The final count and folding of the 134 beautiful sarees before they get put on a truck to Calcutta and then a boat to the US. After sending them I learned that the W. Bengal Govt. will tax me for interstate commerce and I have to fill out some complicated paperwork for this!

The famous "real" Gadhwal sari with a cotton field and silk borders and pallu. The transition between the two areas of fiber content is tricky as they have to interlock the warp threads at the border and start of the pallu. The result is a comfortabley cool sari with all the splendor of silk! You can also get Gadhwal in pure cotton which they call "junior - or - semi" Gadhwal.

I watched, astounded as these gentlemen ate a HUGE amount of food. They kept calling the waiter for more, more. Afterward they kept burping loudly - something that is not considered so, well, disgusting in India.

Charminar, the edifice of four minarets, is the legendary masterpiece of the Qutb Shahis. The awesome rectangular structure was built upon four grand arches by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate the end of the plague.

The plan is a square, each side 20 meters long, while the four arches are 11 meters wide and rise 20 meters from the plinth. The four storied minarets rise 20 meters from the roof of the massive monument and measures 24 meters from the plinth. The western section of the roof contains a mosque with 45 prayer spaces with a large open space in front to accommodate more for Friday prayers. To the east of this space is a veranda with a large open arch in the centre, flanked by smaller ones both sides.

Classic Moghul architecture is to be found all over the city.

Founded originally by the Kakatiyas in the 13th century, the existing structure was expanded by the Qutb Shahi kings into a massive fort of granite with walls and ramparts extending some 7kms in circumference. The fortress city within the walls was famous for the diamond trade and the Koh-i-noor diamond is said to have come from here.

This is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and lies 100 yards south-west of Charminar. The name is derived from the Grand Mosque at Mecca on which it is patterned. The hall is 67 meters by 54 meters and 23 meters high. The roof is supported by 15 arches, five on each of the three sides. At each end are two huge octagonal columns made out of a single piece of granite each topped by an arched gallery that is crowned by a dome. The mosque is one of the largest in India and can accommodate ten thousand people at a time.