My first weekend at Hyderabad turned out to be pretty interesting…. It was an extended weekend as we had an off day for Ugadi, the Telugu New Year.
I had visited Hyderabad some 10 years back and so it was a feeling of déjà vu as I revisited the Golconda Fort and once again, embarked on a rollercoaster ride through the pages of history. I haven’t studied history in 8 years, yet I still love it; I still felt that same rush as we explored through the rugged ruins of the fort, as we climbed 360 steps to get a bird’s eye view of the city, as we listened, enraptured, to the history behind the rise and fall of the Golconda fort: the royal princes, the tales of treachery, war and the eventual devastation of the fort by the mughals punctuated by the saga of art and culture that flourished, the romance that blossomed between the aristocrats and the gifted dancing girls that took many a nobel family by storm- it was all out of a history book but somehow when narrated by Amitabh Bacchan in his impressive voice with the fort in the background, it seemed so much more real, so much more romantic…
Our visit to Hussain Sagar and Lumbini Park brought back memories of last year when it became a target for terrorism, and the place was still reeling under the shock as the visitors were subjected to strict security inspection. I didn’t quite enjoy being felt up by stern, heavily built women in uniform, but I guess frisking has become a part and parcel of precautionary measures, albeit at the cost of the dignity of the common citizen.
I also visited Shivangi, my roommate: my sole purpose being to scare her out of her wits before she leaves for her summers next week. After all, it’s her first exposure to the dirty corporate world, and she is quite freaked out and I couldn’t resist the golden opportunity to add to her anxiety! But I also managed to shock her parents when I touched their feet on meeting them- they aren’t exactly used to well behaved respectful traditional children…
Not that I am one, but I faked it for a few hours!
I had visited Hyderabad some 10 years back and so it was a feeling of déjà vu as I revisited the Golconda Fort and once again, embarked on a rollercoaster ride through the pages of history. I haven’t studied history in 8 years, yet I still love it; I still felt that same rush as we explored through the rugged ruins of the fort, as we climbed 360 steps to get a bird’s eye view of the city, as we listened, enraptured, to the history behind the rise and fall of the Golconda fort: the royal princes, the tales of treachery, war and the eventual devastation of the fort by the mughals punctuated by the saga of art and culture that flourished, the romance that blossomed between the aristocrats and the gifted dancing girls that took many a nobel family by storm- it was all out of a history book but somehow when narrated by Amitabh Bacchan in his impressive voice with the fort in the background, it seemed so much more real, so much more romantic…
Our visit to Hussain Sagar and Lumbini Park brought back memories of last year when it became a target for terrorism, and the place was still reeling under the shock as the visitors were subjected to strict security inspection. I didn’t quite enjoy being felt up by stern, heavily built women in uniform, but I guess frisking has become a part and parcel of precautionary measures, albeit at the cost of the dignity of the common citizen.
I also visited Shivangi, my roommate: my sole purpose being to scare her out of her wits before she leaves for her summers next week. After all, it’s her first exposure to the dirty corporate world, and she is quite freaked out and I couldn’t resist the golden opportunity to add to her anxiety! But I also managed to shock her parents when I touched their feet on meeting them- they aren’t exactly used to well behaved respectful traditional children…
Not that I am one, but I faked it for a few hours!
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