Surat

Took a trip to Surat on the weekend. it is said that Surat was the place where Islam first place Islam graced in India. just as Liverpool was where the first mosque of england was erected. a man from Hadramount travelled to Aden and then was later sent to India. his name Seyd Udroos. after reading up on this small fact. i went in search of this history. wondering if there was a tomb of this person. we found a mosque by the name. and asked at the train station when we arrived. and people just kept pointing us in the direction of mosques and muslim area's. eventually the closer we got the more people knew. and before we knew it we were stood outside some sort of tombs. then a little kid arrived, who spoke english and began to tell us about all the graves. and how each person from the family of Seyd udroose is buried there. and then later we meat the descendant. and he spoke to us telling us stories. about how his family came, where they went etc etc. they have a 9meter scroll of their linage dating back to the prophet peach be upon him. amazing.

after this start. we visited some architectural buildings by Matharoo. a crematorium, and two houses. later we visited a Bohra community. its when i realised how  strange cult culture is. first they would not allow up to see the hostels. but after 30 mins conversation. a student showed us around. its a really nice urban intervention. like a vatican city just woven into an India city. you would not notice this place if you didn't know about it. also later it was prayer time. and the guide was very hesitant in telling me where they mosque was and didn't really want me to come. which was strange. i went anyway. but he did not want to be seen with me. so he said you can go if you want. and left. in the mosque every male was dressed exactly the same! incredible and strange at the same time. 

after this we hit the streets at like 8pm, where we ate eggs on the street sitting on the pavement. and then some dessert. heading back home. and before i end this long blog, i should mention that Roberto came with me, we travelled on general class. which is always exciting. meeting so many people but Roberto meet a very unique character. we took the train form Ahmedabad at 4:55am. while we slept on the seat. a woman woke him up and asked to sit where he was sleeping. then sat next to him and began to flirt with this Italian guy in Hindi and later started to complain why she had to get off in Baroda and couldn't go with him to Surat. eventually she got his number off him and went on her way. telling him that she would ring him..... good times.....