Dragonflies Revisited - Return to India 2010

It's been 14 months since I left and Hyderabad still feels like home. The breeze in the evening is warm, the humidity high this time of year, and dragonflies still dance on the wind. I arrived last week and had one day in the office before embarking on my first weekend. There were about 15 cattle in the street immediately next to Microsoft, a large herd for roads in this part of town but they are running out of grazing space due to endless construction. Yesterday was for rest and recovery from jetlag, enjoying the Ista spa and an incredible Ayurvedic massage. Although I've been a happy consumer of massage for years this was new for me. The technique is called Abhyanga, a syncronized massage with two therapists followed by a steam bath and shower. According to the spa catalog this treatment improves physical consistency, help to remove toxins and induces relaxation whilst normalizing blood pressure and eliminating impurities. This appears to be true on all counts that I can measure and is highly recommended if you ever get the change to try it. I slept like a rock afterwards and felt wonderful the next morning.

Today I rented a car and went to meditate at Ananda Buddha Vihara in Mahendra Hills. The temple is about 45 minutes from Gachibowli and the route winds through the main part of town as well as Secunderabad. As usual the driver had trouble finding his way through the narrow streets but we made it with a combination of our collective memories and directions from passersby. The view from the top overlooks Secunderabad which reaches out further every year. If you know where to look you can see Galkonda Fort on a hill far away but it was too hazy today. I had never met the head Ahjahn (Teacher) before but he was there and made a special point of greeting me personally after his talk. He was warm and friendly and asked me about my meditation background. He seemed especially interested in Zen. This temple is Vipassana and the monks are dressed in typical Thai robes. After we talked for awhile he invited me to stay and sit for as long as I liked. So I did. The silence and peace in this place is always inspiring to me which is why I return as often as I can.

When I went to retrieve my sandals a man followed me out and we had a long talk about the dharma. Chakradora was a follower of Osho and had all sorts of interesting views on practice and the meaning of life drawn from Hinduism as well as Buddhism. I knew something of Osho who was named Rajneesh in the USA, his community fell afoul of the law over a number of egregious activities as well as conflict over land use and Osho ultimately returned to India, dying in 1990. But his teachings became quite popular after his death, especially in India. It was a fascinating and engaging discussion but after awhile it became clear he was trying a bit too hard to win me over. So I excused myself and took some photos.

My last stop was City Center where I love to shop and eat. But on the way my driver asked if I'd like to see a handicrafts shop. Having travelled in India before I knew that he was likely on commission but thought I'd make him happy anyway. So we stopped at Handicraft-de-India in Banjara Hills which was on the way. Amazingly I knew Faroz, a local importer and businessman, very well and have dealt with him in several other shops over the past three years. So I'm an old customer in several ways and evidently famous from what he tells me. Its the long white hair that does it, that's what he claims. More likely the rupees I bring their way myself and from other foreign colleagues. Faroz knows my taste too well for my own good and took me upstairs to see some antique art. I hope it really is as valuable as he claimed, one can never be sure so spend only what you can afford to... and truly love the pieces you buy. This time Faroz outdid himself. Out of the beautiful pieces he presented I bought a lost wax casting Buddha in a very unusual sleeping position, head bowed over knee in a seated posture. The face is exquisite as is the bronze and gold ornamentation. It is supposedly 60 years old and from a family collection. He also had a number of conch ceremonial horns with various types of artistic coverings. Most of these were far too expensive to even consider as they were adorned in silver but we settled on a smaller piece that I loved after haggling over the price for a long time. As a foreigner I know I won't get the best deals myself, you do better with a colleague present most of the time. But part of the price paid is for memory of the haggling process and friendships you make along the way as well as the merchandise. On one of my early trips a colleague tried so hard to get the price down that we nearly ended up in a fight and I'd prefer not to repeat that experience.

So finally we arrived at City Center. On the bottom floor was a marketing event and they had set up a fish pedicure pool, a few people had their toes in the water where throngs of fish nibbled away. Don't knock it till you've tried it I guess, amusing to watch for sure. This seems to be spreading across the world from Latin America and the Caribbean which is why I mentioned it, interesting how much Hyderabad has come into the global spin of trends and fashion. Thoughtful Indians are asking themselves how much of this is positive and how much reflects the extent to which their society is still colonized, struggling for its own independent identity based on deep cultural traditions. I've spent hours talking to one of my colleagues about this and its inspiring to hear his passion for his culture. There is an important book by Pavan K. Varma called "Becoming Indian" in which he delivers a thoughtful argument that India can never truly be free unless it reclaims its intrinsic cultural identity. I would never have understood his argument without traveling here through the explosive growth of the past three years.

Crossword books is still in City Center and I bought a few books that were missed on the last trip. Plus a stuffed, very soft tiger for a friend's daughter who is having her first birthday party this evening. I was asked to attend and will do so if I can get another driver for a few hours. If not I'll deliver the gift to him tomorrow morning in the office, you have to be flexible in India and everyone understands that. My favorite luncheon haunt was closed for a private party so after a few nice plates of Chinese food we headed back to the Ista where I'll spend the rest of the afternoon. Another great day in my second home.

Thanks for listening...