I knew that they played different sports in India than in the US. I knew cricket was popular. I thought soccer was popular (I was mostly wrong - I think I assumed that soccer was common everywhere but the US). But I had no idea that badminton was so popular.

In the evenings, every well lit area is filled with people hitting a shuttlecock back and forth. They play in the streets under the streetlights. Courts have been set up in vacant lots, and some kids in our building have started to set up a court on the side of the building.

Dolly is an avid badminton fan. She played on her team in high school and went to the state tournament. Last night we played for the first time, though she has wanted to since we've been here. She doesn't think hitting it around in the street is "real" badminton though. She wants to play competitively in a gym, free from air currents. She has heard of a gym down the street that has a women's league in the morning, but its hard to get going in the mornings, so I suspect that we'll just play in the yard.