Palaces and Forts, Gods and Hijab

A visit to Hyderabad began my 16-day trip in South India, and this blog begins a deluge of posts about it! Hyderabad was founded by a Muslim ruler of India, considered joining Pakistan upon India's Independence in 1947, and still has a high population of Muslims. Here I was surprised when women wearing the niqab voluntarily uncovered their faces in public when they asked me to photograph them. It kind of shuts down that controversy in Canada about refusing drivers' licenses and voters' rights to women wearing the niqab because "they can't show their faces". Although some sects of Islam believe this, nothing in the Qur'an requires women to cover their faces or hair in the presence of men not their family. I've also really come to support the rights of women to cover their hair and/or face. In many regions of India, I voluntarily cover up to gain some relief from a culture of leering men of all religions and this. Trust me, no one is going to undermine that culture by "liberating" her hair, although it is perfectly acceptable to go uncovered also.

Who knew that Buddhism was also so prevalent in Andhra Pradesh's history? The state museum had a large collection of bronzes, stone sculpture, and even a supposed relic of the Buddha. Hyderabad also has the largest monolithic Buddha statue in the country, installed in the middle of the lake in 1992.


I spent an entire day exploring Golconda Fort and the Qutb Shahi Tombs with Penny and Jamie from Britain. Both sites were full of hidden corners, detailed carving, and crumbling ruins. These two cute Muslim girls were dressed in their best for the day out.












The Charmahalla was the palace of the nizams, and had a cool collection of *really* vintage cars.









It was in the same area as the Mecca Masjid, which contains bricks made of soil from Mecca, and the major landmark, the Charminar. This area is one giant bazaar, where I bought pearls. Hyderabad is also known as the City of Pearls.

In Tirupati, the most visited pilgrimage site in the world, and my next destination I took darshan from the god Venkateshwara, also known as Lord Balaji or Govinda. It's not really a tourist destination, because you can't take photos of the temple or the god, and there's nothing else to do. Darshan also involves waiting for hours, or sometimes days, as a minimum of 100,000 pilgrims visit daily, and the number goes up to 500,000. For me, it took about four hours in the "quick darshan" line, also the most expensive. It was an incredible experience, but I was also put off by the "big business" feel; this temple is the richest in India, and it got that way by continually asking for money from pilgrims.