Where we live

Since our arrival in India we have lived on a small estate (commonly referred to as a 'colony' here). There are about 80 houses, a club house, restaurant, swimming pool, badminton court & tennis court. The residents are made up of local Indian families, NRI's (non-resident Indians, those who have American/ Canadian passports) and people like ourselves, so there is a sense that while we do live in a nice community we are not isolating ourselves and living in a Western bubble. The children in the community play together and if a game of cricket, baseball or whatever is started up on the green opposite our house we find that there are many people eager to participate, including drivers.

When we first chose this estate the relocation company were reluctant to promote the estate, telling us it was too far out from the school, airport etc but Hyderabad is developing at such a pace we now find that we are located central to most venues that we frequent. A new airport has recently opened on our side of town, and much to John's delight, a new golf course has opened 10 minutes from the house. John has 10 minute drive to work, and the school is 15 minutes from the house.

The houses on are old in comparison (approx. 10 years old) to the brand new estates that are popping up everywhere, but it's one advantage is it's maturity and of course, lack of ongoing building work. The roads within the estate (all four of them) are tree lined and the gardens lush with foliage, which is a stark contrast to some of the areas you see on a daily basis living in India. Another plus, is the fact that there are no building works (hence no squatter camps) adjacent to the estate and hence the noise levels are about as peaceful as you can get living in a built up area.

Over the past month or so a few families, who are close friends of ours, have moved onto the estate, much to the delight of our children who now have a constant supply of friends to call on. This arrangement works as well for the adults as it does for the kids. An impromptu game of scrabble with G& T's is becoming a regular habit and if achieving nothing else, we are at least improving our knowledge of accepted 2 letter words. lol

Given it's maturity, the estate is geared up to celebrate most festivals that locals celebrate (and there are a lot of them). Last week was the festival of Ganesh, which involved the offerings to Ganesh for a 9 day period and then the immersion of the idol into local lake. Not one of these events seems to be a quiet occasion. There are lots of rituals that are beyond our comprehension but it is nice to see the community celebrate together.

Photos:

1. Ganesh idol on display at for 9 days
2. The procession that proceeded the immersion of the Ganesh
3. Friends who had joined in (ie. got caught up in) local street celebrations of Ganesh festival
4. Children waiting for school bus in morning