Where in the World Is She?

     To apply for the Fulbright award, I had to decide on a research project and write a proposal.  Since I've wanted to go to India for many years, I asked the history expert, Simone Garvin, to fill me in on the country's issues.  She told me about the long history of tension between the minority Muslim and majority Hindu populations of India.  Since my community has a short history of tension and harmony between Somali Muslims and majority Christians, I decided I had a project.

      Choosing a city in a county of 1.2 billion people with a landmass about two thirds the size of the Continental US presented a new challenge.  A missionary priest from India, Father Francis, suggested I consider Hyderabad, a southern city with a large Muslim population and a booming IT industry.  I had my city!

     The plan was sealed when I called the Rosetta Stone for Hindi helpline.  The man on the other end said he was in Hyderabad and would be waiting for me!   What he didn't tell me is that people in Hyderabad don't speak Hindi.  They speak Telugu, one of India's fifteen official languages, and English--but not always the same way we do.

Fellow researcher Ginea and PhD student Sipoy.

Best transportation around: Auto Rickshaw

     As India's fourth most populous city at nearly 8 million people, a new elevated railway is under construction resulting in traffic jams and dust.  To travel about five miles can take sixty minutes during rush hour.

Elevated train construction 

Heavy evening traffic in shopping district

     Hyderabad is unique in that it never came under English colonial rule.  It is considered an historical city with ancient ruins of the Mughul Golkonda Fort and a 16th century memorial to the people called  Charmaniar.

Charminar Monument to the people of Hyderabad who survived the plague erected by a Nizam whose young daughter perished.  It also celebrates a secure water supply which helped to end the plague.

Market area around Charminar

Market

Everyone visits.  

Can you tell what is for sale in the market below?

     The city was established by a and ruled by Nizams, Muslim viceroys.  As such, Muslims and Hindus have lived side by side for centuries.  Today you will see women dressed in Hindu saris and also burkas.

Women in saris admiring an advertisement.

Young women in burkas at Mecca Mosque near Charminar.

     People typically establish Hindu temples and Muslim mosques near one another.  You can hear the prayer call of Muslims and see a Hindu temple sometimes simultaneously.

     Hyderabad is also considered a modern city.  It is growing rapidly because of a large IT sector; the population has doubled in the past ten years.  The city is also home to research facilities, pharmaceuticals, and a biotech industry.