A Weekend in Hyderabad

The happy couple, it was not easy to get a picture of them.

My grandmother's sisters. The one on the left is a riot, the one on the right is a retired Hindi teacher from a small village in Andhra

My father's cousins

More of his cousins

My father's sister and son

My father's cousin I hadn't seen since 1982

The same banana vendor from when Prasad was a teenager

Last weekend, we attended a wedding in Hyderabad. I remember that the bride's mother was very helpful at our wedding and  the bride herself was around 10 years old at that time and she hung out next to us pretty much throughout the reception and the wedding. I still can't believe that little girl got married last week and her mother is about the same age as me.

The wedding was on my father's side. I spent some quality time with my father's sisters and some of his cousins. There were a few relatives that I didn't recognize and so everyone kept introducing me to the various members of the family. One of my father's cousins, I had not seen since 1982,  we had spent almost 4-5 months in India that summer and he hung out with us most of the time so we have fond memories of him. It was so nice to catch up with him.  I also chatted with my grandmother's sisters. My grandmother had 5 sisters and 1 brother. This wedding was her brother's grandchild's wedding.  My grandmother was very close to her siblings and they all have similar personalities and are always a vivacious bunch. Although my grandmother died a few years ago, talking to her sisters is a bit like being with my grandmother.  One of them is such a hoot, there are things she said that were just too funny, it's a shame I can't share them here. 

Most of my catching up happened at the pre and post wedding ceremonies. The wedding itself was not too enjoyable due to the heat,  the reception hall felt like we were sitting under a hair dryer. Hyderabad was experiencing 43+ degree temperatures, I certainly should stop complaining about the 30+ temperatures in Bangalore, the rains have started, and the evenings are so pleasant again.

Due to the Telangana disturbances, there was a "bandh" one day. It didn't stop us from going out but certainly Hyderabad is not as safe as it used to be. The kids were bored as they were mostly stuck in Prasad's parent's AC room but it was a treat for them to see their grandparents after 2+ years. Prasad's parents arrived from the US a day before we arrived so we didn't give them much of a chance to settle in.

Our  friends from Sacramento happened to be in Hyderabad the same weekend so we were able to see Anant  and their family. Sindhu was thrilled to see Kavya and her sisters. The  4 days flew by and we were back home to our little "hill station".