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Violent protests in Hyderabad...
Feb. 17th, 2006 05:03 amI'm in Hyderabad, staying with friends of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
methanopyrus. Today I was sent off to the Golconda fort in a little hatchback coupe with Sabu's driver. The driver, a big Telugu man, spoke practically no English, but he was kind and drove with a reasonable amount of insanity.
After the fort, I figured a quick shopping trip to Charminar was in order. I thought perhaps I'd buy some perfumed oils, take some good photos of bangle shops, and wander around the funky old market. I told the driver to please head to Charminar, in the Moslem Old City area, and he willingly obliged.
As we turned south onto the main drag in Charminar, we came face to face with a line of five or six policemen holding batons blocking traffic. Coming perpendicularly, from the west, was a large group of Moslem men and boys holding banners, shouting and pumping their fists. One kindly-looking Hindu policeman took one look at my fair skin in the back seat and shouted something emphatically to the driver, who turned the car around to the north and out of Charminar. As we beat a hasty retreat to the north I looked out the windows and saw some *very* angry looking boys my age in the receeding image of the crowd.
This afternoon, about 2 hours after we drove quickly away, the protests turned violent:
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=11892
The news chanels here in town are broadcasting video of boys hurling rocks through shop windows, lighting cars on fire and shouting "Allah-o-Akbar".
I suppose it's good I was with a driver, instead of on my own on foot. I've been mistaken for Danish a few times here in India (I'm very fair-skinned and baby-faced, which I guess people associate with Scandanavians). I was nowhere near danger today, but it was still exciting and a bit scary. I was pondering how I'd convince people that I'm Canadian.
methanopyrus. Today I was sent off to the Golconda fort in a little hatchback coupe with Sabu's driver. The driver, a big Telugu man, spoke practically no English, but he was kind and drove with a reasonable amount of insanity.After the fort, I figured a quick shopping trip to Charminar was in order. I thought perhaps I'd buy some perfumed oils, take some good photos of bangle shops, and wander around the funky old market. I told the driver to please head to Charminar, in the Moslem Old City area, and he willingly obliged.
As we turned south onto the main drag in Charminar, we came face to face with a line of five or six policemen holding batons blocking traffic. Coming perpendicularly, from the west, was a large group of Moslem men and boys holding banners, shouting and pumping their fists. One kindly-looking Hindu policeman took one look at my fair skin in the back seat and shouted something emphatically to the driver, who turned the car around to the north and out of Charminar. As we beat a hasty retreat to the north I looked out the windows and saw some *very* angry looking boys my age in the receeding image of the crowd.
This afternoon, about 2 hours after we drove quickly away, the protests turned violent:
http://www.newkerala.com/news2.php?action=fullnews&id=11892
The news chanels here in town are broadcasting video of boys hurling rocks through shop windows, lighting cars on fire and shouting "Allah-o-Akbar".
I suppose it's good I was with a driver, instead of on my own on foot. I've been mistaken for Danish a few times here in India (I'm very fair-skinned and baby-faced, which I guess people associate with Scandanavians). I was nowhere near danger today, but it was still exciting and a bit scary. I was pondering how I'd convince people that I'm Canadian.
