Rajwadu

We ex-pats tend to roam in herds ourselves so a group of us went to this great place called Rajwadu. Now if you're thinking Xanadu, then I'm your #1 fan but that's a whole other issue.

Anywho - Rajwadu is one of 2 places in Ahmedabad that provides a lovely evening of traditional Gujarati cuisine, dance, and puppetry, with a little Rajasthani thrown in for good measure. It may sound cheezy but it's quite cool! It's tucked away in a very non-descript neighboorhood with a very unassuming entrance. They have created this open air venue that's very intimate; it's almost like a secret garden with winding pathways with little bridges over ponds and greenery everywhere and all lit with candles and torches. There are larger, main areas with lounges to watch traditional dancing with women balancing burning pots on their heads (not sure if that part is traditional but still a really great effect!) and fire-breathing men. In another corner, a puppet show with an elaborate stage set up. I may be missing something but after the dancing, we were called to dinner and led through the pathways to our private dining area. The food is served in Gujarati Thali style which is a large metal plate with a multitude of small dishes on it...server after server come around with every type of dish imaginable; dal (lentil stew/soup) kadhai (similar to dal but more sour/ yogurt based), at least 5 kinds of bread, 3-4 types of cooked vegetables/potatos, 2 sweets, buttermilk, raita (raw vegetables in a spiced yogurt) and of course pani (water). But as if ths weren't enough, the servers come back a few times each offering 2nd, 3rd, or 4th helpings! And they still serve ice cream as desert (they even offered a 2nd helping of that). The cost of all this is still a meager Rs. 325 (approx US $6.65). I love india.

Uttarayan - Annual Kite Festival in Ahmedabad

Holy Kites Batman! OK, maybe the one revered item in India that's not officially a religious icon although it seems close in stature. It is quite difficult to describe this festival which is celebrated in a HUGE way here. Don't get me wrong- it's very popular everywhere else in India but no more so than in Ahmedabad. It' s actually an official holiday...for kites. I mean, literally, nobody works for at least the 1st day of the festival and from what I heard, a lot of people get of 2 full days off for this!

Weeks leading up to this day, we saw giant spools of mostly neon pink kite string being dyed along side of the road then laid out in 15 ft. sections to dry. Every kid on the street had a kite or kite string in their hand or was watching a friend. You see, they need to practice. It's not about just having fun and flying a kite, oh no. It's a competitive sport and quite dangerous; actually deadly. The string we saw being dyed on the streets were actually being coated in a glass power meant to strengthen and sharpen the strings and thus be more likely to cut an opponents kite string. This causes 2 main problems...birds get cut down from the sky & motorcyclists can get sliced driving over bridges. Someone actually created special wire to attach to your bike so you don't get clothes-lined. Oh and there are more perilous effects; kids fall off of roof tops while flying or chasing a kite, they run in and out of traffic and sometimes get hit yet everybody loves this! We were invited to join a kite party at a high school in the old city. When I say say a kite party, I mean they had dance music pumping, more than a hundred people on the roof (most flying kites), and a enormous catered dinner. There are actually specific foods that are eaten for this event...and all of it was very tasty, of course.

When you're stand on the roof of the school, maybe 6 stories high, you realize that EVERYONE ELSE is on their roof-tops flying kites. As far as you can see, there are kites, kites and more kites. It was really a sight to see although I kept fearing for my exposed neck line. Being paranoid that I am, I didn't fly a kite but but instead opted to watch Bradd have a go and keep my eyes open.

Around Ahmedabad

Everyone keeps asking me for a description of the city, my neighborhood, and what Bradd and I have been doing. I personally have a tough time remembering what I tell who. Plus, I cannot remember these kind of details when trying to hold a conversation when I just woke up or about to pass out at night.

Our Hood:

Kind of what may be called "suburban" by western terms. Strange in the sense that the property values are outrageous here but yet we see new apartment buildings across the street from a farmer with a plot of dust, 2 cows and a shack. Both of which pieces of property a worth the same staggering price...upwards of 2.2 million! Even stranger, that same farmer just recently put up a volleyball net. The streets are wider here, most are paved and a short 10 minute rickshaw ride brings us to a hugely developed intersection of some of the tackiest retail ever. 4 malls, 2 cinemas, countless restaurants, shops, and so much traffic.

There are street dogs everywhere. Everywhere. Everywhere. There's no escaping their presence whether you see them eating-anything, puppies playing on the side of the road or hear packs of them causing a ruckus at any given moment. I have to walk Duke carrying a large bamboo cane for his protection but the dogs also appreciate a good rock throwing.

We see brand new BMW's and Mercedes pulling into multi-million dollar homes but also goat herders walking with their grazing, crazy-horned flocks (which Duke seems to also be stunned by...). Giant bulls hanging out on the side of the road, small-sad little donkeys hauling construction debris, small herds of cows and water buffalo snacking from the dumpsters, countless camels pulling carts of goods or people and the multitude of auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and bikes on the road.

More to come...

Kinnu and I head to Udaipur

While Bradd was toiling away at work, Kinnu and I decided to take a trip. Well, she had already planned it and I decided to tag along. Udaipur is about 4 hours North of Ahmedabad in the bordering state of Rajasthan. Udaipur is well known as the city of lakes, although I think of it as the city of palaces as there are a plethora of them all over the city and surrounding areas. It really is beautiful there as it's landscape is rugged, hilly and for the most part - green. A great change of scenery from the dry and dusty city of Ahmedabad. The old city of Udaipur is a labyrinth of narrow streets and back alleys and all hills filled with skinny shops squeezed into every nook and cranny.

As Kinnu and I walked the streets, we were constantly bombarded with "Hello madam" and " Come look at these scarves, come look! Silk and cashmere!" or just a forceful "Good morning!". Mostly they wanted to sell us whatever. It's a huge tourist attraction and but still great shopping; jewelry, textiles, spices, and silk paintings are the specialties there. Oh! and such great prices - mostly. Most of the streets headed straight up go towards the City Palace which is now half museum- half fancy hotel and headed down go straight to Lake Pichola, which is the biggest lake in the area.



Our hotel, Jaiwana Haveli, was sitting very near the bottom of the streets near the lake shore which affords all the small hotels along there great views of the lake. Most have roof-top dining albeit mediocre food. Anybody enjoying these roof-top view then has front row seats to see the Lake Palace Hotel which is the very posh hotel made famous by the James Bond flick, Octopussy. It really is quite a sight - it sits on and encompasses it's own island in the middle of Lake Pichola. Very cool. We wanted to take one of the many tour boats around the lake and possibly stop at the Lake Palace Hotel but after a long uphill trek, found out they weren't running. Ugh. But I got some great shots of some fancily dressed camels!



If you're interested in more on Udaipur... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udaipur,_Rajasthan

A little background...

Bradd and I decided to move to Ahmedabad, India in the Gujarat state. No we're not crazy...well, maybe a little. His company offered him a great opportunity in another of their offices and we took it! Having been to the same city 3 years ago with a friend, and really liked it, we figured why the hell not?

Nothing really prepares you for uprooting your entire life and moving across the world; a house, a dog & cat, bills, the car, banking, wills, etc. I could write a whole blog on making this move alone! But I won't because it's quite tedious. Oh yeah, did I mention that the week we finalized our decision to make the move, I found out I was pregnant?? Let's just say, I'm surprised I still have hair and haven't suffered a nervous breakdown. Bradd and I got as much taken care of before he left, 6 weeks ahead of me, but there were still too many items to care care of ~ my head was always spinning. I stayed with my mom for the remaining time to sort out everything; making the drive from Butler to Pittsburgh daily for every random task.

In the midst of all of this chaos, I was incubating my little sea-monkey (thanks Gina :) and a whole new world of concerns opened up. Hhhmmmm...malaria? Hepatitis A & B? Dengue fever? Availability of clean toilets or just holes? The unbelievable heat? Oh - what fun to be had. Thankfully, I found a very nice, practical, and Indian OB to help ease my mind a bit and the baby cooperated the whole time by not really doing anything except what it was supposed to be doing~growing.

Bradd had left for India and with the exception of the MINOR detail of the Mumbai terrorist bombings, got through to Ahmedabad unscathed and thankfully, mostly unaware. I, on the other hand, was sick during the constant onslaught of news coverage of all the terrible and horrific things happening right where Bradd was flying into and through. Thank you technology for allowing us to finally get through to one another. So he made it safely and after resting a bit was living the bachelor life (not for long!) until Duke and I came to ruin his quiet existence.

I was lucky enough to make the journey with no major hiccups. Duke even made the trip with no issues and slept on the van ride home from the airport.