I’ve had some alone time in Hyderabad while Marga worked in Cape Town and explored the Great Karoo. Raju seemed to enjoy the less stressful environment (no madam checking up on his work) and he looked very well after me.

But it is great to have Marga back – India is not a place to be alone …

Having spent so much time without Marga, I’m not letting her out of my sight; hence she and her laptop accompany me when I travel for business. Thus, we spent a few days together in Mumbai.

The Taj Mahal hotel and clinching the IPL

I had to attend an evening function at the Taj Mahal hotel and attend several meetings in Mumbai. This gave us an opportunity to spend a night in the historic hotel.

Shortly after our arrival we were greeted in the lift by Shane Warne. (What are the odds in a country of 1.3 billion people to have met 3 international cricket players within 3 months!?)

Shane Warne is the captain of the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL (the same team Graeme Smith plays for). After we gave him a few words of encouragement (and advice) he led his team that evening to victory in the final of the competition. Thus becoming a folk hero in India and being crowned the King of Rajasthan.

I did not have a lot of time to enjoy the splendours of the magnificent hotel, but Marga took some time to snap a few photos. I did however have time to notice that this is the only place in India where a sandwich costs what a lobster normally costs in other 5 star hotels in India (a royal rip off!).

Driving Miss Margie

Marga, hardly back from traversing Cape Town, De Aar and the South African Railways, did not enjoy having her wings clipped and not feeling free to go solo where she wanted to.

So one morning she decided to beat the daily heat and take a walk in KBR Park (a beautiful large park, not far from our house). So it was with astonishment, amazement and sheer horror that Raju, Sitaram and Alex discovered Marga removing the cover from the car that fateful morning.

Alex braved a response “Ma’am going out?” Raju (my loyal and faithful servant) uttered words that could have been fatal: “Master knowing?” Marga contemplated a swift execution (as she does when her freedom is questioned) and entertained the thought of reversing over his foot, but decided to leave without dignifying the question with a response.

So with the assistance of 3 very energetic “parking attendants” she reversed out and reclaimed her 4-wheel freedom.

Just to highlight that this was not an isolated incident, she took the car for a solo run that Sunday again and visited several shops.
(Driving here might not sound like a major accomplishment, but anyone who has visited India will appreciate the sheer chaos and mayhem that is loosely referred to as traffic).

When thinking stops working

We rely quite a lot on the people that work for us and we are happy with the good quality people that make our lives easier. However, once in a while we get a reminder that our lives are now intertwined with theirs (and those of their families) .

One morning, as I was running a few minutes later than usual, I emerged from the house expecting to find Sajid cleaning the car as he usually does before he dodges traffic to drop me off at the office.

I was surprised to find the car standing all alone. Raju confirmed that Sajid has not been spotted that day.

Surprised at not getting a phone call (and worried that he got knocked off his motorcycle on the way to our house) I called him. When he answered, I asked the obvious “Sajid, aap kahan hain?” (Sajid, where are you?) He started apologising and said his mother was very ill and they were with her at the hospital. Being understanding, but a bit miffed that he did not call me, I asked why he didn’t bother telling me.

His honest answer settled the matter : “Sorry Sir, I was crying and my thinking was not working, Sir”. With a melted heart I told him not to worry, but to please to remember to call me if something like this happens again …

Powerless and Sleepless

The last month has been particularly brutal. The heat is on … literally. Temperatures flirted around 45 degrees. And to add insult to heatstroke the power supply seems to have taken a few hints from Eskom.

Our power disappears between 1 and 10 times per day - often for hours and cruelly it is happening more and more at night, when an air conditioner is a vital element to be able to sleep in the cool 30-35 degree night air …

We finally surrendered to the heat and decided to “invest” in a fairly powerful UPS that can supply us with power when there is none.

Now the “simple” task of getting it delivered and installed remains. As with most things in India it is taking some time (and significantly more time than indicated when we agreed to purchase the device). Fortunately by now it is expected, but we get a warm reminder every day when the electricity supply takes a break.

Sanity will be restored once it is up and running.

Photos explained

Some photos on our site might not have been covered in earlier blogs (hopefully Marga will not have writers block again!). So here we go with a quick recap.

Marga went on a rock walk with the Save the Rocks society in Hyderabad and snapped some beautiful pictures of Hyderabad and the natural scenic beauty that surrounds us.

Enroute to our visit in SA in May we stopped over in Mumbai and had time to take a boat ride and visit the Elephanta Caves on Elephanta Island. It is in fact very old temples that were carved in the rock and caves. The name of the island came from a large statue of an elephant which has since been moved to Mumbai itself.

The henna tattoo pictures is of Marga’s hand and is part of the “make up” for the movie role she was briefly involved in.

There are also 2 pictures under “24. More around the house and Hyderabad” of a lemon juice bottle. Note the information on the back stating: “100% natural, 100% fresh, no preservatives, no added flavor or colour.” Also note the salt and sugar listed just above it. Welcome to India – the land of contradictions!

Sweet sounds

We searched all over Hyderabad to find a piano for Marga to rekindle her magnificent love affair with the piano. We found one store that sells pianos, but at a hefty price. So we opted for a more modern approach and found a keyboard with weighted keys. The keyboard has the same number of keys as a piano and the same feel, thanks to the weighted keys.

Needless to say I have surplus brownie points at the moment …

Bye for now, and our final thought:

Ham aap jaldi Hyderabad co aana chaate hain. (We want you come to Hyderabad soon.)

Theo