Saturday, August 31, 2013

Friendly Visit

Bara Imambara - An Ancient site in Lucknow


 
Did you get it?
This past month, one of my family friend who is from Fiji paid me a visit in Lucknow. His late father was one of my father’s best friends. He came up for 5 days.  I had the opportunity to speak with him in my own language. It felt like I was home. He is studying in Hyderabad so he came up on his holiday break. It took him 30 hours by train to get to Lucknow. What do you do for 30 hours in a moving train in India? I will let you know if did. So I was his local guide. I took him here and there. One of my friends in Lucknow told me to go to BBQ Nation. So I took him. Very nice food, service was excellent. Lot of meat though but it was all good. The amazing thing was that it cost us only $8 [NZ] per person. You can eat as much as you like. They put a BBQ grill in front of you and will place meat on a skewer.   They will replace any empty skewer. Patrons also have access to a buffet meal. You can have all these for only $8. This meal in New Zealand may cost like $30-$50 per person. I shouldn’t have eaten lunch on that day, lol! The good thing was we both enjoyed the meal and of course the company. Funny thing happened when he was returning back home to Hyderabad by train. His train berth already 11 people inside his compartment, there was no seat for him, even he paid for a seat. It should be 8 people. 8 beds mean 8 people! Three extra people sneaked in the train without ticket. I said to him good luck finding a seat inside. However he did well and those people left and he had a seat to travel on.




Shocking
Last week was shocking! I was travelling on a rickshaw. A rickshaw is like a bicycle transportation vehicle driven by a person. Suddenly, a police vehicle smacked a passenger on a motorcycle with his jeep. Both the passenger and the motorcycle spanned few times around before it came to a standstill. However, the police vehicle didn’t stop. The passenger was able to walk out of it but his motorcycle was totalled. I felt sorry for him because of his bike was ruined and no compensation for damages caused.
Funny
Brick washing
I made friends with a British family, so I took them out for some sightseeing. Now this family of four are Caucasian, very white and fair. They have two cute daughters and the older one who is around 3 years has a cute smile. I took them to Bara Imambra [a touristic place in Lucknow] and everyone wanted to take pictures with her and her family. Local will come with their camera and snap pictures of them and with them. They even took pictures holding the baby. The couple was accommodating at first but we had to draw the line somewhere. It was becoming too much. Every metre we covered people came to take pictures. I even took pictures of them taking pictures for the family. Their daughter loves her picture being taken. Many locals have not seen white foreigners in Uttar Pradesh.

Unfair

On 22nd August, two weeks ago the local public transport system went on strike. Why? Because they wanted the government to increase transportation fare! The Indian rupee is going down and the fuel price is going up. Drivers were demanding an increase in fare for a while now but the government has yet to approve any increases. So they went on strike, while some continued to work. We were actually caught in between the dispute. As my British friends and I was travelling back home, all these drivers on strike surrounded our vehicle and demanded the driver to stop work. So I said in a calm voice to those blocking our ride to let us go, they said no, no, no. I replied, “Why you want to bring bad name to India. What will my friends think about India when you all behave like this? India will get a very bad name”. They replied the name of India is already bad. Eventually they let us off, but the driver got scared and he dropped us to the nearest roundabout and took off. The reason he gave was that other drivers can smash his vehicle and even beat him up. So we got off and eventually found another ride back home. Okay, the next day the police became very strict with them. Before they could transport 10 passengers but now they only can carry a maximum of seven passengers at any one time, instead of ten passengers, usually they squeezed three extra passengers in but now they lost three passengers because they went on strike. Last year the drivers went on strike and the government made a law that all drivers should wear a uniform. So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t go on strike?

Surprised

I was surprised to find three more Fijian residents here in Lucknow. I have yet to meet them in person, but managed to get their phone numbers. So stoked to know this! Perhaps their company will deliver me from my boredom in Lucknow.

Frustrating

Still hot! I thought the temperature would be going down by now but I am wrong. Although for the past few days it has been raining heavily, the temperature remains the same. I am so looking forward to winter. Hope not to complain too much during winter.

Rupees [Indian Currency]

For me it is actually working out well since the rupee has fallen about 20% in her value. Although local and business people are disappointed with this but I am happy because I get a bit more out of a dollar. The price of Gold is going up but the rupee is going down.

Project

I am seriously thinking about some project to do with underprivileged children or people. There are so many needs. If you earn less than $20 [US] per week you are below the poverty line. Many people in Lucknow have families living in their village because it is a bit cheaper than urban Lucknow. Usually the husband or father will be working in Lucknow and they send money to their family and visit them every three months. The question I ask is: what can I do? What role I can play to help these people? Lot can be done, but need wisdom and understanding what and how to do it.

Sports Time

Thanks to YouTube I managed to watch the Bedisloe Rugby game between All Blacks and Australia. It is very difficult to find online streaming games on the internet. I have to settle for replays on YouTube. Football is no problem. I can watch it online but awkward hours. Congratulation to All Blacks winning the Bedisloe cup for 11 conservative years!

Past

Presently, I am reading a book on medieval history of India by V.D Mahajan. It is a fascinating work especially understanding how India came to be. India was ruled by Kings, Emperor, Mughals and even slaves at one time. Many Kings, Emperor, Mughals and even slaves who ruled India was killed by someone close to them and succeeded in their place. They had amazing economic plan and foreign policies and most important how they defended India against invaders.

 

Future

Perseverance, stick-ability, endurance, commitment is top on my list. Language study is going well. Verbally, I am doing okay. Writing is a struggle. I have to increase my writing speed. I can read road signs, shopping banners and stuff. This is one hurdle I have to overcome so things will be much easier for me.

Thanks

Thank you all for your friendship and support. I very much appreciate it. This journey is not for loners. It is team work. Please free to drop me an email or two. Love to hear from you all. Take care and God bless.