Day 2: Hyderabad

My small town upbringing never induced a sense of alienation in big cities – rather the mass of people, their lives, the sense of place and its history – are so rich in colour that it usually distracts my mind altogether from it. Right off the station, we ran across the city – Hussain Sagar Lake & Salar Jung Museum just flashed across the window in the hurry to fill the grumbling stomach. One important aspect of my ‘to do’ list was food – obviously it goes without saying but being a foodie – there lies no better opportunity in tasting the pan-Indian palette than this journey. ‘Akki Roti & Pesarattu are must tries for breakfast’, said a friend and so did I gorge on the awesome dosa cousins. Post refreshments – we headed out to the ‘Old City’. At about 9 AM – the old city was still sleeping – probably after a tiresome night before. Gulte friends were doing their bit to let us know of the speciality of their home town – the ever-famous Hyderabadi accent, lac bangles, silver foils and the quintessential Biryani took their baby steps in those streets around the Charminar. Though deprived of the rhythmic chaos - characteristic of old towns – the morning was beautiful & very photogenic to view the monument, the Jama Masjid next to it & the Chowmohalla palace. In 2006, the same places appeared boring and crowded to me, but now, 6 years later, they seem to tell a different story altogether. I guess it was then that I realised how old I was getting with the way I perceived things. The Jama Masjid – like every other historic temple resonates faith - the faith that teaches one to hope, strive & reach a higher complexity. What comes to the fore is the thought process of putting together the monument in view of a public concourse. This is a classic example of a true-blue urban plaza – the ones that brought people together in religion, shopping streets around for the women folk & in this case the Unani Hospital too. The chaos that comes along with it is often judged as its negative aspect – “Oh! Only if the roads were wider; only if shops & vendors never came onto the roads, only if there was more shade....and finally only if things were organised.” Probably we need to figure out something very important here – things like this old city have stood the test of time for a reason – they’re splendid. I guess that’s why history still has many takers....We need to adjust to their presence not the other way round. After a glass of sherbet, Chowmohalla palace – restored by Rahul Mehrotra. White symbolised elegance and grandeur from the very first step into the precincts – the swans, frangipani trees studded with flowers – surrounded by the endless colonnade with the majestic palace in the background. This UNESCO merited palace is one of the best kept palaces in India, said a guide. I agree! Within the palace buildings – one sees highly ornate rooms, with chandeliers above and mirror-like floors below – just as anywhere else. The vintage photographs and cross-cultural artefacts add to the old-world experience just as much. But the collection of vintage cars was the highlight for me. Famished beyond exhaustion, we headed to HITEC City for lunch. ‘Paradise’ hotel it is – for the much hyped Hyderabadi Biryani. En route was a total contrast to the Old City –wide roads, tall IT buildings & apartments, malls and the like. If I’d woken up from sleep to this, I would’ve easily mistaken it to be Singapore or something! I did catch a glimpse of the CII - Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre by Karan Grover. It's nothing like I'd imagined it to be from the few photos I'd seen. Big, big mistake of judging buildings from the photographs - I need to correct that. The building lay neatly tucked away into the urban jungle. Just the signature wind shaft caught my attention till a slit in the surroundings gave view. All the glory of that platinum rating in that split second. Some architectural enlightenment that was...! Another building in HITEC city remained in memory purely because of its contrast in the setting which was Mario Botta's TCS- Deccan Park. The bright red, cylindrical form was a visual break from the other glass cuboids. Call it the architecture of the big moolah. Seemed like my eyes and tummy were parched looking at all that reflective stuff and adding to it was the heat. Finally we found 'Paradise' literally - the biryani restaurant. With their fans spraying water to beat the heat, entering into the bright orange interiors felt like a trance. I don't remember what happened till the food arrived....but after that the table resonated silence, with the occasional clutter of cutlery, of course. Delicious biryani, not authentic enough - yet delicious. After that, was the boring, long drive to the railway station to catch our Aurangabad-bound train. Slept thro' most of it to survive the heat.... then window shopping thro' the bus window while passing by the up-market shopping district. Hyderabad is incomplete without visiting the Golconda Fort - I realised that once I left the place. Funny, how sometimes the most important things become secondary & other details seem to outshine them. So with an I'll-be-back-for-more, I bid the 'City of Pearls' and its people (who don't like sad endings for their movies!) - a cheerful goodbye!