Chapter 2: Out of city limits
The Fortitude
On reaching the fort, we had an intense discussion about whether to hire a guide. We decided not to, but as soon as we entered the fort we changed our decision. We were amazed by the first thing what we experienced. We were told to stand at a particular place and the guide clapped, we could feel some kind of vibration. Hats off to the architects of those times! Near the entrance there were some people who were clapping so that the tourists who came to see the amazing fort could hear them clap from almost 3-4 kms away, the clap was a warning signal. We saw the home of the great Kohinoor heera. Even though heat tried to get the better off us, we did not deter. We clicked pictures or rather Kartik clicked pictures of us with all kinds of insane expressions and poses. Our guide was a little irritated as we kept him waiting for our photo sessions. Some other attractions were, DJ Bobby written on the wall and the wall which could hear us whispering. The proverb “DEEWAARON KE BHI KAAN HOTE HAI“, sounded uncanny hear. So, the architecture makes it a must visit places in Hyderabad.
Charminar, a monument located right at the centre of one of the most crowded places in Hyderabad. Now, this place made me think that I was in Mumbai. There were people, animals, yellow rickshaws and hawkers everywhere. It was one big chaotic place or as Kartik calls it ‘systematic chaos of Hyderabad’. The view from the top was great; we could see the whole of congested old Hyderabad and the beautiful view Mecca Masjid. Hunger compelled us to eat samosas, which was not even close to samosa. But then Mr. Raman has this habit of eating north Indian foods, especially when he is south :P. We found out the telgu name for taddi fruit, its ‘Kawla Munjal’. We were so fascinated by the name that we kept on reiterating it till d end of the day.After some photographs at Mecca Masjid, we left for Birla Temple and had a filling thali before we went to the temple.
There was nothing special about this place except the Laser show, which we decided to skip as we were tired after our escapades for the day. Nice view of Hussain Sagar Lake and Buddha statue right in the middle.
After an uncomfortable journey and not so good night of sleep, not to mention the Bad-maash Company and a small goof up between Raman and his pune friends who were coming to meet us, we reached Hyderabad. Finally out of one stagnant, crowded city lives to another ;).
We got down at our stop where my brother (Manoj) was to pick us from. Our hopes of an actual Into the wild experience were dashed as we saw my brother in a Scorpio. After initial greetings and ‘Seeing after a long time’ talks, we began to plan our course for the day. My brother booked an A.C car for our trip, bummer! We had a minimum of 3 places we need to cover Golconda fort, Charminar and the Birla Temple.
The Fortitude
On reaching the fort, we had an intense discussion about whether to hire a guide. We decided not to, but as soon as we entered the fort we changed our decision. We were amazed by the first thing what we experienced. We were told to stand at a particular place and the guide clapped, we could feel some kind of vibration. Hats off to the architects of those times! Near the entrance there were some people who were clapping so that the tourists who came to see the amazing fort could hear them clap from almost 3-4 kms away, the clap was a warning signal. We saw the home of the great Kohinoor heera. Even though heat tried to get the better off us, we did not deter. We clicked pictures or rather Kartik clicked pictures of us with all kinds of insane expressions and poses. Our guide was a little irritated as we kept him waiting for our photo sessions. Some other attractions were, DJ Bobby written on the wall and the wall which could hear us whispering. The proverb “DEEWAARON KE BHI KAAN HOTE HAI“, sounded uncanny hear. So, the architecture makes it a must visit places in Hyderabad.
After a historic trip to Golconda fort, it was time to visit the most important place the ‘Chaar Minar’. On our way we noticed that the Hyderabadi’s have a unique knack of naming their shops, they were hilarious. Some names were so funny that, we were ROFL! :D Example, Co Cane: Name of a sugarcane juice centre.
CHARMINAR (chaar minar)
Charminar, a monument located right at the centre of one of the most crowded places in Hyderabad. Now, this place made me think that I was in Mumbai. There were people, animals, yellow rickshaws and hawkers everywhere. It was one big chaotic place or as Kartik calls it ‘systematic chaos of Hyderabad’. The view from the top was great; we could see the whole of congested old Hyderabad and the beautiful view Mecca Masjid. Hunger compelled us to eat samosas, which was not even close to samosa. But then Mr. Raman has this habit of eating north Indian foods, especially when he is south :P. We found out the telgu name for taddi fruit, its ‘Kawla Munjal’. We were so fascinated by the name that we kept on reiterating it till d end of the day.After some photographs at Mecca Masjid, we left for Birla Temple and had a filling thali before we went to the temple.
Birla Mandir
Another adorable place in Hyderabad with the elegant marble finish it enabled us to have excellent views of the city from the top. It is a very peaceful place, we almost fell asleep. Kartik was at his best and maska-maring the Gods, when I and Raman noticed something hilarious. The Sai Baba’s idol casted French cut instead of the normal beard :D.
Lumbini Park
There was nothing special about this place except the Laser show, which we decided to skip as we were tired after our escapades for the day. Nice view of Hussain Sagar Lake and Buddha statue right in the middle.
Heading home, we picked up my brother from his office! We relaxed a bit and set out on a search for Raman’s kutte ka doctor :P , for his anti-rabbi shots. Funny thing, when we showed the prescription for the shots
at the chemist, poor guy unfamiliar with the name of the drug, read out his name and said, “sorry sir we don’t have Aditya Raman.”
The Doctor was amused to see me and Raman taking our shots (ohh yeah, for me it was tetanus). As I went in after Raman, she asked me about my whereabouts. As soon as she came to know I too was from Mumbai, she had an expression which felt like, “Tum log Mumbai se idhar injection lene aaye hai?? ” :P
We headed home, had our dinner along with some fluids and then started planning for the trip next day.
Trivia: This was the end of 2nd chapter and I still haven’t mentioned about any good looking or smart girls. It is not because, this is a censored write up, but because there are no good looking girls there!!!!!!!! When it comes to this context is one lousy place.
To be continued......
