map with me but one place seemed to be off on it and I found myself unable to determine where I was. However, I knew the general direction and kept walking until I found a major road, at which point it turned out I had taken a pretty direct route.

One thing worth noting is that (at least in Hyderabad) street names and building numbers do not really exist on the streets. The larger roads have sign posts with their names, but these seem sporadic at best. However, Tom told me to get a map on the first day and this has helped me avoid getting lost on numerous occasions. I am slowly forming a mental map of some of the more nearby areas. There is no central city because the city is built around a huge lake, but the part of the inner city closest to where I live is slowly starting to take form in my memory.

One other thing I have to mention are the smells. Nearly everywhere there is a smell of something, be it either raw sewage, something being cooked or the artificial perfume at the mall.

Going back to the story, I walked on the edge of the lake and came up to a park. I thought I would have a look around there. Entrance was on the other side of the street and went as a tunnel to the other side. Ticket cost 10 Rb and they searched my bag briefly before being allowed to enter.

This is another thing one will eventually notice here. All the larger, walk-in stores have a counter where you leave your bag and in many places they will just search it but let you pass (and in some cases, both are done). In estonia, you would just have security scanners against shoplifting but I guess this scheme is also quite effective, especially if manpower is cheap (which it is here).

Those who have seen the pictures from China, Australia or Cologne, know that I tend to be quite fond of parks. The park here was quite large (about as large as the one in Cologne) and also very beautiful. However, the main attraction for me was something similar to an open mic night they were holding in the park. The moment I walked to the nearby tree to watch, all the onlookers eyes collectively turned to me. What followed was bizzarre to say the very least. They first asked me to sit in one of the ten chairs in front meant for "special guests" which I of course respectfully declined. They then just asked if I would sit closer, which I granted them. As I sat down, about 15 other men sat down all around me and every single one of them asked where I came from. The answer "Estonia" was most often interpreted as Austria or Australia, but at least one of the people managed a guess of Somalia :) In total, about 10 different groups of men had their pictures taken with me (remmember: very conservative culture in terms of family values. A woman doing this would have probably been excommunicated by his family, but among men this seemed like completely normal behavior).. I did not attempt to resist this because it just seemed too absurd. People clearly do not see foreigners often here, so why not let them have some fun:) They also wanted to drag me to the microphone to say a few words, but that I again did not allow.. and they also asked me to dance, but this I also refused. In the hindsight, I might as well have done it though.. ah, well, maybe next time.

The open mic performances were quite interesting. People took turns singing and dancing, either alone or in groups. Group singing seemed quite similar to estonian "regilaul" - one sang in front and others seemed to repeat the same words back to him. Dancers, by the way, were mainly boys. There was also this very very gay-looking game where one man tried to touch the others while acting like a woman... and as I understand, there were also parodies of famous people being performed, which I of course did not get since they were speaking in Telugu.

When I left, people again started gathering round me and having their pictures taken. I told them "Last picture" in an attempt to get away, but still had to let them make at least 3 more.

I then continued my tour of the park, but as it was getting late, I decided I would go back at some point and would instead head home then. I spent my last 20 Rb to buy a can of Coke, which should have cost 22 Rb (I had brought practically no money with me, as I discovered at the tailors. Tom loaned me the money to pay the tailor). However, after looking at the map, I discovered I would be forced to either cross over the railroad tracks (and the walls surrounding them) in order to get home in a sensible way, or make a rather large detour (in the order of 2-3 km). I decided to try crossing the railway, but before I could do this, I met an american on the roadside with his scooter. I initially mistook him for a local, but on closer inspection (it was dark already) he was of afro-american origin. He greeted me and asked if I had had any nice shots. I replied I didn't since I wanst really out for photographs.. we talked for quite some time about G.W. Bush and our travels and then he offered me a ride back to Amyapat (the inner city district I visited last night). On the road, we kept on talking. At some point, he asked whether it was scary for me to ride on the back of a scooter. "No, I live with an 80 year old brit who also has a scooter and his driving is even more insane than yours. Im quite used to it by now." He also said he liked the traffic here and agreed that it is the perfect metaphore to life here. "If I were ever to write a book about my experiences here, it would be called ''Traffic in India''".

He then offered to buy me dinner (which was something quite strange but tasty - a hot tortilla with a vegetable sausage in it) and then explained he had come here 5 years ago too and had helped a girl he saw on the street at a telephone booth - he paid for her medical fees, convinced his father to let him go to college and paid her tuition, spending in total over 6000 $ on her. He said he also plans to help some other people (like the assistants of the doctor treating the girl, for instance). I told him of Tom and how he is taking care of a school for poor children and has also had to do some father convincing. We then carried on about some other topics.

When I walked back home, a Minchin song I had shown Tom earlier this morning again came to mind.

I have made myself cold to all the beggars here, just plain ignoring them. Not that there would be many more than in estonia or that they would be that much more aggressive. However, I do not seem to feel for the suffering of others like I used to before. Cold.. which is what I fear the most.