Satya to the rescuse

I was barely done with my morning run and ironing episode when a high school friend, Satya, pinged me on IM. It turns out, he and his wife were in a guest house in the same colony, just 2 streets down. I knew that he too had moved to Hyderabad a little less than a month ago, but to find him living just 2 streets away was a very pleasant surprise.

10 minutes after the IM, he was at my guest house with Matilda and Xena, who looked as healthy as ever. If anything the pups had added a little padding on their trip from San Diego; or maybe it was the Indian hospitality that had done it's magic in less than a month.

The dogs greeted me with great enthusiasm. After the initial jumping and licking, Xena went about doing her own thing and Matilda's ADD (Attention Demanding Disorder) kicked in. She'll stand perfectly still as long as you keep petting her, but heaven forbid you stop for a moment. I was really surprised to see that they recognized me. Satya brought me down to earth by telling me that they meet every stranger with the same enthusiasm. Thanks man!

We hung out again in the evening. Saw his new place, which given the lack of neighbors has definite badminton potential. Two poles and a few hydrogen lamps and I can see a lot of badminton being played here along with any other games we come up with, just like we used to when we were younger.

Upon returning to the guest house, we played pool and carrom board while we waited for his wife Nayna, who was still at work (she works too hard and something will soon need to be done about that). I was terrible at both games but I blamed the performance on the jet lag and vouched that I would soon have my revenge.

We did do to a place called Chutney (I think) for some South India food, but I don't remember much more of the evening as I was literally falling asleep. Will need to go there again to really find out how good it is.

Thus ended a long first day in Hyderabad, with Cinderella turning in well before midnight. It was an eventful, busy day and I was glad that there was at least one familiar face to see me through it. Thanks Satya!