Tuesday, March 13, 2007

We Interrupt Your Regularly-Scheduled Programming

A message to all of our readers (all three of you, assuming an extremely generous counting of persons related to us). Sorry for the delay with the text (ahem, Vik).

After returning to Delhi from our Himalayan escapades, and imposing on the Mejos’ hospitality for a third time, we quite literally shifted into a lower gear. The long hours on dusty roads in Rajasthan and Uttaranchal caught up to Vik, resulting in a 24-hour head cold from which he recuperated horizontally (primarily in the throes of March Madness analysis). In between repeated forays for orange juice and facial tissue, Kaberi successfully procured lightweight clothing for the hot days ahead.

With some down time in Delhi, we finally managed to overcome some deep-seated procrastination by updating the blog with our complete India adventures. Please scroll back to Older Posts to read about the last month of our travels (beginning with the February 21st post, Not A Kerala In The World).

In order to maximize our endurance for another seven months of traveling, we decided to forego a trip to the northeastern Indian cities of Khajuraho (known for its shockily-erotic Hindu temples portraying the Kama Sutra) and Varanasi (one of India’s oldest – and dirtiest -- cities best known as a site for religious rituals on the banks of the Ganges). Instead, we rerouted ourselves to Hyderabad, the capital of India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh and a burgeoning tech hub, to spend two days with Vik’s Ragunandan Uncle.

After our time in relatively-temperate Delhi, the unrelenting heat from an arid and sun-baked Hyderabad was somewhat shocking. As a result, we were only mildly surprised to discover that our collective energy level was significantly eclipsed by Vik’s 77-year-old uncle. In the midst of some modest sightseeing and nice dinners out, we managed to coax from Ragunandan Uncle some of his exploits as a 17-year-old Indian freedom fighter in 1947 Hyderabad, the most notable of which included an escape to Bangalore to avert an arrest ordered by Hyderabad’s then-Muslim leader, the Nizam.

After leaving Hyderabad glad to have spent some time with Ragunandan Uncle, we returned to Delhi to catch a flight to Bangkok to begin the Southeast Asia leg of our journeys.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love, love, love reading your blog. Vik-your writing has made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. Your descriptions are priceless (and so hysterical). Kaberi- your photos are beautiful. Lots of love, and be safe.

Unknown said...

Where are the pictures?
-One of your 3 relatives!

Anonymous said...

I love this - what a treat in my day to finally get caught up with you guys. It keeps me riveted. Keep writing - I have sent the link to several other folks, some who don't even know you, but who could use a vicarious trip around the world.

Love,
SQP

Anonymous said...

Darnelle, Mat and I are loyal readers...Darnelle so far is the best at keeping up. Maybe I can make the blog part of Gideon's daily readings. Thanks for taking us all along.

Living vicariously,

Ronnie

Donna said...

I love being on this journey with you! My atlas is being used, I'm Googling so many new things, your photos are fabulous. I'm sending this link to Rachel, Corinne, and Susan. Corinne, my husband and I just got back from a week in Beijing, and for sure India is our next destination. Keep the tales coming!

YW Chong said...

more than three relatives it looks like. I concur, MORE PICTURES!