So We’re Back …

… from our gorgeous haveli in Mumbai …

… to the sand and glass of Dubai.

Not that I’m complaining.  I think I’ve seen enough green and rain to last me, well, at least 6 months *hint to the husband*

I’m so happy to be back  in the U.A.E.  Why?  Because this is the time of the year to be here!  Clouds are starting to float in the sky.  I can see stars twinkling in the night.  The birds have begun to migrate from neighboring countries.  I can keep my windows open to cooler breeze.  I can finally plan BBQ with family and friends.  Masood and I can steal some time (an hour, for example) from work and go out for a walk.

I am geographically closer to my family.

And I can hear beautiful adhaan five times a day.

 

On Our Way Home

Breathing in some fresh air.

I absolutely loved the journey back to Hyderabad!  During our stay in Mumbai, something unfortunate happened.  It had been one of those moments in life when you feel totally helpless and lost.   So this train journey – a total of 18 hours – gave us time to think and be grateful for a lot of other things in our lives.  Sometimes you just need some quiet, peaceful time to recompose yourself, away from people who blurt out “everything will be okay” even before you finish your sentence.

A major stop connecting Mumbai and Pune

I began learning how to read and write Hindi a year ago – on my own, since Masood thought there wasn’t any need to – but got busy with a 1001 other things.  I began to recognize the alphabets and slowly, very slowly, I even began to combine letters and read simple words.  Like on the board above that reads ‘Lonavla’, I could only read the lo,  na and la part in Hindi.

Yummy Chikkis!

Lonavla is famous for its chikkis,  sweets made from groundnuts and jaggery.  But you get other flavors as well:  sesame seeds, coconut, pistachios, and almonds.  We bought a couple of boxes, which weren’t as full as they appear to be.  *sigh* Well at least, they taste good.

A random pick up truck.

Somewhere during this journey, though I’m not sure where exactly, we were instructed by some policemen (yes, there are policemen for each trip) to close our windows.  It was around 9:30 pm, and I was enjoying the cool breeze while reading a book.  I think Masood was updating his Facebook status then.  We complied.  They even came back to check.

A few hours later, when the lights were dimmed and everyone went to sleep, I heard a loud sound.  It was as if something fell, or hit something.  I went back to sleep, only to be awaken by the same sound few minutes later.  I went back to sleep;  I can’t be bothered by anything when I’m exhausted and sleepy.

When we woke up around dawn,  Masood explained to me what actually happened the previous night.

A lonely buffalo.

Along the way – between Mumbai and Hyderabad – there’s this place notorious for robbers.  The reason why the policemen ordered for the windows to be closed was because these robbers usually threw stones at trains.  And that was the sound that woke me up from my sleep:  stones were being thrown at us!

“But what good will throwing stones like that do for them?”  I asked Masood.  He explained that they mean to create fear or panic.  Because apparently some ignorant passenger, like myself, is likely to think that something has happened and pull the emergency stop.  This will stop the train, giving these robbers the opportunity to implement their evil plan.

The hills are alive ...

One evening in Mumbai, Masood went to a nearby bakery in search for some pineapple pie to satisfy by cravings.  They didn’t have one, so Masood asked for apple pie (which he knew was my next favorite).  The bakery waala told him that they used to bake apple pies but that they didn’t sell well, so they stopped making them.  “By the way,” he asked Masood, “where did you hear about apple pies?”  And while Masood was still trying to process the question in his mind, the bakery waala added, “Did you read about it in some paper or magazine?”

“No, we buy it regularly in Dubai.  In fact, my wife bakes them as well.”

“So why are you looking for the same stuff you eat in Dubai?  Try these local stuff.  Have some pav bhaji or bhel puri!“

He has a point, but I was still craving for my pineapple pie.

Farms

This freshly cultivated field in the picture above reminded me of Facebook’s FarmVille, to which I had been obsessed for a whole month.  But more than that, I tried to visualize what must have happened in Kurnool, Masood’s birth place, where thousands of people and animals were displaced by a devastating flood during the first week of October.  Most of the people there are into farming, so I cannot even begin to imagine their loss.

Discipline

Each city of India is a different experience for me.  It’s easier to see what’s bad or wrong in each one of them, but I choose to see the beauty instead.   I could have posted pictures of the slums or the garbage dumped at the road side, but what good will that do?  Why not go out there and enjoy the better things instead?

Sunset

Sometimes, it saddens me to think that I’ve seen more of India than Pakistan.  I want to visit Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Islamabad, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Muree, Kashmir, Sargodha, Gujrat, Larkana, and Faisalabad.  I want to see them all.  If only our immigration officers didn’t give Masood such a hard time.   If only they didn’t openly ask him for a bribe each time he visited.

InshaAllah, someday.

Looking at Old Trees From the Bathroom Window

When we used to visit our maternal grand father at his place, back when we were still in grade school, my sisters and I dreaded one thing:  the bathroom.  It wasn’t a normal bathroom because it was located outside the house, way back in the back yard, where huge trees grew.  The kids from the neighborhood used to tell us that they had heard (from reliable sources, like their parents) that dwarfs and witches roamed about grandfather’s backyard at night.  “They hide behind those old trees in the dark, waiting for fresh blood to feast upon,” they told us.  My sisters and I had, therefore, always tried our best never to go to the bathroom after dark.  And when the situation becomes unbearable, we bring an adult with us.

I don’t know about my sisters, but the fear for huge old trees remained in my mind.  I’m fine during the day, but once dark fell, I don’t like looking at trees.

Here in the old haveli in Mumbai where we will be staying for the next three weeks, the bathroom is (fortunately) indoors.  It’s a very old structure, built by the British sometime in the early 1900.  The huge mansion is made of wood, has a very high ceiling, with huge doors and windows.  I threw all the windows wide open the moment I stepped into the rooms, and breathed in the fresh air.

Then I walked into the bathroom and opened the window.  Here’s what I saw …

It was broad daylight, still the first thought that came to my mind was, “Oh no!  Not old trees!”  I decided to keep the window close before sunset.  Better yet, I decided to not use the bathroom at night at all.  On our first night here in the haveli, I told Masood, “If I ever needed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I’ll wake you up.”

Tonight, I looked out of the window (bedroom window, and not the bathroom) and saw this …

I need to overcome my fears.

Outside My Window …

… are trees that do not bear dates which is, honestly speaking, such a treat to my eyes.  It’s such a pleasant change to not see date palms all the time.  And it’s raining!  It was exciting on the first day, fun on the second, but tiring on the third.  Isn’t October supposed to be the post-monsoon month here in Mumbai?  But alhumdulillah, it is because of these rains that the weather is so cool, we don’t turn on the ceiling fans (which is something very rare, according to some locals).

We moved into this place – which is an hour away from main Mumbai – a couple of nights ago.  I noticed that most of the houses in Mumbai are built on small pieces of land, with almost no space between two houses.  So I was taken by complete surprise when Masood took me here:  an old style haveli built on top of a hill.  It’s gorgeous, mashaAllah.  And the best thing of all, the bedroom has four huge windows, which I keep open all the time.  That’s one thing I can’t do in the U.A.E.  I’m loving the fresh, cool air.

It’s been raining intermittently since we arrived in India.  When it doesn’t rain, we sleep to the sound of crickets having a party, and wake up to the birds chirping delightfully.  And we don’t have a television set.  But we have an internet connection.  It’s pure bliss.

I’ve never felt so relaxed in a very long time.

First Time in Mumbai

The train ride from Hyderabad to Mumbai took 13 hours, stopping only at major stations across three states.  I had been in an unpleasant mood – initially – because we couldn’t get the window seats, and hence I missed out on a very good photo opportunity.  What’s more painful was the fact that the couple who was seated near the window had been sleeping most of the time!  How can one sleep when there’s so much beauty out there to see and enjoy?

But I enjoy traveling so much, I cherished every moment of my train ride.  I love the sound of the train running on its tracks.  In the evening, we couldn’t sleep.  The train picked up so much speed that I thought the train would come out of its tracks!  One thing about the Indian Railways:  they are always on time, unless there is a valid reason to be late.

We arrived at 4 am today, and it has been raining.  I hope the weather clears up tomorrow, inshaAllah, so we can start exploring the place (and take pictures, of course).

My first impression of Mumbai?  Wet and cold.