06/21

8:32 AM (writing this on 06/23)

Dazzling. I woke up in the morning with my back aching! I am slowly getting used to the hardness of my bed. When I woke up, I did not have any expectations for the city tour; I just felt happy that I got the opportunity to go. The city tour was exclusively for the Cornell kids, but my Supervisor made room for me (#perks).

Our first stop was a Muslim tomb for seven famous kings. It was a jaw-dropping to see the architecture from centuries ago (specifically 1016 H) that still exists in today's time!

The thick black color shows that the tombs were not properly cleaned/maintained. Clean or not, I thought the architecture was absolutely stunning. The tombs reminded me a lot about the Palace of Fine Arts. 

Panoramic view of the tombstones

Inside of a mosque

After a tour of the tombstones, we went to the Golcanda Fort. The kings that were buried in those beautifully designed tombs once lived in the Fort. 

Panoramic view of the Golcanda Fort

Here is a History 101 side note: the Fort was created on 1518 by the Shia Muslim and lasted for 100 years. The Sunni caste from the area of the Taj Mahal took over after. Throughout the entire tour, I was just so dazzled by the landscapes and architecture of all of them! Imagine the people living here before, and how they were greatly shaped by the warfare. I have one very interesting story from the Fort. It starts with this photo:

These carvings were made by a prisoner that stole RS 500 million from the king. He used that money to create a mosque in a very far away land. Then, he was found and had to spend 15 years in the dungeon where he created these carvings. Two unbelievable things: 1) he only drank/ate water for 15 years (I am not sure if this is fully accurate) and 2) the king let him go after seeing these carvings. While listening to the tour-guide, I realized the importance of history and how it truly shapes our present generation. And, sooner or later, the present generation will add on its mark in our history and shape the future generation.

   

By the end of the tour, our tour-guide indirectly commented that we under-tipped him. We gave him RS 100, on top of the RS 750, a total of $13. He said that tourists usually tip him RS 300-400 because of his clear English and 20 year expertise. As much as I wanted to give him more money, I was unable to do so. I thought more about giving him the money, than actually doing it. I have more thoughts on the concept of money towards the end of my day.

Our next stop was the Chowmahalla Palace. History 101 side-note: The people that lived in the palace were part of the royal family (I forgot the name). Many of the kings ruled Hyderabad and focused on different aspects of their time. I was greatly fond of one king that made education more accessible to his people by creating universities and medical centers. He even invested more money in education than his army, now that is something unheard of!

A precious photo of the Chowmahalla Palace

Exterior window design

Exterior design of the Chowmahalla Palace

Interior design of the Chowmahalla Palace

Being in the Palace reminded me of our global problem of income inequality. It makes absolute sense for royal families to live in extravagant palaces, but it does not make complete sense to have complete poverty outside of the palace. It seems as if the Palace epitomizes fake wealth, and I can't get my words to fully explain why it felt that way. Don't get me wrong, I felt mesmerized by the interior and exterior design of the Palace, but it seemed too embellished. I definitely would prefer a house in San Francisco, than a Palace in Hyderabad. 

Our last stop before Paradise was the Marble Temple. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to bring our phones, but I was still able to take a photo of the area before I had to hide my phone.

The temple is more to the left (not visible), but there is a statue of a god at the middle of the photo. Since there is no visual representation, I will explain the Temple. We walked a flight of stairs to get to the top, and it started pouring. Who knew that the weather in South India can be so bipolar? Well, we had to go in a circle towards the middle to get to the Temple. Inside the Temple was a extravagantly-clothed elephant god. He has many names, and I was not able to remember any one of them! I understand Hinduism a little more than my friends here, but I still did not understand the significance of the red dot with the mixture of white dot on the forehead. Throughout the entire city tour, I could not fully fathom all of the dazzling architecture! People are just so gifted and talented to create magnificent buildings.

After such a long day, we ended it with a grand dinner in Paradise, a restaurant famous for its Biryani.

I love how there are so much spices in Indian food. I do not really know what I am eating, but I am just glad that I am not allergic to anything. There are also so many dips, and bread (naan/roti), and the flavorful tastes never end! The best part of the entire dinner was the chai, their tea. It tasted like hot milk tea, but 10 times better than the milk tea in San Francisco. The tea took away all of the spice from the food, and if you know me, I am not very good with spicy food. It was the perfect drink to a perfect dinner!

On our way back to the van, there was a kid that looked about 5-6 years old. He looked at me with eyes of hunger and tiredness. He laid out his hand with hopes that I would give him money. Similar to the tour-guide tip situation, I thought more about giving him money than actually giving it to the kid. While the kid kept tapping me, I kept ignoring him by remaining focused in my conversation with my friend. My decision to ignore the kid hit me more in the van. I realized how injustice is really right in front of our eyes through homelessness and poverty, but we choose to look the other way. I do not believe that giving the kid RS 100 would solve his situation. I would have just been a sympathetic foreigner to him that felt pity, and gave him money. But, he will still continue to live in poverty. If I really want to combat global poverty in the present, I have to look at the institutional reasons for why poverty exists. There needs to be better policies that address income inequality, and there needs to be politicians with compassionate hearts that fight global poverty. I do not know how I am going to be a part in solving poverty, but I know that I cannot continue to look the other way when I see poor children. I need to accept that poverty exists, and dive into existing solutions that work. Being here in India is definitely opening my eyes to my fears, my interests and my passions.