Friday, October 12, 2001: Hospitality in a small village! -- Bagdal, Karnataka, India (Tad)

Hello friends,

I am back in Bagdal. First, I got out my notepad and paper and decided I was going to learn the names of everyone in the extended family that I was staying with. Many of these names are quite difficult for me to pronounce as well as remember, so I made a point to write them all down when I met with members of the family. Nusrat, one of the daughters of Krushed and Gulam Mustafa, dictated names and dates to me and told me who was connected to whom.

My list goes like this: Ismael (the eldest son of my parents' friend Choltu) and his wives Rukiah Sultana and Asmat; Sultan and wife Fatima and their kids Samrin, Sajid, Jasmin, and Hamid; Krushed and Mustafa and their children Maher, Nayer, Azar, Irshad, Farhad, Musrat, Nusrat, Ahil, Adil, and Abid. Nayer is married to Moinodeen and they have two cute little boys, Rayaz, and the baby boy born when Penny and I were here before, Iliaz. Then there is sister Faihmida and her husbad Ekbar and their two children Zabeen and Martin. (I just noticed, editing this journal later, that these names almost all rhyme...cool!) Some of you may find these names easy to remember. Others may see why I wanted to write them down in my notebook.

I was treated to full meals all day, and in the evening met Ismael and his wives Rukiah and Asmat as they arrived from the nearby town of Humnabad.

New names, and new, smiling faces.

TAD