For the uninitiated, Cyberabad is Hyderabad - the new name connected with the AP CM's effort to win the "cyber" war with Bangalore!
It was 5.15 PM on Friday afternoon, when the Secunderabad Express chugged into Cantonment Station. Nathan was ready - to run and get a train ticket, in case Umasuthan didn't appear - as the latter had our tickets!
There were 5 of us for the onward journey - Nathan, Uma, myself, and a couple of Nathan's friends - Bobby and Guru. The train ride was pleasant, the bonus being the existence of a Pantry Car on board.
Guru had an "open" ticket, and shared Nathan's berth - their sleep interrupted by the TTE at night!
We were in Kacheguda at 6.30 AM (the Station before Secunderabad) and got into a waiting autorikshaw. A cop manifested before us, and thrashed the driver (literally!) - he had violated the "queue" system. We got into a "queued" auto and rode the 10 minutes to Nathan's place.
We freshened up and had an early lunch (at 9 AM) in preparation for the sight-seeing ahead. We were joined by Nathan's cousin - Sriram. Sriram is doing BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts), a 5 year course after Std. X. He is a gifted painter and his sketches and portraits are terrific!
Autos were the preferred mode of transport - not only to save on time, but also because their rates were very reasonable - and they put on the "metres". The auto drivers just charged a nominal, Rs.5/- or Rs.10/- extra for 4 of us boarding the same auto. For the same thing the Bangalore autowallahs would have asked for 1.5 times the metre! (The less said about Madras autos the better!)
Our first destination was Salarjung Museum. This is a large complex which houses the possessions of "Salarjung" dynasty, which ruled Hyderabad for quite some time. There are 35 Rooms on two floors, each containing various category of exhibits - paintings, earthenware, clothes, statues, etc.
We could hardly do justice to the Museum in the 90 minutes we spent there, but we didn't miss out on the central piece of attraction there - the wooden clock. Every half hour, a soldier comes out of a door inside the clock and strikes a gong - to signal the time. At twelve, the gong is struck twelve times - the longest period of activity. We were amidst 200 hundred witnesses to the "event" - most of them, children and tourists from various places. Needless to say, the event is more hype and less excitement!
Another "must see" item was the "Veiled Rebecca", a sculpture by an Italian artist. It is so perfect that one could feel it is a cloth veil which covers the statue.
The next destination was Charminar, a popular "landmark" of Hyderabad. This is located in the middle of "Old Hyderabad" - in the middle of a busy junction. Charminar is a smaller version of Gateway of India - of course! in the Islamic style of architecture. There are four minarets on the four corners, but there is no entry up.
Next to that was the Mecca Mosque. We went into the complex but not inside the mosque. We saw a hoard of pigeons which fly about the place - an exciting sight.
Onwards to the Nehru Zoological Park. This visit was more for Sriram's sake. We took a long walk around the zoo, not paying too much attention to the exhibits. However, a large white tiger did catch our attention, with its majestic splendour. We wouldn't take the "lion safari" due to the rush.
The walk was exhausting - the zoo covering a large area. Once out, we crossed the road to "Bharat Hotel" for an "Iranian tea" and biscuits.
Iranian tea is a speciality of Hyderabad.
Personally I couldn't find much difference from the ordinary
tea - other than the tea being a little milky. But the more
interesting part is the biscuits. The waiter places
a few biscuits on the table. We can take whatever we
want and are billed only for them. Umasuthan
flatly refused to partake the biscuits, as he wondered what
was done with the leftovers. As expected, the leftovers
went to the place from where the biscuits
originated - to be served to the next
customers! (By the same extension, we could have
been served the left overs of the previous customer!!!)
We boarded an auto to Lumbini Park. This is where we were supposed to have a "gettogether" with whoever could make it. (As it turned out, none "made it") The Park is adjacent to the Hussainsagar Lake, another landmark of Hyderbad. In the middle of the Lake is the giant Buddha Statue, which has been installed on a platform and well lit. (Incidently, the statue did have an adventure making it to its destination, as the barge carrying it capsized en route... anyway, that was a while back)
On "popular demand" we tried a "speed boat" ride over the Lake. This was quite thrilling, though shortlived! We lazed in the Park, while Nathan and Sriram left. At 7.15 PM, we saw the Musical Dance Fountain "performance" in the Park. It wasn't impressive, as the audio system wasn't good, as also the crowd was restless!
From there, we walked 10 minutes to Birla Mandir. This is located at an elevation and a narrow lane leads to it. Once inside, we discovered, we were in a long queue for the darshan - it being Saturday.
After a 30 min wait, we had a nice darshan of Lord Venkateswara. From the temple, there is a good view of the city - the Lake, the statue, park and the sky-rises.
The day's sight-seeing thus ended, with us, returning to Nathan's place and hitting the sack.
We set off next morning to Golconda Fort. We went part way by auto, and then set off by "mini taxi" - a 7 seater auto. This was a new experience for us. This "taxi" charges by head and varies the destination, based on where the majority of the passengers want to go.
On the ride to Golconda Fort, we passed the well-maintained Cantonment area.
The Fort is impressive and epitomises the best security features of those times. There were 7 fort doors, each door positioned at the curve of a road (to avoid a frontal attack using rods mounted on elephants).
Steps lead up to the top of the Fort. Horses used to ascend the steps, carrying human beings and loads.
We stopped at various places, en route, to admire the scenery as well, as look in at the buildings - granaries, mosques, etc.
The King's palace was located at the top, and well ventilated by natural means. The transport of water from the bottom to the top was done in an ingenious way - by having three wells at different heights, and having water pumped from the lower to the higher, using equipments powered by human labour.
From the highest point of the Fort, the entire city is visible. The breeze is very pleasant and makes light of the heat!
The Qutub Shahi tombs are located close to the Fort, and that was our next destination. This is where the Royal family were buried and there are a number of tombs - small and big. We stopped for a while to enjoy a group of guys, diving into a well.
The tombs cover a large area, which is made shady by lots of trees, and the walk around the place was pleasant.
From there, we returned to Nathan's place by an auto - driven by a one-legged person. The auto had a tyre puncture as well as ran out of petrol during our ride, thus making the ride memorable, so to say!
We found Baa (Bhagavathiraj, our junior) at Nathan's place on our return. We bid good bye to Nathan and family and left for Sowmya's place, with Baa. We missed the prospects of a packed dinner, courtesy Sowmya's mother, due to some "communication" gap!
We spent an hour at her place, before it was time to board the
train. The return journey was uneventful, but for the vain bid to
get a cool drink on the train. Myself and Nathan walked
through a dozen bogeys to the Pantry to find that the cool
drink wallah was missing! We
located him on our return, with an empty bucket - all bottles
having been sold. For the records, Nathan
didn't manage to get his cool drink - and in fact, we barely
managed to grab a sandwitch and cutlet at 10 PM for our dinner!
Monday morning found us surpringly at Bangalore City Station at 7 AM, the train 15 mintes before time. We had reconciled to a 2 hour delay, but now it meant - right time to office!
Found in our Railway coach - "Please do not accept biscuits/sweet/drinks/any
food items which may contain harmful drugs/intoxicants from strangers who
will make you unconscious and rob your valuables and belongings."
Author unknown. Truly some food for thought!