Palace Tour 2

i had always hated the idea of converting royal palaces to heritage hotels...a national property like a palace should belong to the goverment and be open to the public... I am talking of my thoughts before i visited the Taj Falaknuma Palace....my work brought me to the palace, and no sooner than i stepped in to the hotel, i had made up my mind that i have to get my family here, no matter how big a hole gets burnt in my pocket... and what could be a better occasion than celebrating Gulton's birthday... i thank my office for the opportunities it creates for me outside of work...the opportunity to taste the Nizams lifestyle....and the opportunity to pose in front of decoration showpieces, and confuse oneself as to where to pose ...probably thats the reason the hotel folks prohibited photography intending to make lives simpler for us


i would not add to the information overload on the web by describing the palace, and i think its better to delegate it to the Taj Falaknuma website

I conclude this post reiterating the advertisement punch line of Mastercard:
"Welcome drink - Rs 700
Malai Prawn - Rs 1000
Biriyani - Rs 850
Smile on mom-in-law, mom and Gulton's face : Priceless
there are certain things money cant buy...for everything else, i use my salary"


and off course, i dont see a problem in dedicating few of our treasured palaces to the Hotel chains, if it assists India push up its GDP

beyond the boundaries of life and death

in this extreme unpredictability of life, seldom we realize that the most predictable aspect of life is death... and most of us tend to make preparations for all small and big events of our lives, barring death, .... but not the Qutub Shahi rulers of Hyderabad!

....an evening walk around the royal graveyard would justify my statement...the Qutub Shahi tombs... Built by the emperors of the Qutub Shahi dynasty, the graveyard primarily consist of mosques and tombs built on the graves of the kings, queens, their close relations and descendants.......most of the kings constructed their own tombs amd mosques during thier lifetime, hence preparing for his life post death....there are a total of 16 tombs, of them 7 big ones belonging to the kings, and the rest belonged to their successors...a big well supplied water to bathe the corpses before the burial ceremony.... the bodies were then shifted to a mosque, where the last 'Kalma' was read as a ritual, the king was thereafter moved to his tomb for the final burial....post burial, the mosque and the tomb was sealed, and access was restricted except for the family members ....most of the tombs seem similar ...but an eye for detail would reveal the minute engravings that distinguishes and separates a tomb from another... a half constructed tomb would inevitably catch the visitors eye...the tomb designated to one of the last rulers could not be completed due to intervention and interruption posed by the Mughal emperor Aurangazeb during his conquering spree...i remember seeing tombs of Kuli Qutub Shah (1, 2 ...and lost the count), Hayat Bakshi Begum, the royal doctor, mnister, and the 2 Hindu sisters, Taramati and Premamati...in terms of the charm the place exuded, i fantacized it as the Indian counterpart of the great pyramids of Egypt...

as always, sharing the album here

Never seen a graveyard so beautiful and romantic...
...as i strolled down the majestic tombs, a song by Tagore oozed from my heart and flooded my mind..."jibono moroner shimana chharaye...bondhu je aamar royechho daraye..."
(Bengali to English translation for my handful readers:
Beyond the boundaries of life and death...
you, my friend, you are waiting for me...
in the sacred sky of my heart.....
your seat is encapsulated with light.....
dont know, in what deep faith and unknown hope and happiness...
i seek you with open arms...beyond the boundaries of life and death)

a place to cry

For food lovers, hyderabad is synonymous to biriyani and a large variety of delectable dishes that the city offers... dishes like the hyderabadi biriyani, haleem, firni would definitely top my countdown...and so would the famous eating joints serving those, my favorite being Hyderabad house, Paradise, and Shadab... Shadab would definitely grab a bigger heart/ stomach-share compared to its peers and competitors because of the authentic Hyderabadi/Muslim culture the place emanates....located in the old city at a stones throw from Charminar, the restaurant houses a separate block where guests are made to sit on cots while dining as lip smacking delicacies are served on the tool in front of them... the eatery looks more glamorous during the ramzan months; decorated with mini bulbs and multicolored light streamers, the hotel gets all posed to attract, greet and pamper the visitors' taste buds

Not delving deeper into the world of spices, aromas and flavors, let me come back to my blog topic... mention of Shadab brings to my memory another historical monument hiding right behind it, as if to grieve in peace and silence, escaping the glances of the hundreds and thousands who frequent the restaurant each day...the Badshahi Ashrukhana... sitting in its neighborhood on those Ramzan weekends as I devoured mouthful of chicken biriyani,little did I know of this beautiful, yet unimposing piece of Nizami architecture standing the test of time...in its heydays, the Ashrukhana had its wash areas, stables and rasoi operational in full swing...the interiors of the main building is inlaid with tiles embedded on a blue porcelain sheet... unlike the current day quadrangular tiles, the tiles used to decorate the inner walls of the Ashrukhana are much smaller in size, bearing shapes, colour and form of flowers, fruits, twigs and leaves...a layer of soft wet porcelain mould was spread on the wall, where the tiles were implanted....this is a very ancient form of Persian tile work, which is no longer prevalent in Persia too...in 1908, the flooded Musi river washed away the tile work till up to 6 feet from the floor...those portions could not be repaired, hence those zones are now painted, the design being the replica of the tiles above...i coined these pieces of information from the caretaker of the Ashurkhana, who inherited his job of supervising the monument from his great grand fathers... the Ashrukhana houses images of massive, old and sacred Shrines of Islamism, the mosques of Baghdad, Turkey, and Mecca Madina, where lakhs of pilgrims flock each year...every Thursday, the sticks are decorated and clothing are wrapped around those, making it resemble a well dressed human...the monument also had several metallic 3 dimensional structure of palms....a Congress man would have taken inspiration to market and brand his party in an innovative way...i was so engrossed in the beauty of the tiles and the blue glass chandeliers, i missed the significance of those palms....the oldest Islamic mourning place in India, the Badshahi Ashrukhana experiences more footfalls and tear drops during the Muharram months...

in introspection as i conclude this post, i realized that sorrow is as integral a part of life as is happiness....and while most religions emphasize and celebrate happiness, i kind of liked this unique concept in Islamism where this fundamental aspect of human life is accepted and observed with reverence....

last but not the least, click here to view the image gallery

Bina and Me

I lived a piece of defence life today....

Meeting and separation are a part and parcel of life..from the stories i heard from baba on his experience and life in the Indian Air force, i could well imagine that of all good and bad phases of the defence life, separation from neighbors and friends during a 'posting' was probably the most painful episode...putting a brake (or may be a break) to a relationship of 3 or 4 long years, where airmen lived together with their families in one particular station, shared everything ranging from their offices, evenings and lives, to mangoes guavas and other fruits/vegetables growing in the station; as their wives exchanged recipes and dishes; mingled with each other and imbibed each others culture....so long i had used my mind to imagine a situation as such..but today, a heartfelt emotion triggered by an incident made me experience a bit of defence life.....

My attachment with Bina was definitely not as strong as the one between 2 servicemen living in the same station...but the fact that i had a friend talking my language,having similar hobbies & interests as mine, and living just a block away in my complex was quite comforting...or rather, i say it was relieving...it is not that we met very often and chatted a lot...12 hours of my day on all the 5 weekdays is spent away from home in my workplace....occasionally, on my way back from office, I met Bina and masima (her mother-in-law) buying vegetables and groceries from the stores in front of our compound...hence commenced our casual conversation, the duration of which ranged from 5 minutes to 45 minutes depending on my hunger levels (most days i am hungry like a shark by the time I reach home)....Bina was my source of information about all upcoming events and get togethers happening at NCL Godavari

Bina had an artistic bend of mind...she was a champion in drawing and painting....anything related to arts and crafts interested her immensely...that was one more node which strengthened my attachment with her....we shared ideas on glass painting, nib painting, shared information which any of us dug out from the internet, and showed our paintings to each other as we experimented with the different forms of art...

Bina was an early bird....last year winter, it was Bina who managed to drag me out of bed on cold weekend mornings much before the sun could illuminate the streets of Hyderabad, in search of flowers and fruits growing in the desolate townships of BHEL and Dandamudi Enclave....the above mentioned projects were designed in an eco friendly fashion with a lot of flowering and fruiting trees planted along the border of the individual plots...some legal hindered the construction of bricks and mortar, but the plants underwent their natural growth cycle to blossom to flowers and fruits, probably for us to have them plucked...Bina did not frequent the sparsely populated townships on weekdays, probably due to lack of time and companion...but on weekends, we jointly marched through the mist encapsulated empty lanes in our expedition of collecting flowers and papayas....sometimes, a Gujarati friend Pooja joined us in our morning adventure trips...we forgot our age and behaved like kids as we plucked flowers, buds, or spotted some beautiful unfamiliar bird..of all the hours i spent with Bina, this was by far, the most enjoying and memorable one.....the advent of summer dried up the flowers and whithered the fruits, thus halting our weekend meetings...

Be it Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, Shivratri or any other function conducted in our compound premises, we eventually paired up ( Bina and me; and our mother in laws together)...I remember a Rangoli and cooking competition being conducted in our complex where the 2 of us emerged winners...Bina stood first and I came second..had Bina participated in the cooking competition, she would have definitely bagged another trophy...My Bengali preparation of payesh and patisapta secured me the second position....the 2 glistening crystal trophies in my living room would always remind me of Bina and that fun filled competition day ...even if we both participated and competed with each other, the competition between us was healthy and we took it sportingly....in Bina's absense, any future competition of this nature would lose its charm ...

There is one more, and a sad connection between the 2 of us....we both lost our father in laws in a span of 6 months..mine being first followed by hers... shortly after which they consolidated their plans of shifting to Bangalore...

I met Bina today evening as we bid adieu to each other...her house devoid of any furniture or art pieces created by her...dont know whether i would say this is the 'last' time i saw her....tomorrow morning, before i would wake up, they would have left Hyderabad!

Palace Tour - I

Since time immemorial, Charminar had been the emblem of Hyderabad.....tourists visiting the city flock to the old city on the banks of Musi river to catch a glimpse of a heritage that symbolizes our city...or probably to experience the old world charm of the minars, bazaars,the hijab clad women, surma lined eyes, white bowl shaped caps which reminds one of the tales of arabian nights....

but right behind the Mecca Masjid, within 200 meter radius of Charminar, stands another, and probably more majestic example of the architechtural heights attained by the nizams, who once ruled this land....a splendid palace consisting of luxurious fountains, impressive gardens, imposing gates, intricate meshwork of nizami designs on the four Mahals, from which the name Chowmahalla palace got derived....a palace less frequented by visitors as compared to the Charminar, probably because of lack of adequate marketing and promotion than what the palace deserved...

Had Amrita not insisted on visiting Chowmahalla, in her last training session in Hyderabad, we probably would not have discovered this piece of hisorical magnificence, at least, not so soon....the way we experienced the abode and the lifestyle of the nizams and the begums was unique in its own way...when we stepped into the palace, we were 2 minutes away from the scheduled closure time...the security guard, being highly loyal to his duty hours,barred us from entering.....hence leaving me with no other scope than to adopt a drama and a basketful of lies....my Wells Fargo visiting card emphasized and supported me in all ways....my designation of 'Corporate Communication' and the proposal of a 'venue recce for an upcoming event of my company' did all the trick...a typical example of misutilization of my corporate identity....the three of us (minus the entry tickets) were escorted by a local officer guiding us through the different facades of the building....contribution of my husband is note worthy here in terms of his timely cognition and appropriate application of lingustic skills.... the security personnel assisting us was a cute young lad hailing from Assam...and our Assamese root immediately established connect and brotherhood....he and my husband were both happy to converse with each other in Assamese... very nicely, with utmost care, he showed us the place around...had our 'bhaitie' not been there, we probably would have ended up seeing and guessing things on our own...he coordinated with his fellow co workers and the other security guards and showed us all the places within that limited time frame... the 4 palaces now houses a museum exhibiting different items used by the nizam, the items ranged from crockery, armaments, stagecoaches, vintage cars, robes, showpeices, furnitures, chandeliers, so on and so forth...a well maintained garden tops up the beauty of the place....

for now, let me rest my pen, and let the pictures do the rest of the talking

by the way...i didnot completely misutilize my id card....highly impressed with the grand demeanor of the palace, i have proposed to my folks in office for conducting an event in Chowmahalla...and hope to see the day in near future

Lakeland Hyderabad !

a satellite image of my city would probably exhibit several blue blotches of lakes or waterbodies that it encompasses .... and of all small and big, named or unnamed/ familiar or unfamiliar lakes, my favourite is the one located in Shamirpet....

post my accident, the experience of rebuilding my lost confidence seemed quite rewarding...the driving lessons and practice sessions through the long green tracks of Alwal on a Saturday evening led us to the vast, horizon spreading, pristine lake of Shamirpet.....when we reached the evening sun was about to take plunge into the depth of its water.....various shades of rainbow colours emanating from the drowning sun painted the entire canvas of the sky in its own tint....in accordance to the sky, sheets of water absorbed the colours like a mirror as its own image got reflected and refracted through the transparency of the water....

the rocky terrain; physical geography which surrounded it, and probably the formation of the lake seemed quite enchanting...i am no geologist, so if i am to describe in simple words to what a layman's mind could construe, it seemed to me as if chunks of rocks in the stony heart of the deccan plateau got depressed; scraped/scooped out to form a hollow for water to accumulate, hence imparting form and shape to the current evening getaway and a lover's paradise of my city.....the banks of the lake constituted of huge masses of rock gradually sloping downwards to meet the water....

time seemed to stall as we sat on the shores of the lake....at the air water interface, a gentle breeze caressed and teased the water surface, leading to the formation of mini waves, traversing from the centre of the pool to the outward margins only to break itself apart in to millions of water globules ....the waves breaking on the shores in a continuous, predictable rhythm seemed like a hymn sung by nature, as if to put the humanity to sleep in its soothing lullaby.....at the middle of the lake little islands made of rocks of different form and shape , projected their head up above the water, probably to help a piscivorous kingfisher or a cormorant catch its prey for lunch....

the only sound waves our ears captured were the shhhhh....of the wind blowing between the strands of our hair, an occasional screech of a parakeet, and the sound of water hitting the stony banks of the lake...i had the desire of walking around the lake along its circumference in a 360 degree turn...the shells of dead molluscs, green grass, rocky protrusions, half eaten fish discarded by herons lay strewn on the banks.....

the lake was bigger as compared to my imagination or eye estimation...and a complete circumnavigation would have taken hours together....the setting sun invited darkness and there was no way we could ignore or reverse it....turning homewards was the only option..

A piece of Rajasthan in the heart of Hyderabad

Would like to start this blog quoting Tagore ...."Dekha hoy nai chokkhu meliya, ghorer hoite dui pa feliya; ekti dhaaner sheesher aagay ekti shishir bindu"...translating for my non bong readers (in case any), "didnt bother to see the beauty of a sparkling dew drop on the blade of a paddy leaf, just two steps away from my home, "........

.....for me, my experience with the "Aai Mata temple" of Jeedimetla would testify the above statement...i had been in Hyderabad for the last 2.5 years, and heard of this temple several times from the marwari grocery shop owners, and my fellow rajasthani neighbours....had the wavering flag from the peak of the temple didnt catch my attention, i would have never realized what i missed....a grand majestic temple of Vaishno devi (Aai Mata as referred to in Rajasthan)built on a similar structural frame as the imperial palaces of Rajasthan.... situated a kilometer away from my house, amidst the chemical factories at the junction of Jeedimetla Village and Shahpur nagar industrial complex, this temple is known only to a handful localites and rajasthanis living in and around that area.....tragedy lies in the fact that the 3 year old temple is oblivious to most hyderabadis, so much so, that there is no mention of the temple in internet, neither on my all time favourite ready reckoner 'Google Maps'....

the temple is pinkish/orangish in colour, (the trademark colour tint of most Rajasthani palaces, a shade very close to the one of Hawa mahal), constructed with stones which got shipped from Rajasthan...the temple has magnificient tombs with intricate designs engraved on them, and 'jharokhas', very typical of Rajasthani architechture, adding to the glory of the temple....a huge wooden door, with elaborate ornate designs of lotus flowers and leaves, coloured with golden foil and "meenakari" glasswork, leads one to the main worship area...3 deities preside there, the primary being Maa Vaishno Devi at the centre, with Gora Bhairav and radha Krishna on either sides... made with sparkling white marble in glass polish, the idols look gorgeous....dressed in a bright red 'Odhni' or 'Chunri'; and a golden yellow saree, the goddess looked stunningly attractive...

i conversed with the pandit to widen my knowledge of Maa Durga and her various forms... This is the excerpt of what i learnt from him: in Rajasthan, Vaishno devi appeared as a small girl and meditated in a cave for several years....some time later, Mata came to Rajasthan from Gujarat in a different form, and this time in the make up of an ordinary lady....since she migrated to rajasthan ( Gujarat se Rajasthan aayi thi, ) so she was called Aai Mata.....

right next to the temple, a marriage hall is getting constructed.... so hope to see the temple in a grander and more splendid shape in times to come...

Flip through the image gallery, and I am sure you would want to come over.

PS:: Driving directions:: from Bowenpally, hit the NH7....cross Suchitra X roads and proceed towards medchal...keep an eye to your left...near jeedimetla Village, you would find "Deewan Family Dhaba" to your left....take the lane right next to it and drive for 1 kilometer approximately.....ask the autowalas or any one where the Aai Mata temple is, and you will soon catch a glimpse of Rajasthan in Hyderabad

Green Revolution in an Ashram

A Bengali proverb is applicable to me these days --- “bhokto hoyechhe bhogar maa, nityo cheera khaye”... Chirwa or flattened rice is called cheera in Bengali, which is consumed by folks inclined towards religious practices, rites and rituals as a replacement of rice....the concept is rice makes you impure(??!@#$^%^@*%!???)...got nothing to do with my feeding habits...but my new found interest of discovering beautiful yet unknown religious institutions within my city....i am not too religious by heart and soul...i tend to make friendship with the gods in my mind rather than placing them in the light of sacredness; which helps me get rid of all devout customs...no wonder my father-in-law teased me calling ‘matlabi’ J .....

This time I discovered an ayurvedic ashram with the undertone of Hindu religious sentiments, very close to my house, on NH 7 called the “Sai Geetha Ashram”... more than an ashram, it seemed a biodiversity project to me... as the name suggests, the ashram housed a beautiful temple of Sai Baba...presiding on a stone chair wrapped with decorated silver foils, the marble idol of Sai Baba has a very pleasing demeanor...a passive smile on his face would lead you to imagine that he is very pleased to see you visit him.... unfortunately, photography was not allowed therein...the Ashram imparts the name of a god to each plant, relating the identity of the god with the tree...each tree is believed to possess healing properties, not only for the physical body, but also to relieve mental and sociological problems like a hostile relationship between mother-in-law and daughter in-law, between husband and wife, siblings so on and so forth....each tree had a board hung on its branch, which depicted the history and the relevance of the tree in present times....circumnavigation round the tree in specific clockwise or anticlockwise directions at a definite holy hour or important day like birthdays, wedding anniversaries etc would eradicate the problem the tree promised to cure...few trees also provided astrological solutions to folks not getting a job or getting succumbed to enemies....sarees were draped around few trees with the front pleats and the pallu, which was hung from the branch like a flag...probably those were feminine trees or a goddess resided there....it reminded me of the Jungle book song " Jungle Jungle baat chali hai, Chaddi pehn ke oops, saree pehn ke per nikla hai"....

i remember the religious significance of Peepul tree, which, according to the ashram is an incarnation of lord Vishnu....watering a peepul tree by a lady increases her chances of conceiving a male baby...another medical utility of Peepul is that, if a green twig containing young leaves is inserted to the ear of a snake bitten person, the twig will absorb the poison and turn black, thus saving his/her life...had it not been something so severe as a snake bite, I would have loved to get a demo...by sundown, all the trees had a lamp, agarbatti and garland encircling their bases...few trees were given Prasad, which was also curious in its own way.... on a disposable aluminum foil, the trees were offered white rice and some cooked yellow curry....

The ashramites worship ‘The Value of Time’.... we saw a huge HMT clock mounted on a big wall, with 2 ladies blowing a conch on either sides....they attempted replicating the ‘clock’ technology from the Nizams of Hyderabad, but could not do a decent job of it....certain things are best in their pristine and authentic state....very similar to the Nizam watches displayed at Salar Jung Museum and falaknuma palace, where a doll came out to ring the bell as the minute hand touched 12 every hour; the Ashram clock had a doll do the same...the only difference being that this guy was late by a minute or two....

The ashram also had pet rabbits and swans loitering around... we saw 3 white and 1 pied swan....one of the swans didn’t seem to like me, and every time I approached them to get a better shot in my camera, it charged me with a craned neck and a straightened protruded beak, in full mood to attack....the rabbits were definitely more polite than the swans...and happily munched young shoots which we offered them...

The day we went had a volunteers meet .....The dress code for the volunteers working in the Ashram was ‘white’... probably they have formulated some herbal super strong stain removal gel or something like that to keep their dresses so sparkling white...a satsang was hosted in the evening...we attended it for a couple of hours despite my aversion ...and finally headed home..

The ashram, as I captured in my camera

PS:: good things about the Ashram:
1. They give medicines for migraine, sinus, eye problems etc free of cost every Sunday
2. They have yoga and meditation classes
3. They sell herbal medicines, and offer alternative therapies for almost all problems

Picnic

After loitering in the jazzy glittery corridors of the Hyderabad shopping malls, spending hours uselessly window shopping and devouring frankies, corn cups and panipuris for the last 2 years, i decided to take an alternative way to spend my weekends....Exploring in and out of Hyderabad is my new addiction... the tranquil evening at Jayadarshini Temple and its near by lake, awakened our vagabond souls... i love my 'village'... literally called as 'Jeedimetla Village' or 'Kompally Village', i stay 26 kilometers from my place of work...unlike earlier times, when i used to crib for spending 3 hours a day in transit between home and office; i realize that it gets compensated by the weekends which i enjoy more and more over time...

Medak church was the next thing on the list....got selected primarily because of its location advantage in terms of nearness from our house...We had hit the national Highway 7 at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning... it was quite a surprise for my Mother-in-law, as it opposed the fact of my attachment to the bed till 11 am on weekends...as always, drives on National highways are fantastic...taking cues from the print out of ‘Google Maps’, we proceeded straight, bypassing small localities like Tupran, Ramayampalli, Manoharabad et al....at Manoharabad, we had to stall at a road tax collection booth, which exempted defense vehicles from paying the toll...my mother in law regretted not carrying her identity card coz of which we had to pay a duty of Rs 140 for either way transit....we took a left turn from Chegunta for the Medak road...the road took us through small villages and vast stretches of agricultural lands on either sides...my husband spotted a lengthy serpent crossing the road in its full size...but my visually challenged eyes could only see its tapering tail sliding inside the bushes...we also saw 3 peahens on a mini hillock; an old mosque looking very similar to the Charminar...

It took us 2 hours to reach Medak...Medak being a small town, didn’t take us long to reach the Church complex...built in Gothic style in shades of grey and white, the church has an imposing yet elegant demeanor ...the church would be the perfect model for a photographer....the intricate designs engraved on its wall beamed in the morning sunlight... the church has a distinct English style; the images we clicked were good enough for displaying in the LCD selling showrooms....the Church housed 3 huge windows, made with tinted glass, depicted stories of Christianity. ..sunlight penetrating through the coloured glass added a different spectrum to the otherwise imperial appearance..we visited the church at 10.30 am on a Sunday during the assembly time... the mass was being conducted...in a language I don’t understand....I read that the church is second largest in Asia and could accommodate as many as 5000 people...i feel I would have enjoyed the grandeur of the church better In silence, without the smell of coconut oil on wet hair tickling my nostrils....
Outside the church, the open field was flocked with hawkers and small stalls selling trinkets, especially photos of Jesus and other deities of Christians, puffed rice and sugar candies...many families were enjoying picnic...ladies were busy washing rice and managing babies and kids, and the male members concentrated on slaughter of chicken and other similar fleshy animals.... the place did not have much eating joints....at least I could not find one....thankfully I had got this info from somebody’s blog and we carried our victuals on the way...we finished our lunch sitting in the car, and thereafter headed towards the Medak fort....

Built on a hillock, the fort is in a dilapidated condition....recently the fort had been taken over by the AP tourism department and repairing activity have been initiated.... I hope to see the fort in a better condition few years down the line when I get my children here.....as of now, not many people visit the fort, and we didn’t get a guide to take us along...we were on our own trip to explore the ruins and remains of the fort..the majestic fort which once sheltered the kings, queens and the royals, is now inhabited by reptiles and insects...without adequate maintenance, the fort underwent weathering for several years...barring few structures, the building blocks which once formed a rock solid barricade is all loose, detached and strewn around...roots of trees penetrated deep inside the massive chunks of stones ... the crevices of rocks and bricks housed history and memories alongside slimy glides of poisonous species...dry leaves piled up on the sideways of the so called stairs....we stepped carefully, and noisily to drive away any creature resting in near vicinity.... with every step, we could hear them scurry away rapidly midst the bated ‘hush’ of the dry leaves .....we took the main way, leading from one door to the other....the fort had 4 doors, all built in a similar pattern....probably this was the only thing that did not wear out with time....we stuck to the main route till the peak of the hillock...we saw several sideways, and tunnel like corridors, probably leading to a new aspect of the fort....bushes and spider webs growing on those unfamiliar lanes and alleys, and fear of serpents/scorpions deterred us from exploring them further.......on our way up, we spotted a big pond. Water tank and a long flight of stairs plunging into the water body....i wanted to go down to the pond, but again the way to it was unfrequented, hence I chose to stay on the safe side... solace was in the fact that sun was overhead glaring down, and the heated rocks would probably not shelter the shade loving reptiles... the top of the fort had a mosque and a wide terrace, which offered a clear view of the city below....we could see the church at a distance and a huge green lake....the terrace had several tunnels, bearing close resemblance to ‘manholes’....i stooped to understand where it ended... an intriguing fact as it was, like a well, it did not have an end...our echo came back to us... there was no one who we could ask...the ambience brings back the memories of stories we read during our childhood days...of kings n queens, kingdoms, palaces and its underground tunnels linking cities...the path taken to escape .... historial fantasies flushed my mind...it was broad daylight tanning my skin, ..otherwise, had it been twilight or night hours, an additional, perhaps imaginary concept of ‘haunted’ would have made the place even more exciting, topping it with the romantic silver shade of the moon...

Soon it was time to go down....the umbrella did not seem to help much ...hankering or some cool shade we sped down...back into our Santro, we were on the homeward journey....

To view the photo gallery, click here

P.S :: Travel tips for folks who wanna go to Medak:
1. carry plenty of food and water with you .
2. the Road we took ie NH 7 was great, and also the Medak road was quite nice
3. For people with defense background, carry your ID card and you can evade road tolls
4. If you want to see the church, and not attend the mass, visit on a Saturday
5. we started at 8:30 am and were back by 4:30 pm traversing total of 165 kilometers....
6. We purchased several kilos of Yummy mangoes on the NH7 on our way back...it seems there are mango orchards on either sides of the highway, the workers sell them off for a 15 rupees a kilo, and they also give you 2/3 mangoes to taste ;)

Here @ Hyderabad

When compared to other metros like Delhi, Bangalore, Bombay, Pune and Kolkata, hyderabad offers a limited number of weekend getaways...the fact which is quite disappointing on one hand, however nudges a vagabond soul to explore more and more within and beyond the boundaries of the city, for places which is yet undiscovered, and maligning Hyderabad for not being able to appease the wanderers...and as the popular adage goes “dhoond ne par to bhagwan bhi milta hai”, ...how can the same not apply for my city?

And here I am ,..all geared up to share a nice driveway on the outskirts of the city towards the district of Medchal through the National Highway 7... I chose the road cause it is quite close to where I put up...the highway provides a visual treat with trees flanking either sides of the road...dotted with small farms growing gourd, cucumber, and small green carpets of paddy plantation.. there is a small woodland, mostly populated by timber yielding trees which can offer a nice romantic and private meeting place for secret lovers, unless they get spotted by the caretakers...or otherwise a gang of rowdies who can also share that place as they sniff dusts of marijuana!! ( all this is my imagination...i have never stepped into those woods and hence cannot validate this statement with facts).

The highway hosts several dhabas on both sides...one Rajasthani Dhaba caught my attention..... the owner made all attempts to replicate the ambience of a typical north Indian Dhaba, where he laid out roped ‘Khatiyas’ and the old style lanterns ( Lonthon or hurricane as we say in Bengali)...will share a detailed review once I dine there...

We got a reference from Bunty about a beautiful Balaji temple built beside a lake, about 1 kilometer from the Medchal bus depot...with this much information, we were on our exploration trip....the barren and uninhabited areas, and absence of local people for reference posed a problem in figuring the way out... however, this process of discovery was charming, and off course time consuming, which eventually resulted in us reaching the temple a little before sundown... the trip was worthwhile beyond doubt...standing on the banks of a long lake, the temple is obscure and beyond the knowledge of most; hence not commercialized and very quiet and peaceful....at twilight, the evening light shimmered on the surface of the lake...the evening blue was fast encapsulating our surroundings....after darshan, we walked up to the lake....it would have been an ideal picnic spot...fearing reptiles and the sky overcast with clouds, we decided to wrap up and started our homeward journey.

Sharing few pictures of the temple and the lake for now....hope to revisit the place in future, and with more time.

P.S :: For anyone interested to pay a visit, take the NH 7 from Kompally and reach the Medchal bus depot....approximately 1 kilometer from the medchal bus depot (towards Nagpur), the building of Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) is the first landmark.....right next to the building, a small alley will lead you to the temple; we discovered in our way back, there is a small hoarding directing people to the temple, written in English and Telegu both. The temple is called Jayadarshini Temple...you might have to go further and take a U turn to come to that place, as per the structure of the road...once you enter the small road trust your intuition, and the local people while you proceed...the area is sparsely populated...but soon you can seen the tip of the temple....and always, visit the place during daytime, if you are the first timer. For more reference, you can mail me at moitreyee.sarkar@gmail.com

my first accident

technically this is my second accident with my scooty....but if measured in terms of the impact of injury, its the first major accident beyond doubt...

sunday, june 5th, 1:53 pm : i collected the slipper which i had given to the cobbler for repairing... thankfully, this was the only task which i managed to accomplish succesfuly from the list of 4 or 5 tasks that i thought i would complete when i stepped out of the house...was passing by cine planet when the flashy poster of "ready" caught my attention...a minute of hesitation, and a phone call later, i booked 2 tickets for the night show that day...i realized that i had traversed several klometers on the highway ...alone...and most importantly, Safely.... what if i meet an accident on my way home while covering a bare stretch of 1 km.... my sixth sense did poke me, which most of the time is sleeping otherwise....lunch time was fast approaching...and the sunday special fish was waiting for me to have it devoured...i accelarated along the empty tracks of the service lane parallel to NH 7....i did see a motor bike with 2 fat guys, unable to decide which way they wanna proceed....after a couple of glances on either side, the bikerider decided his way ( at least thats what i could figure out)...and straightened his way..... when i was nearing him, out of the blue moon, those buggers decided to take a u turn....i decelarated and pulled the brakes....but the next moment i realized i jumped out of my scooty in a similar fashion of a toad jumping out of the water....i bruised my both legs....people rushed to help me...lying on the road, i remembered Shalini ....what if i snatched the title of "iron man' from her?(just to give the context, Shalini has 2/3 iron rods implanted inside, for various reasons ranging from Sports to road accident) i dont have the slightest intention...i just hoped i did nt break any bone or tore any ligament... in my pain i missed the opportunity of ranting the other driver...i was asked several times later where did i hit myself that i developed huge patches of black eyes...i seriously dont have an idea.... i rested for some time, the culprit, ie the folk who made the offence of turning abruptly without a flash of his indicator offered me to take home... probably that was his way of saying sorry... i thought i better grab the opportunity...while seating behind him i construed in my mind, what if the guy abducts me..i did nt have strength in my legs to jump out of the scooty and run for my life....but again i was in south India, where ladies are respected, unlike most patches of northern part of the country..so i dismissed the thought for a while....a second thought visited my mind...what if i tell Gulton and he stops me from these single trips as per my whims and fancies...i thought of not divulging the event at home...i thanked the guy as i took over the drivers seat from the gate of my colony...i hoped the security guard did not see me...he knew me well and also my mother in law....somehow i came home and fell flat on my bed....i tried my best to give a story of heat stroke on a not-so-hot, cloudy and humid day...my folks bought the idea for some time...but no sooner, my gait like the "Sajjan Singh of Pratigya" unveiled the story of my accident....

P.S :: the accident didnt deter me from watchng the useless movie that night....a shot of tetanus and a shot of painkiller..and i was back on my feet....

Serials that hooked me..part 1

Ever wondered how ekta kapoor made a fortune producing the serials based on mindless stories... i did... and watched her serials with an open mouth...then wondered how could a some of the plots took shape...i was in my first year of college when i got introduced to Ekta kapoors world through the serial KSBKBT - Kyunki Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi...yes i admit, that my dinner was incomplete without the tadka of this serial...i timed my schedule likewise...maa had strict instructions to serve dinner at 10:30 pm......the title track of the serial was like an alarm...like a contagious addiction, the tune of the serial's opening song getting featured in my neighbour's tv screen, was enough to drag me to the living room... like a hypnotized soul i closed my books and rushed to switch the TV on...everything about the serial enchanted me...or rather awed me...things that happened in the serial were so dramatic and impossible.... it was like a modern world arabian night series... despite knowing the fact that evrything about the serial is so damn far from truth and bourne out of ekta's crazy imagination....it still took viewers like me hooked to the tv...the 200+ year old Baa, who was probably healthier, n fitter than my 70 year old grandmother...how i dont know tulsi managed to love her husband (who had 3/4 casual flings post their marriage) till the world and generation and the solar system ceased to exist....how come all the 3 generations in the serial tulsi, nandini and their daughter bhoomi were almost of the same age (between 20 to 30)...the way the actors groomed themselves..i would probably be less dressed for my sister's marriage when compared to any of the bahu's in their cooking/dusting/ sleeping attire....and in the serial, whenever they had to step out of the house, the man used to tell his wife, "aap taiyar ho jaiye, hume ghumne jaa na hai"..and i used to wonder that already the lady is so decked up...aur kya taiyar ho sakte hai? ...then there was another lady, the granddaughter of tulsi, named bhoomi in the serial...she used to go around with a loafer type guy, some aamir baap ka bigda beta... no one in the house objected to this fact...but the day Bhoomi declareed that she wants to marry the same guy...all the chachhis, and buwas and bhabis and didis, tulsi and off course the baa get the supreme shock of their lives....the chachis stood up in utter dismay, carefully displaying the heavily embroidered pallus of their sarees in the process, to express their emotions....the camera man zoomed in 3 times...close..closer..closest...(accompanied by a similar beat of background music ...dhaa...dhaaa...dhaaaaa, the intensity of the beats being directly proportional the degree of zoom)to focus on chaachis kundan earrings dangling in slow motion, her thick make up and a partially gaped lipstick rimmed mouth...the next 15 minutes of the serial went in portraying the expressions of each family member to its minutest details...

i was such a hypocrit those days....i used to watch the serial with unbatted eyelids in an almost breathless state, only to discuss with Ritwajit the next day how useless the story was... however and whatever we comment on Ekta's work, there is no denying the fact that she established a whole new cult in the domain of tele serials...the grand set ups,costumes, bright lightings, and somehow the stories which were weaved such that audience eventually got connected to them...somehow the serial generated a sense of aspiration among its viewers...it did talk of family values (donno how much people absorbed that and implemented the same in their lives) which served as a reminder for the generation...

my attachment with the serial got ruptered when i moved to bangalore after my graduation... later i got to know that after getting aired in star plus for a lengthy period of 8 years, the serial had to shut itself down to follow orders from the Supreme court...today, i dont mind confessing that i also cried somedays as i submerged myself in the story of Kyunki Saas bhi Kabhie Bahu thi....and i will watch it again if Kyunki part 2 gets featured :)

tit bits of life

Some day in my life i want to face a situation where me and my team would be immersed with work so much so that we all have to stay bak in office and have a night out.... i am yet to realize this dream...but the night before our April Townhall was somewhat similar to living that dream... we were editing a bit of the video we shot for our Townhall next day...and it took abnormally long time..we 3 of out team stayed back in office...working and chatting...and I realised that once we cross a threshold ( may be the time limit we had set for ourselves to complete a task) nothing seems to bother or nudge us to roll up our sleeves to finish the task in hand as soon as possible.. we go in our own pace, taking tea coffee juice sandwich breaks....order pizza...chat on useless things...but all in all, its quite exciting...that moment at 10 o click in night, where 3 of us sit in cafeteria appreciating the double cheese burst pizza and garlic bread, when we are only half way through the video, which is supposed to be the primary show stealer for the next days event.... when we have cancelled the cab request not knowing what time we can retire for the day....and we sit and pull each others leg....coz of which we finally produce the video an hour before the event commenced...

.....this is some sort of a guilty pleasure..when we deliberately delay....we let things work on thier own pace....we stop looking at the watch.,....and enjoy the pizza and the companionship and chatter all night long...pizza is one more item to provoke the same sentiment 'guilty pleasure'....like giving into the creamy delight of the cheese melting in your mouth...you need to shut off the police in your brain which reminds you of the calories you consume....a feeling that can be compared to watching the tele serial in Star Plus "pratigya"...getting awed by the biharis in the serial on the way the saas treats the bahu and vice versa ...and then think how impractical the story board was....and thereafter tell myself why do i watch it in the first place and then again sit in front of the television the next day the soap is aired....its like crying in the cinema hall while wathing the useless movie "kites" and then feel embarrased when the realization dawns that the film actually had no story....but talking about guilty pleasure, my personal favourite was reading my roomies diary in hostel...well i dont want her to figure this out...so here i stop....

...would get back sometime later if i can think of some story of my 'paap' which i enjoyed commiting...

just in case anyone is reading the blog..let me know - kya hai kahani tere paap ki?

my devotion which will last me forever

Few years back i had posted a blog here about a crazy nutty fellow who used various innovative means to drag other people to his amway business... recently i recieved a mail from someone who kind of thanked me for posting this fact in my blog, as he escaped this amway psycho after finding this piece of info from my blog...

...so i was wondering, if this blog can help someone this way, i probably can make some more recommendations which can help people for bigger and better things in life... so here i am all geared up to write about an unexplained phenomenon in my life....Sai Baba....you an classify this blog post of mine under the category "religion"... this is my faith, my motivation, my religion which will last forever.... i come from the eastern part of the country and since childhood, i had been an avid follower of Maa kali...people in that side of India worship the Shakti form of mother God....till date, the first thing i do after i wake up in the morning is chant the Aadya stotra, which is kind of remembering the different forms and blessings of mother God Kali/Durga .....a couple of years back, my radar caught another frequency that continued to play in my heart and mind parallel to Ma Kali, and that is Sai Baba...

i will rewind a bit...in December 2008, i got married...my husband was in hyderabad and myself in Bangalore...the next year, the biggest recession of modern times hit the world...I was in pursuit of that suitable job for me which would land me in Hyderabad to my family... but as the months rolled on , the prospect of finding a decent job in my area of interest seemed more and more bleak...i tried several means, naukri, shine, monster all the portals were updated with my resume... referrals dint work, the placement cell at my campus surrendered...i was utterly hopeless...i was tired of the weekend trips i made from Bangalore to Hyderabad...and the incessant application of my resume, which eventually reaped no results....then one fine day, Bonnie ( my friend cum sister-in-law) introduced me to Sai Baba of Shirdi... she herself happens to be his devotee...she told me about the 9 thursday Vrat of Sai Baba....I gave it a try....i prayed before the print out of his image and conveyed my wish....and on the 9th Thursday i had the offer letter from Wells Fargo in my hand! since then, i have surrendered myself completely to him.. he is an awesome force...absolutely superb and he will give you exactly "THE" thing you want...not a bit more nor a bit less...i dont know how he does...all he wants from you is undivided faith...just leave it to him and he will do it on your behalf...it is like once you have given yourself up to him, its his responsibility to take care of you... i will blindly recommend/refer Sai to anyone who feels lost at any stage of his/her life...i have tried him and experienced results which i myself never expected...i completely endorse him..in the sense i am his unappointed spokesperson...i am sure that he will respond to anyone who reverts to him..i have several small examples to share...but i ll write about 2 more incidences which strengthened my devotion for him.... i was on the lookout of a flat for my parents close to my house here in hyderabad...myself and my husband searched all over the place but couldnot find one that was well within our neighbourhood and within our budget....i dont know how we missed a flat 1 km away from our house...thanks to my dear god, i finally booked one apartment there...and it matched not only our budget, it matched our requirement in terms of sq ft area, fulfilled my mothers desire of having a small plot where she can plant lemon and jackfruit saplings, a big enough car parking which can accomodate a big car which my father dreams to buy once they shift here...and 'open to sky' space on 3 sides of the apartment which my husband preferred.....Sai baba is very considerate, unlike most hindu gods...he does not believe in complete fasting...there had been occasions when i had to attend events on thursdays....and i could not resist the palak paneers and dal makhnis...and told sai baba to excuse me for that day..i feasted on the yummies and compensated that by eating simple stuff the following day....in Bangalore, i used to have bananas, chocolates and milk on thursdays....now-a-days, i dont completely follow the Vrat rules, eat idlis for breakfast, rice for lunch and cornflakes for dinner... when i came to Hyderabad, i didnot have friends here.. so once i casually asked Sai baba for giving me at least one good friend here... without any fast or anything...that was a 'just like that' request.....and I met Amrita...she was less of my colleague but more my friend...and very soon she became my best friend here.....thereafter i axed my own feet...i referred Sai Baba to amrita to encounter, or rather support her in her set of problems....and i even prayed to Sai to get her married to the person she wants, even at my cost...i meant, even if it meant her to relocate from hyderabad.. i dont mind staying 'best friend less' here, but her happiness was more important.... also, once Amrita accepted Sai baba, miraculous things happened...just like me, she got results she herself didnot expect....we realized that our prayers were answered better if we prayed for each other...so there was a time when i used to pray for Amrita and she used to pray for me...but there is one policy/deal, or you can say a rule that me and Sai baba have signed in my mind....and i follow that stringently...i entrust Sai baba with something i desire, and once thats fulfilled, i pay a visit to Shirdi...thankfully Shirdi is only 1 night journey from Hyderabad... and till the time i visit Shirdi and officially close my previous account, i never open a new account ( ie my new demands from him), however badly i want it....but he should not be taken as a wish fulfilling machine...i never forget to thank him for every small and big good things that happen to me...there had been occasions when he did not listen to me.... at the same time, he made me realize why i was not given what i wanted....and i never felt like complaining/blaming him...if he does not grant your wishes, he will tell you why he didnot give you, and probably he would reduce the hankering you have towards that wish....well, thats how it worked for me....just remember him/utter his name once ina day, and your day is made....

i have read the book Sai Satcharitra..its full of stories of Sai baba..his leelas primarily when he was living in Shirdi... in that book he claimed that even after his death his bones and flesh would continue to answer prayers of his devotees...and that is so damn true....I am sure that we will get enough and more stuff to concretize this statement...i dont know if there is a forum where people can go and post their experiences with Sai....anyone reading this post is welcome to comment on this...

Bow to Shirdi Sai Baba...Peace be to all

the toppled raft

How i wished to be a part of Commanders team for rafting....i would have loved to go into the water under a toppled raft.....

...well, to bring everyone to the same page, i am talking about our recent offsite to Dandeli, a small wild life sanctuary in the Goa Karnataka border....this was the second time i went to Dandeli with my office colleagues...the first one being an excursion in the second year of my college...and Dandeli awed me every time i went there....the trips secured special corner in my heart on both the occasions, and for entirely different set of reasons....as u all would know...college was 'college'...we had a tremendous time living in tents...going out for night safaris...trying to scare our fellow tent mates...imaginary ghostly encounters....unbelievable ghost stories wrapped with carefully trimmed words during campfire....getting bonded in a wonderful relation with the entire batch including teachers, and attendants which we cherish till date, the local dog which we named 'dhol', and the lunch with 'parshe maach aar bhaat', which we nomenclated as'bon parshe'.....and most importantly, the hobby and a love that i coined for myself- bird watching; which i continue to propagate till date...my husband is my latest disciple in this matter....the list goes on....

..... but our office trip was no less different in terms of the fun we had....there had been differences off course...different age groups, different backgrounds, different stage of life, different socio economic scenario....i realized the difference time made to me from 2005 to 2010....i cut the philosophical thread short....we stayed in a wonderful resort near Kali river....Kali is a small seasonal river controlled by a Dam....in recent times, to attract tourists, an adventure sporting camp got set up....they mostly conduct rafting ( level 2 and 3)...kayaking, fishing, boating, swimming, natural jaccuzi, coracle ride etc etc....i was interested in rafting....this was the first time for me....and i was super excited....we actually had to sign bonds before we took on the sport that we were doing it voluntarily and the camp would not be responsible for any accidents..blah blah blooh blooh...i entered my husbands number in the register to contact him incase of unforseen events...heart of hearts, i was pretty confident that nothing is gonna happen to me....we were all in life jackets and helmets, i knew swimming...even if i get into the water, i would probably float with the current and eventually land in some far away place....people in south India are good and well mannered.....they respect women...i was probably drawing the probability wire too long...except the fear that one of the 3 crocodiles might come and accept me as their lunch, there was really nothing that i could prepare myself with...8 of us got in a raft, myself and Baisakhi were at the end and closest to the guide...6 other fellows from HR took the front seats...guess the seats are allocated based on the weight of a person....the guide confirmed that rivers in Karnataka are mostly infested with crocodiles and Kali was no exception...as i told u earlier, the river had 3 crocs....1 big, measuring 10 feet and 2 small ones, around 5/6 fts...but he assured that they were happy with their piscivorous diet and have never come close to humans with an intention to attack till date...this information was quite relaxing....we pulled the raft to the mid river...it was demo time....what to do if a raft topples? how to stay together...to pull teams back to the raft...how to keep oneself afloat etc etc safety protocols to follow....after the theoritical lecture..it was time for practicals.... i was the braveheart who volunteered to give a live demo.....i plunged into the dark black waters of Kali....Prashanth followed me and dived in....as the name says it all, Kali had real 'kali' water....the black lap of the river was enough to make him jittery....seeing him afraid, i also got scared for some time, and immediately swam away from him to get back my senses...one by one most of our fellow raftmates tasted the scare and fun of being in water... we all swam in groups encircling our raft....i am not capable enough to frame the experience in words...so i leave it to my memory and your imagination....we got back to our raft in our positions...and it was time for THE adventure.....

the entire stretch of rafting was of 9 kms with 8 rapids, the first being of grade 3 and the rest of grade 2 in terms of impact or the plunge in height and depth of the water flow...we cut through the water towards the first rapid...we were in "on your toes" position...the sheet of water below our raft encapsulated a big chunk of a steep rock and took a deep dive, dragging the raft with it in a -45 degree trajectory.... in an equal and opposite reaction to our plunge, another wave leaped on us from the front leaving us wet and dripping....we had crossed the first rapid, the most exciting one in the entire stretch....we all cheered for ourselves for accomplishing this...it was like winning against force, not with force but with strategy...i again say, the experience is to be felt and i feel handicapped that i cannot describe the same...since there was no one to capture it in camera, i fall back on my memory....

...the water flowed on a rough rocky terrain....the guide told us that in past, it was a mine area for digging Zinc and Magnesium ores...the area underwent numerous blasts leaving the river bed daggered...now the water flows on it and is laden with minerals and not only it was potable, but also very good for health...probably that is what we mean by mineral water....the water was very clear and nad no signs of stagnation anywhere...as a result, we could not spot any patch of slippery algae reducing its transparency....we could see through it till the river bed...the journey was dotted with mini rapids followed by stretch of leisurly water circulation....which was very relaxing after bouts of adrenalin bursts at the rapids...we spotted several birds, hornbills, cuckoo and serpent eagles....and proceeded towards the end of the trip.

this was the story of my raft....not that i did not enjoy it, but i guess the experience would have been more peppered if i had gone with Commander....to introduce to all, Commander is the Head of Facility at Wells Fargo India....we all call him Commander coz he is an ex serviceman retiring from the Indian Navy...this is my personal blog and i take the liberty to express my frank opinion...there is a thing about these defence force folks which i really like...i come from a civil background..i got to know the other side of life only after my marriage...my father-in-law is from the Indian Airforce...and when i say that, i say it with a lot of pride...they have lived life in a different way altogether...and i have a lot of respect for all those folks serving the nation in defence...and i instantly gel with them the moment i get to know...and somehow, probably they spend their life away from home, the fellow defence mates are like their relatives..they welcome them with open hearts....my relation with Commander was no different....though our roads hardly cross in terms of work, and we hardly interact in office, i like commander a lot...he and my father-in-law would have loved each others company...but that friendship cant be established now...anyways, coming back to the beds of Kali, i got to know that Commander's raft toppled....they were crossing some rapid when the accident happened....all the 8 raftmates including the guide was in water....they later got together back in the raft...the fact ends in these 2 lines...but try and read between the lines....i close my eyes to imagine, to feel how it would have been if i were there....i would love to meet with an accident like this :)