On the path of the cursed diamond-Koh-i-Noor-Golconda to the imperial loothouse
In the fall of 2006, I took a trip back home to India after a span of three years. I was not only excited about the prospect of seeing my family but I wanted to see the India that was making news across the globe. The booming economy of 9 percent and the daily business news from India told me, things might have just changed visibly since the last time I was in India. I wasn’t expecting the many worlds that live in India to change, but I anticipated seeing any noticeable or visible signs of change. I landed at Delhi airport and despite all the gaga over the privatization of national airports; I thought that Delhi airport was pretty much like any other Indian airport minus any bit of courtesy. This was the first time I traveled through Delhi international airport and the movement of travelers in exiting the airport is comparable to sneaking out of a back door. There have been some security efforts made to protect passengers from being kidnapped, looted or simply robbed by the Delhi taxi man. Delhi police has instituted a crude way of logging license plate numbers and passengers/baggage content in the good old bureaucratic logbook (those pre liberalization register books with ruled pages). Anyways, I reached the domestic airport in Delhi in one piece and did not have much hassle in finding myself a ticket to Hyderabad on Jet Airways. While checking in the baggage to fly to Hyderabad, the Jet officials were ready to slap me a huge charge for excess baggage until I told them of my travel from the US. Passengers from America are allowed excess baggage to the tune of 26.50kgs and you have to present ticket stubs to prove your travel from the Americas. My experience with Jet airways was as before, their service standards haven’t gone down by any notch, although their airhostesses don’t look as hot as they used to be. The passion of work and money in these private airlines make you wonder what will our “fat bastards” Indian Airlines and Air-India do when the day of reckoning comes. The gleaming new aircrafts of Jet airways and their shining service, among the litter and garbage dump of the creaky federally owned and run airports will give you the first glimpse of why India is going to be powerful force in global business and economic superiority. The patience and willingness to excel in all odds (the impolite, slow police who do security checks) the creaking airport infrastructure, the crater ridden runways and abysmal air quality, reminds you that there isn’t any dearth of hope on this fabled old land, that keeps burdened with too much history and tradition.
The on-board food was awesome and the flight was pretty pleasant except the passenger in the seat ahead of me. He must have clawed up to his nouveau rich status and could not find enough comfort in the airline seats and kept stretching, kicking and pushing his seat to squeeze as much comfort and satisfaction for his paisa-vassol flight. Hyderabad was a city I found covered with a cloak of dust and haze, actually like any other Indian city. I met my parents and when I first looked at them, I was horrified to find them so much older and frailer that I had seen them before. I could barely speak for about half an hour since returning home. People like me who live away from their closest family have a reality in their face. We do not have the comfort to see our family grow old and I expect many such shocking reunions with my family. I was just glad to see my Maa doing alright, after the surgery and trauma she went through in the past one year.
In the days of the first few weeks, I took various tours of the city and its historical places. Hyderabad is an amazing city and despite of the bad reputation the Gultis[i] have created for themselves of being obnoxious and repulsive in the US, they seemed pretty suited for the new India. Hyderabad is a city founded by its Muslim rulers, inhabited by Hindus, although Muslims are a majority and very progressive. There is a huge statue of Buddha at one of the edges of the Hussainsagar Lake. This immediately gives you the idea how the city is tolerant to many religions. The Hindu population is pretty visible and celebrative of its many festivals. Diwali[ii] was two weeks away since I arrived and I saw the city with banners of all sizes announcing the next Biryani[iii] and Haleem [iv]contest for the restaurateurs and hoteliers. I cannot tell enough about the myriad of food experiences in this silicon city. I ate Biriyanis from a zillion places and the south Indian staple of dos, Sambar and Idli is as delicious as they are in Udipi. Thank god for Hyderabad that I did not have to travel to Taleban Pakistan for a taste of delicious Biriyani.
I took one of the planned trips to Ramoji film city; the world’s largest film studio spread over 2,000 acres.[v] It also means that it was the world largest fake city, where manufactured dreams are set in imitation buildings, setting and sets. I took several pictures with my Dad and also found ourselves amid the thousands who go there for sightseeing. We had the most uncannily witty tourist guide throught the 2000 acres of tour. At the end of the day we were tired and just crashed after having Biriyani and delicacies..hehehe..
More coming later
[i] Term used to call the people of Andhra Pradesh in US.
[ii] Festival of lights between the months of October and November.
[iii] Flavored rice dish made with spices and goat meat.
[iv] A dish made of wheat and goat meat cooked over a long period of time.
[v] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramoji_Film_City
The on-board food was awesome and the flight was pretty pleasant except the passenger in the seat ahead of me. He must have clawed up to his nouveau rich status and could not find enough comfort in the airline seats and kept stretching, kicking and pushing his seat to squeeze as much comfort and satisfaction for his paisa-vassol flight. Hyderabad was a city I found covered with a cloak of dust and haze, actually like any other Indian city. I met my parents and when I first looked at them, I was horrified to find them so much older and frailer that I had seen them before. I could barely speak for about half an hour since returning home. People like me who live away from their closest family have a reality in their face. We do not have the comfort to see our family grow old and I expect many such shocking reunions with my family. I was just glad to see my Maa doing alright, after the surgery and trauma she went through in the past one year.
In the days of the first few weeks, I took various tours of the city and its historical places. Hyderabad is an amazing city and despite of the bad reputation the Gultis[i] have created for themselves of being obnoxious and repulsive in the US, they seemed pretty suited for the new India. Hyderabad is a city founded by its Muslim rulers, inhabited by Hindus, although Muslims are a majority and very progressive. There is a huge statue of Buddha at one of the edges of the Hussainsagar Lake. This immediately gives you the idea how the city is tolerant to many religions. The Hindu population is pretty visible and celebrative of its many festivals. Diwali[ii] was two weeks away since I arrived and I saw the city with banners of all sizes announcing the next Biryani[iii] and Haleem [iv]contest for the restaurateurs and hoteliers. I cannot tell enough about the myriad of food experiences in this silicon city. I ate Biriyanis from a zillion places and the south Indian staple of dos, Sambar and Idli is as delicious as they are in Udipi. Thank god for Hyderabad that I did not have to travel to Taleban Pakistan for a taste of delicious Biriyani.
I took one of the planned trips to Ramoji film city; the world’s largest film studio spread over 2,000 acres.[v] It also means that it was the world largest fake city, where manufactured dreams are set in imitation buildings, setting and sets. I took several pictures with my Dad and also found ourselves amid the thousands who go there for sightseeing. We had the most uncannily witty tourist guide throught the 2000 acres of tour. At the end of the day we were tired and just crashed after having Biriyani and delicacies..hehehe..
More coming later
[i] Term used to call the people of Andhra Pradesh in US.
[ii] Festival of lights between the months of October and November.
[iii] Flavored rice dish made with spices and goat meat.
[iv] A dish made of wheat and goat meat cooked over a long period of time.
[v] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramoji_Film_City
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