So officially I am now staying at the Sivananda Rehabilitation Home in Kukatpally, Hyderabad. Although I have been eager to share my experience by writing, unfortunately the computer access has been very limited here at the home. For those I haven’t talked on the phone, 15 hrs in the plane did go by fast, granted I did watch “finally” – I am Legend and the Iron Man. Ride over from the airport at 3 am, to the place I stayed for a day, believe it or not, was fast yet bumpy. Traffic in Hyderabad or most cities in India is definitely an experience as there are no rules (that are followed), no dividers, 15 different vehicles, honking every 5 seconds along with the pedestrians, cramped together, walking, slithering, all in a rush – one more than the other, buses making left turns from far lanes, motorcycle stopped in the middle of a road to talk on a cell phone or eat an orange, a scooter undergoing a transaction in a middle of a big intersection with a papaya vendor also strolling in that mess with his 4 wheeled wooden cart while rest of the world trying to weave there way around them beeping incessantly, and my shocking observation, not a single loud curse word heard from any of the drivers. To top it, the most daunting task has been to actually cross the road because NO ONE will stop unless you just throw yourself on the road with traffic coming your way at 45km/hr, stick your hand out to stop them, and if you are not run over, you can make it to the other side. Yes, I have a new respect for the yellow cab drivers in NY now.
Anyways, after reaching home, I slept for a couple of hours and was woken up by an aroma of burning coal outside of my window. Yes, it was the IRON MAN (unfortunately not Robert Downie Jr.) but literally a man who irons clothes for a living. My first day was very relaxing, pleasant and beautiful. That evening we drove around Chaarminar, necklace road, a lake with the Buddha’s statue, and finally a temple down the street ending my first day with the delicious home cooked four course dinner.
On August 25th – I moved into my room at the Sivananda home. Luckily, my roommate from Chicago, there for the last two months, has been fantastic. She made sure that the room was lizard free, I had plenty of water, volunteered to venture out in the traffic with me for “bare” necessities. Just short of knowing telegu and her appearance, she could easily pass for a native as she is able to finesse her way gracefully through many situations, knows everyone, and seems to be everyone’s favorite.
August 26th – My reason to come to SRH, I made my way to the HIV home for the children. The most amazing thirty children, all HIV (+), abandoned by their family or homeless, most of them appear younger than their stated ages, perfectly happy in their own small world yet seeking attention desperately. They greeted me with so much warmth and excitement, wanting to show me their art work, singing songs and addressing me as “akka” a telegu word for a big sister. Their ages, 5 to 15 yrs, in one classroom, one teacher working to give an individual attention, juggling all subjects and grades till the 4th standard. Honestly, I have never seen as many children together in such harmony with each other. This is and is going to be the most emotional part of my journey and as to even make an attempt to describe my experience would be challenging and unjust.
Rest of the day was social and educational. I finally met with rest of the group from Case and we all shared our experiences, gave/heard lectures on numerous topics/diseases that we were to experience at SRH. To sum it up so far – a perfect weather, perfect food, perfect accommodation and now I anticipate already a perfect company.
Aug 27th– stay tuned