here's a diary/dairy i wrote when i spend a day in the south indian city of Hyderabad.
I deposited the luggage in the cloak room and then proceeded for the first attraction of the day - the Salar Jung Museum. While on the road, I was asking people about correct route to the museum, and one middle aged person told me that it wasn't very far away, and that would cost only about 20 rupees by Auto. So I got in to one. after some time the auto deposited me outside the Salar Jung and I proceeded to enter the museum. The museum was very, very good, the collection in it, I mean. All visitors had to deposit cameras before entering and had to undergo a metal detector test. I neither will, nor can, go into all the details of what was on display in the 45 odd rooms of the museum. Concisely, it had artifacts, works or art (paintings, carpets, sculptures etc), armaments from all over the world (Egypt, far east, France, England, Greece, Italy, middle east, central Asia and from many cities which specialized in the manufacture of some or the other art form, for example designs in crystal from Belgium and so on) and various Indian regions and their many dynasties. The collection was huge, to say the very least and required more than a cursory "once over" for true appreciation. Anyway, not having that kind of time (a full day or more), I saw all that I could in about 2 hours. I then headed out, collecting my camera and taking a pic of the museum building from outside.
Next on the agenda, was the most well known of all the monuments of Hyderabad, the Char-Minar, which is basically a gate-like structure with four (char) towers (minar-s) sticking out of a square base. The approach road to the char-minar was through some sort of a market place which was, to say the least, crowded, stuffy, dirty and congested. After making my way through the suffocating ambience of the "Medina market" and getting a heavy dose of the fierce Hyderabad sun, I finally reached the spot. It is cream in colour, with nice (in fact nearly exquisite) engravings, and is actually a pretty good sight. Imagine a cubical structure, with arched gates on two opposite (of its four) side-faces, and through which passage is possible, and then imagine four turret-like towers projecting vertically up from each of its four corners. It was difficult to find a spot from where I could cover the whole of the char-minar and at a good enough angle, plus also keep the direction of the sunrays in mind, but after some inspection of the area around it, I found an appropriate spot and took a couple of snaps of it. There was a huge mosque nearby, called the Jumbo mosque (or something down those lines), most probably because the mosque compound was big enough for most jumbo-jets (though it's perhaps not big enough for a Concorde) to land safely. I walked across to the "airport", and standing on the "tarmac" took a snap of the "control tower" (pun intended) and then decided that I had been playing airplanes for quite some time now and so badly needed a break. There was also a place called Choumalla Palace near the Jumbo Masjid, but no one seemed to know where that was, and so I had to abandon that one. So it was biryani time and again I walked all the way back, through the very crowded, stuffy, dirty and congested "Medina market", under the fierce Hyderabad sun, to a restaurant called "Shadab"(as that caretaker had advised me). It seemed famous, since everyone I asked on the way, knew about it.
It was decently good, and I went to the 1st floor and ordered "chicken biryani". I've had it many times before and in different cities but it's a totally different experience when you have it in Hyderabad, since no one prepares them better. It really was very good, what they dished out here at "Shadab" and very reasonably priced too, at about 80 rupees or so (an order of 2 plates should be enough for 3 people comfortably). I had a drink of Sprite along with the biryani and after eating enough to keep me going for a good couple of days, I paid and left. I bought a pack of cigarettes, lit one and got into an auto, that'd take me back to the rail station. On the way, I stopped it for a second near the imposing "Osmania hospital" (which had tower-like spires sticking out of the building, which were like those of that castle they show in those Disney cartoons), took a picture of it and then proceeded to the station. once there, i got down and started to walk towards Hussain Sagar, as i had been instructed, so that i could see one important building after another. First i came across a public garden and walked through it, to arrive near the State Legislature. On the opposite side of the road was the Lal Bahadur Shastri Cricket stadium and I took a picture of it. also of the main road, while standing on the median. it turned out to be a nice picture, showing a typical scene of what was, one of the more posh and important parts of the city. A little further down the road was the Archeological museum and the Rabindra Bharati theatre. I had had my dose of museums for the day and wasn't interested for any drama, so I entered neither and crossed the road to enter another one heading to the right. I was very tired and thirsty by now, and so stopped in a small restaurant to have a cold drink and get my breath back. then I walked out and past the imposing Reserve Bank of India building towards the Birla mandir. I did climb all the stairs to get a glimpse of the mandir, but the climb was more ardous than the temple was beautiful. though it does look beautiful from afar, (especially at night, when its all lit up), for it's situated on top of a hillock and can be seen from all over the twin (hyderabad-secundrabad) city.
After the very sapping climb to the Birla mandir (temple), I decided to give the museum (that was located somewhere nearby) a miss. I was way too tired to go searching for it - if it was somewhere in sight, i may have given it a shot. Anyway I headed for the N.T.R. park, near the huge lake called Husaain Sagar. On the way, I spotted a nice looking hotel, that looked like a castle (and was also called something similar - Hotel Castlerock or something) and took a picture of it too. At the park, there was little to do, but sit and relax in the benches. Some sort of gathering had taken place there, and I suppose some or the other gathering takes pace place there everyday. I had a "pani puri" (a sort of cheap street side fast food). It was about one hour from sun down then. the N.T.R park and the Lumbini park were on the two sides of a road, with the Hussain sagar lake taking over the boundary with the road from Lumbini park after some distance (with the N.T.R park still bordering the road on the left side). So I walked along that road, as it skirted the lake, which had a statue of the Buddha erected on a rock "island" in its middle. The buildings and roads on the other bank of the lake were looking a splindid sight from this side. I walked quite a distance till I could take a picture, that would include both the Buddha statue and the opposite bank nicely. After taking the snap, I walked back to the Lumbini park. This one was sort of an artificial thing, featuring "gardens" of various shapes with plants planted at strategic places. all nice and spotless, with the "lanes" through the "gardens" covered in fancy tiles, but very artificial nevertheless. The Lumbini park shared one boundary with the Hussain sagar lake, and I decided to go for one of the boat rides that ferry passengers to the statue of Buddha in the middle of the lake and then back again. The ride took about 30 minutes or less and wasnt anythng special, though sailing through the waters, with a breeze blowing into my face and water spashing into the boat was a nice change of pacer. Back on the "pier", I sat and sipped a cold drink and took a picture of the Lumbini Park, with a speeding boat in the background.
Then i decided to take a picture of the sunset. To that end, i came out of the park and then walked along tha banks of the triangular Hussain sagar from the another side (ie another arm of the "triangle"). The lake was big for one located bang in the middle of a city, and i had to walk more than 2 miles to come to the middle of this "arm" of the lake. Then i took a picture of the setting sun, with its reflection in the waters of the Hussain Sagar, and the trees lining the N.T.R park beyond the lake. After that i sat on one of the benches lining the road and had an ice cream and watched the sun set. Upon finishing the icecream, I lit a cigarette and walked back to the nearest bus stop from where i'd get a bus to the railway station. I found the bus-stop and then the correct bus quite easily, but the rush hour traffic (it was about 6.30 in the evening) didn't make the ride, all that enjoyable. anyway back at the railway station, there wasn't much to do, but retrieve my luggage and wait. so thats what i did, after a phone call home.
and an article i wrote about the indian festival caled Holi, for my blog/forum -
Holi is "Fun-Central".
colours, water baloons, baloon fights, drenchings, sweets, feasts, burning vegetables in a bonfire to eat them roasted - all part of the package.
every year in march-april, there's one day thats Holi day.
streets are lined with temporarily set up shops from a week in advance, selling colour-powders fo every hue.
there's 2 kinds of stuff - the powders that are supposed to be mixed in water to produce coloured water - which is then to be shot with water guns
or
there's "gulal" - which is used dry - to be dabbed on the face and throwing up in the air, just so it a colourful cloud is formed. gulal is made of a substance that dont mix readily with water and it shouldnt be tried either. gulal is meant for dry use.
gulal is usually pink in colour, but can be other colours too. the other "colour powder" can be any which colour possible and they are mixed in water to produce a sort of paint. basic holi equipment is - a water gun, a bucket, a few packs of baloons and an assortment of colour powders. a pack of gulal is mandatory too.
at the end of the day, anyone who has not stayed indoors to avoid it all, will most likely have gotten drenched a couple of times and most of his body will have adopted various colourful shades - red, blue, yellow, green.
the water-guns come in a lot of shapes - including those that are shaped like real guns. but the plain old pipe-shaped cylindrical water gun is the most effective, both for achieving the objective of dabbing someone with colour-water and also for filling up water baloons.
If water guns are the main assault rifles, then water baloons are the grenades of Holi. people fill up many baloons at a time and then throw it at their targets (friends, neighbours, strangers, countrymen, extra-terrestials, passers by etc). baloon fights are not unheard of - where a group of friends gang up and then challenge another group fopr a formal baloon-fight match.
buckets upon buckets of filled-up baloons are stocked and then the fight starts - not unlike a food fight. only here its a water baloon that smacks into your face or body.
and finally there's the old-faithful way of dabbing the powder/gulal in your hand and smearing it into someone's face and body to make sure that he/she looks like a multi coloured monkey for the next 24 hours or so. care should be taken not to hurt the eyes of the prson at the receiving end of the dabbing - and the receiver is also advised to shut his or her eyes tightly.
Holi is the most popular indian cultural event with foreign tourists.
Oh man I miss Holi - I really really miss Holi...
an american lady traveller's take on Holi (this is from a collection of e-mails she send home to someone. i have the whole set... downloaded from the net... )
--------------------------------------------------------
"Now, I must explain about Holi. Holi is a big Indian
holiday that lasts for many days. I'm not sure about
the purpose of Holi (something to do with Spring,
fertility, etc., nobody really explains it to us,
despite our pleas), but the principal activity is
throwing paint, dye and/or colored powder on other
people. Holi is supposed to be primarily on the 9th
and 10th of March, but the kids can't wait that long,
and start flinging colors many days before.
On the 9th, as soon as I emerged from my room, Kumar (one of the hotel guys) pinned me down and covered my face with bright pink dye. Futile to wash it off before the end of the day, because I'd just get "hit" again. Then, I went out to the dunes for a third
time. It was "holi day."
As we were driving out to the villages/dunes (this
time with an English woman and an Argentinean guy in tow), we encountered many roadblocks - stone
barricades set up by gangs of boys. The boys would
stop the jeep and demand 10 rupees for "safe passage." If we paid, the guys would remove the stones and let us pass. If we didn't pay, we would be doused with water, then paint, then rolled in the sand. We paid. When we ran out of 10 rupee notes and could only produce 100 rupees, they even gave us change!
But escape from paint we did not. Out on the dunes
that evening, Rachel and I were trapped by Jora and
Riyaz and covered with dye, head to toe. Needing
"revenge" on somebody, we waited for the English women and Argentinean guy to return from their camel rides, then we all ganged up to "Holi" them. We were ALL technicolor pink - through and through. What a sight! Before all the color flinging, the Argentinean guy sprang for a case of beer. So we all rolled around on the dunes, covered in pink, drinking "Bullet Extra Strong" beer and watching another amazing sunset. It was a blast."
those who still are guessing about what "holi" could be ...
just google "holi" and click images.
or click here
http://images.google.com/images?q=holi&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wi
ehBeth wrote:so I hustled off to learn a bit more about Konark
please be good enough to add this pic too - same source.
http://www.atributetohinduism.com/images/surya_konark.jpg
the write-up below the picture is - "Lions resting upon elephants guard the gateway of the Surya Deul, or Temple of the Sun in Orissa. The triumph of the lion over the elephant is thought to represent the victory of the sun over the rain. "
india
visit the
...SALAR JUNG MUSEUM...
a wonderful website with lots of links. hbg
site listing books (good, bad, relevant, and irrelevant) about india -
http://www.atributetohinduism.com/RecommendedBooks.htm
Oh goodie! Lots more to read.
I'll be back.
http://shutterbug.nu/ - wonderful photos of India
I'm still back on the first page - following where the links take me ... and what those links cause me to wonder about.
I do love these Indian travelogue/diary threads.
..and u love indians too
You should take a holiday there !
ehBeth wrote:I'm still back on the first page - following where the links take me ... and what those links cause me to wonder about.
I do love these Indian travelogue/diary threads.
ty....makes me feel its all worth while making this thread... someone digs it big time lol.
and yes india cheap too... 4grand usd....is easily good enough for 4 months in india + to&fro air fare......... if you are a smart traveller.... then 3g usd should see you through 2.5 to 3 months... remember the longer you stay, the cheaper (per day), it gets....
the prince wrote:..and u love indians too
You should take a holiday there !
You know it, bucko!
India is tops on my dream vacation list.
where dem ques-chens you was thretning to ask me ??
article i found on the net -
For the benefit of people visiting India and daring to drive on Indian roads, I offer a few hints for survival. This is applicable to every place in India except Bihar, where life outside a vehicle is only marginally safer. Indian Road rules broadly operate within the domain of Karma where you do your best and leave the results to your insurance company. The hints are as follows:
# Do we drive on the left or right of the road? The answer is "both". Basically you start on the left side of the road, unless it is occupied. In that case, go to the right, unless that is also occupied. Then proceed by occupying the next available gap, as in chess. Just trust your instincts, ascertain the direction, and proceed.
# Most drivers don't drive, but just aim their vehicles in the intended direction.
# Don't you get discouraged or underestimate yourself. Except for a belief in reincarnation, the other drivers are not in any better position.
# Don't stop at pedestrian crossings just because some fool wants to cross the road. You may do so only if you enjoy being bumped in the back.
# Pedestrians have been strictly instructed to cross only when traffic is moving slowly or has come to a dead stop because some minister is in town. Still, some idiot may try to wade across, but then, let us not talk ill of the dead.
# Blowing your horn is not a sign of protest as in some countries where we honk to express joy, romance or just bare lust (two brisk blasts). Here, it may be to show your resentment, frustration, or just to mobilize a dozing cow in the middle of the bazaar.
# Keep informative books in the glove compartment. You may read them during traffic jams, while awaiting the chief minister's motorcade, or waiting for the rain waters to recede.
# Night driving on Indian roads can be an exhilarating experience. The roads do not have shoulders, but occasional boulders.
# Truck Drivers are the James Bonds of India and are licensed to kill. Often you may encounter a single powerful beam of light about six feet above the ground. This is not a super motorbike, but a truck approaching you with a single light on; usually the left one. It could be the right one, but never get too close to investigate. You may prove your point posthumously.
# During the daytime, trucks are more visible, except that the drivers will never signal. Often you will observe that the cleaner who sits next to the driver, will project his hand and wave hysterically.
#Occasionally you might see what looks like a UFO with blinking coloured lights and weird sounds emanating from within. This is an illuminated truck, full of happy pilgrims singing bhajans. These pilgrims go at breakneck speed, seeking contact with the Almighty and often meeting with success.
# I must add a positive point also. Rash and fast driving in residential areas has been prevented by providing a "speed breaker" which is two for each house. This mound, incidentally, covers the water and drainage pipes for that residence and is left un-tarred for easy identification by the corporation authorities, should they want to recover the pipe for year-end accounting.
