Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
Christmas in Hyderabad
After spending a few Christmases away from home I
thought this year I might not miss it much. I was wrong. I pined for carols and
you tube versions didn't hold a flame to the laughing giggling carolers who
came by each year. Nor did it lessen my longing for choir practice where we struggled
to stay faithful to what we were taught and experiment with twists during the
breaks. I now understand a little better why mum and so many others break their
backs baking cakes and goodies. I did my share this year. Cakes cookies etc more
than what the three of us could do justice to and then baked more for
colleagues!
While Christmas mass had long lost its charm ( I think the
loss of charm coincided with my irritations for a certain parish priest) , I
still wanted to step inside a church soak in the feel.
A colleagues suggestions on the churches in
Secunderabad piqued my curiosity.
Nimesh and I hopped to a couple - St Mary's , Good News
Baptist, CSI Diocese of Medak and finally the Spanish Mosque.
St Mary's was overflowing with people and the Mass was in
progress. We sat for a bit and were leaving when the homily/sermon started. I
stopped dead in my track when I heard the the pretty much atonal priest sing
" Its only words and words are all I have ....." aieeeeee! He went on to
address the puzzled congregation and draw links between the beaten to death
Boyzone number and Jesus as " word becoming flesh"!
As much as the attempt seemed desperate and populist , I had
to give it to him, he got my attention. This being in marked difference from
the time I found my distance from church . I remember series of messages from
the parish priests and the likes urging/demanding that we sing only "acceptable
carols" and "conventional versions". What was puzzling was that as a choir we weren't even moderately experimental to start with. Wonder what got their knickers in knots? Another lot emphasized that the
congregation should not even hum the final parts of the Eucharistic prayer
let alone sing it along with the priest! There were frowns (only from the
priests and the purists) when we sang "When a child is born" as it
was too close to the Boney M version.
This experience at St Mary's left me puzzled in puzzled smiles.
Next stop was the CSI , Diocese of Medak and
definitely it was the highlight of the day. The church was deserted when we
got there and sunlight streamed in through the large windows. Minimally adorned
with Christmas finery, simple huge benches reminding me of some old sofa I've
seen in Kerala. We spent a good half hour soaking in the place and moved on to
the Spanish Mosque. Here I was not allowed to enter (being female) and resented it
every bit.
But nonetheless , a little bit of Christmas cheer left its
mark on me and I went back to happy baking in the evening. Yes , its not the same without familiar faces , family and the choir , but we all reinvent traditions as we move along and carry a feel of what was best in our past. Sometimes it takes a day like yesterday to revisit the memories , hold them closer and send up a thanks for having them in your life.
Merry Christmas
everyone!
Rockathon- Hyderabad University
I found myself at Hyderabad University last Sunday at an event called the Rockathon. Amidst an eclectic mix of people I found that the day offered some interesting opportunities. A rock walk , photography contest , poetry writing , sketching , rappling etc etc. Being my first time , I figured a rock walk should be what I should head for and I was thrilled to pieces with the experience. Sharing some images
Moving outside hyderabad - Vikarabad
Post Saiha, our walks together have been restricted to city
limits. Nimesh of course gets his share of walks during his work and while I’m
happy to listen to his experiences, we decided it was high time to resume our
explorations together. Thanks, to the reference from a colleague , we found
Grass Walk close to Vikarabad, a comfortable distance (below 100km)from our
place in Secunderabad.
After multiple calls and an emails, we managed a booking
last weekend. While inquiring with a colleague on how to get there, close to
1/3rd of the office flew in with suggestions. Though a little
disconcerted by all the excited help, I do occasionally love the fact that folks
here are such willing guides.
So our trip begins one morning,
with 2 tickets for the Vikarabad passenger train in our wallets and ears
straining for the announcement of the platform. We found ourselves an hour
before time with no one around with a clue about which platform this elusive
train would grace its presence with. We found it in time and found ourselves on
our favourite side births. At no point in the two hour ride was the compartment
more than half full! We caught the same train back and found ourselves and one
other gentleman to be the only ones in it. – Rs 48 – that’s what it took for us
to and fro the two stations! My love for the railways and Nimesh’s patience
with the IRCTC website- grows!
At Vikarabad, an auto organised
by grass walk picked us up and we set out on the pleasantly bumpy 10 km ride to
Udupally, where the camp is located. An error/oversight (?) on part of the
manager saw us planted in the deluxe tent. And to use a cliché it was pretty
much love at first sight. The tent had a thatched roof keeping us well shielded
from the sun, it was covered on three sides and the fourth had a net leading
into a machan type balcony overlooking an expanse of fields leading into the
hills and forest. The error seems to have worked in favour of Grass Walk and we decided to continue in the room for one day and shift into the regular tent the next.
On one of our walks, Nimesh
pointed out how the grassland appeared post the fields and then gave way to bushes/shrubs and the forest lay ahead. The walk was to end at a
temple and we were a good kilometer or so away from it, when we heard shouts , grunts and the sounds of sticks. A little alarmed, I asked the young sullen
boy who accompanied us where this was from. No response for a while, and then he
figured it out and shared , Dussera preparations at the temple. I was not
convinced. What kind of preparations could call for such violent sounding
activity?
We reached the pond adjacent to
the temple and found out. Over 50 cows and were being forced in all possible
ways to enter the pond. They had to be scrubbed clean for the next day and they
definitely didn't seem happy with the idea. So, loud mooing, lots of beating
from the young boys high on testosterone, chases in and around the pond ensued.
Huge banyans covered an adjacent
compound, the roots just about fondling your head, Nimesh’s attempt at swinging
on one alarmed our companion to a great extent. We were quickly ushered towards
a small cave and a shiv temple. We returned soon after.
We also had a great time watching
birds. A little one flew across the path and picked up a worm from a bush. It
let us watch as it persistently whacked and squashed the worm on a branch till
it was dead. A very pretty and rather cute creature I‘d be tempted to say. I’m
sure the worm would disagree.
But the highlight of my trip was definitely getting a glimpse
of a paradise flycatcher and snooping around till I got a good dekho at the
Blue faced Malkoha in a bush!
While I think of how my
excitement with birds has grown, I can’t help but be amused. Our first trip
with binoculars and field guides for some birding was in Saiha, on a road
called 10km. All I could see were some raptors high up and then some little
ones in the bushes. Was bored as all of them seemed to flee the moment they
sensed our presence. I was sour and irritated with Nimesh for barely having a
conversation with me during the walk. It has been a long journey since and I
have looked forward to sunrise walks and being witness to all their activity
since. 
What remains a constant is how I
describe a bird to Nimesh. I find myself performing
a subtle dumb-charades of sorts. “Black crown” has me trailing my head while I
say “black”, a white band on the wings and I’m drawing imaginary bands on my
arm , yellow belly and I’m pointing to my own, brows and gesture to my
eyebrows. I realised that even when I am describing a bird on the phone these are
the gestures accompanying it. I’m happy doing this dance and repeatedly
forgetting labelling of their anatomy.
I’m thrilled that I know only little and am able to enjoy most birds I see around on a trip like this. A little like my niece who squatted on the holy family campus herbarium boundary wall - transfixed when she watched for the first time a robin taking its bath. She just squatted there in absolute fascination.
When I grow up, I want to be her !
I’m thrilled that I know only little and am able to enjoy most birds I see around on a trip like this. A little like my niece who squatted on the holy family campus herbarium boundary wall - transfixed when she watched for the first time a robin taking its bath. She just squatted there in absolute fascination.
When I grow up, I want to be her !
PS- The management and coordination of activities at Grass Walk is in a pitiable condition. Great place/infrastructure with minimal responsiveness and lost personnel.
Reflections during a a Heritage Walk - Charminar to Chowmahalla
 |
| Bright red on a grey morn |
We just decided to go for the Heritage Walk (Charminar to
Chowmahalla) and didn’t much dwell on what to expect. Raes our interpreter for the walk came in
casually and right on time. Till the second before she started addressing the
group one wouldn’t be able to figure out that she was going to lead us through
the day.
She started by giving us a brief history to the city, its
rulers and how the different settlements came up. I’m not a history buff, but
am a fairly enthusiastic audience to a good story teller. Raes was good with
that, telling stories and telling them without assuming a stature that would
become greater than the story itself.She started from the Kakatiya rulers and came upto the last
Nizam in a fairly lucid narrative in which, one could see the Golconda grow
from a mud fortress to the giant it is currently. Feel the growth of the walled
city area and much more.
 |
| Aflutter on the clock tower |
A little after the clock tower we
came across a large poultry market and we turned a corner and found ourselves
confronted by a bird bazaar of a different kind. Pigeons , drongos , common
crows and jungle crows were a few I recall. Of course I was blinded by the psychedelic
colours that some chicks were dyed in. As each person turned the corner we
heard muttered exclamations or expletives in a few cases. There was not much to
be said and thankfully no one attempted to either. We moved on with uneasy
minds.
 |
| One of the views from Charminar |
Its history and while we ignore its debris and half standing structures, it does occasionally assert itself. While I walked down a few lanes between Charminar and Chowmahalla, Raes kept stopping at non-descript points to speak with the group I’d throw a casual look around and wonder what she was going talk about. In one spot she pointed out to the crescent moon and star on a building which was left as is and a symbol of Vishnu close to it. The Vishnu symbol had been put up later by new inhabitants without destroying what existed. She says the hoopla absout the tense atmosphere was created politically and day to day lives of the two communities in the region was peaceful.
I was reminded of Sushilama a lady who comes to help us in
the house. Last August she told us that her companion needed a couple of days off as it was “Rakhi ki Eid” and later in the year that she would need time off as
it was “Christmas ki Eid”. It was priceless. Then again I’m nagged by reminders of
uncles in shorts and a vests telling me that the house would be let out to
Brahmins only or rude enquiries from others on our food habits (veg or never
mind).
I enjoyed the walk and the overall quite reflective feel that washed over me. Wondered how the years, rulers and influences have layered this city and so
many others. The wooden balconies, arches, domes and different motifs which to
me are just ignorantly “historical” but hold in themselves such insights into times that
shaped us. I look forward to many more walks, accompanied and otherwise and pray that the summer sun shows some mercy to this restless soul.
The 2 tourism police personnel who accompanied us during the
walk were very warm and pleasant. Overall a big thumbs up to APTDC.
Golconda
After what seems like an eternity of planning we finally made it to Golconda last weekend. All in all we had a great time and our only grouse is that the blessed fort opens only 9 a.m. Early mornings would really have been ideal for the walk and the views.
Golconda- opportunities missed
Find myself increasingly at a loss for words. Maybe most of them get packed up into a days work. The occasional moment has me in its grasp and aching for a scrap of paper or my laptop. Like this one in Golconda. But too little too late. So its just a couple of half baked images for now.
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