15 Minutes of Fame

In the span of two days, I have been featured in at least two newspapers and have had more pictures snapped of me than I can count. In fact, people were staring at me and whispering everywhere I went. I guess I'm a big deal. Can you really be that surprised? Maybe I should preface this story with a warning that I did absolutely nothing to deserve this fame. Well, okay in the case of my local hometown newspaper, I did go to India. But for all the rest? I was just in the right place at the right time.

Friday afternoon, I packed up and headed out with some of the other fellows to Warangal, a small town (well small by Indian standards, but I doubt 500,000 people is really all that tiny in reality) about a 3 hour train ride northeast of Hyderabad. In all honesty, we chose the place because it was literally the closest town that at least had some points of interest. Turns out, at least according to the locals, everything cool in India is outside of Andhra Pradesh. But we went anyway, more for the sake of escaping the hectic city than for any real sightseeing.

As disappointing as it may sound to you, there was really no chaos at the train station. I'm sure in the back of the carriages there was some commotion since the seats are not assigned, but we were safely esconced in our A/C compartment, listening to our Ipods and already happy to not be breathing the polluted city air. Once we arrived, we hopped in a rickshaw to check out the hotel we had booked. Turns out it was the nicest hotel in Warangal and the prices proved it. But it was already ten o'clock and we were exhausted. Me and one of the other girls made a valiant attempt to visit another "adequate" hostel nearby but what we found instead was a dank "residency" on the 3rd floor of a mall. Needless to say, the lack of a shower and the fact that I am pretty sure no woman has stepped into the hostel for eons did not recommend it to us. So back to Hotel Landmark and its decent restaurant it was.

The morning consisted of a breakfast of dhosa and a speedy itinerary-planning over coffee. We decided to try and visit a nature reserve about 45 kilometers out of the city. While the chances of seeing any wildlife were low, the prospect of green trees and mountains was too much to pass up. And it turns out, it's pretty cheap to hire a driver and much more convenient than taking a bus. So we piled into the air conditioned SUV and off we went, along narrow country roads and passing through rice paddies and small villages. It wasn't unusual for us to find ourselves playing chicken on the road with a cow and a truck laden with cotton or rice, both heading towards us and taking up the entire roadway. But this was a glimpse of the real rural India, a place I had yet to see. The greenery of the palm trees and farmland, alongside of the fresh air, was amazing and I felt like the actual drive was a part of the destination itself.

When we arrived to the reserve, there wasn't much to see other than some very large monkeys who attempted to ambush our car, and of course, a herd of water buffalo. What I noticed most though was the silence. Something I haven't heard for a month. It was wonderful.

Too soon, we jumped back into the car to return via the cow, wagon, and people-packed roads (I get the feeling that there really are few uninhabited places in India). Once back in town we went to visit the 1000 year old Shiva Temple, which also is famous for its 1000 pillars made of granite. I couldn't even attempt to contemplate the age of the place and while I was trying, I began to realize that I was getting my picture taken. By literally everyone in the place. It was ironic to me that people were taking pictures of me taking pictures of the Temple and my friends were encountering the same thing. Before long, we were approached by a man who turned out to be a reporter for Warangal's local paper. He wanted to interview us about what we were doing there and take our photo. We decided there was little harm to it although I can't imagine that it was very riveting reading. And thus started my 15 minutes of Warangal fame.

The weekend continued in much the same vein, as I began to realize that this town most likely NEVER saw western tourists. If I feel conspicuous at times in Hyderabad, I felt like I was a different species in Warangal. But no matter. Sometimes you just have to own your skin, right? We moved to a cheaper hotel that night and spent the evening deciding to take Sunday easy. So in the sweltering heat of the mid-morning, we headed out to the recommended Warangal Fort.

I was completely blown away by it. I felt like I was in the Indian version of the Roman Forum, with four towering, intricately carved gateways marking the entrance to the fort itself. Within the fort lay ruins of what had once been a massive temple, carved completely out of black granite. Every minute detail was thought of, from the way the granite would reflect the sun to create a natural lighting system, to the precise position of the chisled dancers in the stone, and even to the angle of the lotus petals carved into the ceiling. The fort as well was a remnant of the ancient Kokatia Dynasty and was mostly destroyed by invaders in the twelfth century. However, you could still see how grand the entire fortification must have been. Oh yeah, and families were still clamoring to have their pictures taken with us. Celebrity is such a bother.

Returning to Hyderabad meant I had to leave behind some fresh(er) air and more delicious food but it was nice to come back to the "big city." At the very least because I'm merely just an anomaly here, not an alien. All in all, a great weekend though and a great taste of more Indian adventures to come, I'm sure.