A Bindi For My Brother

Our first trip to a Hindu temple was a huge learning experience. With Charanya as our guide and teacher we learned all about the different Hindu gods and their powers, plus the customs of worship at each sanctum inside the temple.

We visited the local Film Nagar Daiva Sannidhanam Temple here in Jubilee Hills. Before entering the temple you must remove your shoes and wash your feet. No cameras are permitted inside the temple, so

there are only outside pictures in this posting. There are different sanctums placed throughout the temple, each housing a different god. A priest is stationed just outside each sanctum to give each worshiper some blessed water (he pours it into your cupped hands, you drink some and pass some over your head). The waters are flavored with camphor or tulsi (Indian basil). Then the priest recites a blessing for you and you bow as he puts a silver cup on your head. Sometimes they will throw rice or turmeric on your head as part of the blessing. Keep in mind that when I say ‘priests’ they look nothing like Christian priests. They look more like Gandhi in their simple wraps of fabric.

Here is a photograph of the entrance to the temple, of what we think is a statue depicting the many avatars of Shiva or Vishnu.

We visited the following sanctums within the temple:

Ganesha, the elephant god (the remover of obstacles)

Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity (both material and spiritual), light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage, and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm.

Saraswathi, the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts.

Shiva, seen as the supreme god in the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of god. Shiva is an adjective meaning “auspicious, kind, gracious”.

Vishnu, the supreme god in the Vishnuvite tradition of Hinduism. Vishnu is the all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of-and beyond-the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, and one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within (thanks Wikipedia! :o) Vishnu has a number of avatars (yes, Hinduism is where avatars originated, not Nintendo and Hollywood).

Hanuman, the monkey god is believed to be an avatar of Lord Shiva. Hanuman is worshiped as a symbol of strength, perseverance and devotion (reminds me of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz).

Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism. He is considered the Perfect Man or Lord of Self Control or Lord of Virtue.

Krishna, many Vishnava groups recognize him as an avatar of Vishnu while others consider him to be the Supreme Being.

And there were still others………If you are interested to learn more about Hinduism and its gods, go to Google. Thank Shiva, Vishnu and Krishna for Google! :o)

Now, this next part is just for Jenni’s brother Ben.

My dear brother had been texting me asking me if ‘I’ve got the red dot on my forehead yet’. Well, Benny, as we were being blessed at one of the sanctums in the temple, a priest gave us our Bindi (or red dot as you call it). It is made from vermillion and turmeric powder and applied by the priest using his finger after he gives you the blessing. It is a symbol that we have worshiped today in the Hindu tradition. This photo is just for you! :o)

It was really fascinating to experience these Hindu traditions. There are volumes more to learn about this religion and its philosophies, gods and history. We can’t wait for our next temple visit.

Walkabout

Rowan, Charayna and I were out walking around the neighborhood the other day and came across this little park so we decided to check it out. It was a nice green space (there are few of those here) with lots of trees and nice landscaping. It seems that the men tend to take afternoon breaks when they come to read and take naps in the park. The women continue to work! As we walked around, we came across the cutest litter of puppies, probably 12-16 weeks old. I just couldn’t resist and had to go over and see them. We could have taken any one of them home with us. The mother was nowhere to be seen, so we hope someone looks after the poor little fleabags.

As we went on our way I had to stop and check out this construction project. I have been noticing that the scaffolding they use to put up around multistory construction is all made out of wood poles tied together. Yes, TIED TOGETHER! It just amazes me that the workers walk around up there on nothing but sticks tied together with rope. We have seen 10 story buildings completely wrapped in this kind of scaffold. Yikes!

Charanya took us on another outing so we could start looking for some kitchen utensils we would need for our own apartment that we move into on Monday. We had our driver take us to another part of town where our friend Shubha said there is supposed to be a good utensil shop. We arrived at this little street that was lined with all sorts of shops and vegetable carts. We came across this interesting chalk drawing on the street, of Jesus on the cross. We found it interesting since this is a primarily Hindu region.

As I was taking this photo I looked up and had a cow coming right for me! Toro! Toro! I said. The locals on the street were very amused by this.

We found our utensil shop and proceeded to get a big pile of assorted containers, cutting boards, chopping knives, frying pans, etc. All of these things we will leave with Charanya when we leave our apartment. The wheeling and dealing was so much fun. We walked out of there having only spent $26 US. It is amazing how cheap things are here. As we were getting ready to leave the shop and find our vegetables, another cow was at the bottom of the steps just hanging out. I love it! Here are some photos.

Thank goodness fresh food is so plentiful and inexpensive here. We were able to get this beautiful selection of fruits and vegetables for only $3.60 US. We are definitely in our food element! :o)

Angeethi – Punjabi Delight

We were all keen to not cook tonight and go out for dinner instead (since we have done little of that). Our friend Shubha recommended a place called Angeethi, a restaurant that prepares north Indian cuisine from the Haryana/Punjab region. Haryana borders Pakistan to the west and is where the capital city of Delhi is. We will be traveling up to Rajasthan, just south of there, in early March.

Punjabi food is prepared using some different ingredients and spices than the southern Indian food we have been preparing and eating here in Hyderabad. Oooooweeeeeeee! Are there some-a-spicy dishes here! Shrikant & Charanya helped us get a good selection of dishes so we could experience a good sampling of the food. We started off with a couple of drinks, Jal Jeera (when it came to the table I thought it was a glass of pond water with frog eggs floating on the top! Tasty!) and Lassi, which looked like a glass of milk (and a little safer to drink!). The Jal Jeera (cumin lemonade) is made with water, ground cumin, mint leaf paste, lemon juice, black salt, cilantro paste and dry mango powder. Boondi, little deep fried flour balls, are floated on the top. To say it has a very unique taste is an understatement, however we grew to like it by the end of the meal. Lassi is made sweet, salty or fruity. We were served the salty version here. It is made with yogurt, cumin seeds, milk, lemon juice and salt - much easier to drink right off the bat and pretty tasty.

The waiters in the restaurant were dressed in traditional Punjabi attire, which made it fun as they came to the table to serve us. If any of you go out for Indian food, we highly recommend looking for these Punjabi dishes if you can find them. They are extremely delicious, but be ready for some heat.

Here is what we had:

Bhatti Di Champ – chicken rubbed with spices. The least spicy of our dishes and very tender

Roghan Josh – Lamb in the most delicious curry sauce I have ever tasted. The lamb fell off of the bone. Very spicy but you just can’t stop eating it because it’s so good. If Mutton Biryani is a pot of love, this is a plate of pure PASSION! YUM! YUM! YUM!

Paneer Kurshan – Indian cheese dish with peppers and veg.

Sarson Ki Saag – Mustard leaves with kick-yo-ass-hot chilis that sneak up on you as you take that big bite expecting it to be a harmless little vegetable dish. I almost had to take off my clothes I was having such a sweat! It was delicious.

Chilies anyone? :o)

I feel ring sting coming on :o)………………

For dessert we walked over to the Paan counter in the restaurant where they make fresh Paan right in front of you. Paan is made by using a Betel leaf. There are regional variations (India & Pakistan). It is chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener and digestive. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco in paan fillings. Most paan contains areca nuts, cardamom, anis, katha with choona (lime paste), grated coconut, different kinds of betel nuts and a small piece of various candies. The variety of ways it can be made is endless. Here are photos and a movie of the Paan counter.

The Paan was the most unusual flavor explosion we have ever experienced. I can't really explain what it tastes like and does to your mouth. The texture is leafy, crunchy & crackly. Rowans hilarious response - 'I feel like I just ate a bar of soap! So I guess it tastes sort of like an organic toiletry? We laughed all the way to the car. We would do it all again in a heartbeat!

Shilparamam Art Market

One of the great ways to experience this culture besides the food and religion is by immersing yourself in its art. Shrikant has Sundays off from work (yes, the work week here is 6 days!), so we decided to take a trip out to the Shilparamam Art Market. This is a huge market that is open year round and features art and handicrafts from artists all over India and the region. We are excited to see what kinds of things we might start collecting to bring home.

There were many stalls full of outstandingly beautiful textiles, clothing, pottery, jewelry, religious art, toys, floral creations, furniture, etc. Shrinkant & Charanya took on the task of bartering for us and giving us an idea how much things should be worth. Knowledge we will certainly use in the future when we are out traveling on our own. Here are some photos of our shopping spree:

Rowan getting ready to barter for some textiles

Jenni & Shrikant in a sea of clay figures

The puppet theatre

These pots are as tall as Jenni

The market also has a big open-air theatre where they put on musical shows. Tonight they were having one that told a story about some Hindu gods.

This is only the beginning. Our next task will be to buy another suitcase to bring home all of our treasures.

Confessions of a Foodie

Most of you must think how lucky we are to have the opportunity to create and eat all of this fabulous food. I have to tell you that I would never have dreamed I would have an opportunity like this, especially in a country like India, where we have friends who are taking the time to expose us to and teach us about their food and culture. Just an invaluable experience that we appreciate so much.

We have never eaten so many chilis and so much spicy food in our lives. So much curry (YUM!). After being here a full week now, I confess that I am starting to crave some American comfort food. It really hit me when we passed that herd of cows on the street the other day and all I could see was sirloin steaks and hamburgers! I did pick up some frozen ground beef I found at the Q market (burgers are in our near future), as well as a can of tuna fish and some Hellmann’s mayo (Yes, they actually had the real stuff!). I devoured a tuna sandwich for lunch yesterday and had a PBJ sandwich for breakfast this morning. Thank goodness we have found the American grocery for when we need that ordinary food experience. Hopefully, this will help prevent the 'ring sting' I know is coming our way.

So far, so good :o)

More on Food.......

Our hosts continue to feed us like royalty. They insist all of the food they are teaching us how to prepare is just their every day fare. For us it’s all so exotic and different. The spices and odd vegetables are just outstanding! Here is a great example of odd vegetables.

Kara Curry – made with Littlegourd, it looks like a very small cucumber but has an inside like a jalapeño but isn’t hot. It is sliced thin and stir-fried with curry spices and chilis. Very simple and delicious.

Vetha Kozhambu with Drumstick – This is a Sambar using a tamarind base (see earlier post on Sambar). The Drumstick vegetable is used in this one. A very long thin green twig type thing. It is chopped into 3 inch pieces and boiled in the sambar with spices. It becomes quite soft in the center so you can suck the fruit out of the twig when it is done. It has a sweet taste that is fabulous with the tamarind and chilis in the sambar. See photo above of Littlegourd and Drumstick. These dishes are served with rice and a drop of Jaggery, sugar that is boiled into a paste, kind of like palm sugar, and chappathi, of course. YUM!

soaking the tamarind

preparing the sambar spices

from left- yogurt, vk w/ drumstick, rice, kara curry, asst. sprout salad

Now, in case that wasn’t enough for you…….

Can you say Mutton Biryani? This is one of Shrikants specialties, so he was the one doing the magic for this meal. This dish is just a big pot of LOVE. The method is as follows:

Marinade cubed mutton or lamb in yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon, cinnamon, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Let sit for about an hour. Sauté onions and chopped tomato in more spices. Add that to meat marinade and biryani masala. Simmer to reduce the curry. In a separate skillet stir fry red onions, fresh pineapple, cashews and raisins.

Make some basmati rice and add ghee, saffron and a bay leaf.

Layer into a covered cooking dish – rice, red onion/pineapple stir-fry, meat curry and repeat. Serve with a yogurt/cucumber/chili/red onion and coriander mixture. And, of course, chappathi.

Dessert- Kaju Katli. A ground cashew sweet wrapped in a thin silver foil. :o)

Bollywood

How could we come to India without going to see a Bollywood movie? The movie industry is HUGE here, and I must say, they do a great job. Shrikant, Charanya, Sandhya, and Shuba (from the Eye Institute) decided to take us to a movie. We told them it didn’t matter that the movie would be in Hindi with no sub titles. We would watch the movie and give them our version of the story at the end. It was hilarious.

The movie was a comedy/drama/love triangle story called Ishqiya which means love (only in Bollywood!). The bad guy was after two brothers for something they had done and was going to shoot them in their own grave that they had just dug for themselves. Of course they got away and the bad guy kept chasing them. The brothers end up at this safe house place run by a beautiful young woman who both brothers fall for, hence the love triangle. The plot thickens when the bag of money they took from the bad guy disappears. Bladi, blah, blah………suddenly there are all sorts of folks chasing each other around trying to find the money. An ex husband of the love interest appears. Etc. etc. The brothers have a fistfight over the woman who ends up driving off in the car while they fight. It was hilarious how close we were to guessing the plot. In the end the three of them survive and all the bad guys die when the safe house burns down (except for the original bad guy who really turns out to be a wimp). We had a great laugh.

We will try to see at least one more traditional musical Bollywood film before we leave.