A marathon month of little sleep and lots of activity is almost over and we are relieved at the thought of the monsoon season arriving in India. Ready to welcome the daily showers everyone told us about, it seems, however, that Ms Monsoon doesn’t just knock on anyone’s door. With parts of Mumbai being flooded by showers, Hyderabad remained quite dry up until now, with strong winds during the day and 30-minute showers during some evenings to temper the hot weather somewhat.

A touch of Hindi

Our Hindi lessons are starting to bear fruit – well, definitely for Theo. I’ve had the courage to throw The Language at Raju and Sitaram – but their open-mouthed stares (and is there an occasional hint of horror?) make me doubt the strange sounds coming out of my mouth. However, I may be getting it right sometimes … Last week Hannah, my Kenyan friend, and I visited a large craft market consisting of a wide range of artists and crafters. During price negotiations I threw in a bit of Hindi. Whether they were impressed or determined to get me away from their stalls, I don’t know, but their prices dropped to very satisfactory levels.

Theo, on the other hand, came into the habit of practising his Hindi on waiters, colleagues and shop and flight attendants. In some instances people appear too surprised to recognise their own language – but others are truly impressed and treat him like royalty!

During a recent flight to Chennai Theo again tested his Hindi on the stewardess, who was very impressed and eager to continue conversations with him. Right after the landing, the pilot appeared, wanting to shake hands with this foreigner speaking his language. He had a long conversation with us before we left the aeroplane. And, as we entered the airport, he came towards us again, shaking Theo’s hand for one last time.

Lunch at Sajid’s

Sajid, our driver, invited us for lunch at his home one Saturday afternoon. Feeling a bit weird about being picked up by our driver, only for him to drive back to his house to give us lunch, we were also excited to meet his wife, Rubina, and three children, Shoab, 8, Seema, 4, and Sania, 2.

Yet again we were amazed at how the people in India’s way of living differ from the Western culture. As a middle class Indian family Sajid and his family live in one room that is completely filled by a queen-size bed, in which all five of them sleep, a narrow counter with a two-plate stove, a small table, airconditioner, TV with DVD player and fridge.

From that two-plate stove Rubina dished up the best chicken biryani we’ve ever tasted, as well as chicken and spinach, daal and chapatis. And they didn’t eat with us, but watched as we ate and made sure to keep our plates and glasses full until we indicated that we couldn’t take one more bite or sip.

All in all we had a great experience and enjoyed meeting Sajid’s lovely family.

The first birthday

Sajid’s 30^th birthday was coming up, and Theo and I were wondering what would make his day special. With Theo in Mumbai that week, I was going to be alone that day and wanted to make sure Sajid knows we at least cared …

Sajid cheers for the Brazilian soccer team, so the day before his big day, I had him drive me to a sports shop to buy him a Brazil soccer T-shirt (another weird feeling, making him work for his present!). I hid the package underneath the car seat and asked him to drive me to Q Mart. Does he like cake? I don’t know, but I cannot imagine a birthday without cake … so I had them write “Happy birthday, Sajid” on a chocolate/coffee cake, after which they placed it in a decorated box (their idea) and added a complementary birthday card and a small candle. Sajid must have known something was up, because although I tried to hide it somewhat, that monstrous box caught everyone’s eye.

The next day I congratulated Sajid with his T-shirt and a cash bonus, and asked Raju to get the plates and forks ready for cake after lunchtime. Hannah also came to celebrate. The staff’s dumb-struck faces as they stood around the cake was a clear indication that I’d better not sing “Happy Birthday” too as planned. Having at least one of them fainting on the spot was a big possibility! So I had Sajid blow out his candle and dished out the cake.

Did they like it? Do they eat chocolate/coffee cake? Who knows? They obliged, and their faces gave nothing away – except for good-mannered Sajid, who expressed his gratitude after the fuss. Hannah and I were clear about one thing, though – it was a delicious cake!