Hyderabad Times...
Not sure if I had any connection with Hyderabad in my previous birth (if I did.. I hope I was a queen :D)... strangely my life seems to throw me back to this place wherever I go, whatever I do.. atleast until now!
My first association with the city began in Jan 2004... in the form of a 6 month long internship. Still a student, I packed my bags, ready to envelope my first brush with city life. As the auto rickshaw swept past SP road in the early hours of a chill morning, I looked around with a child’s enthusiasm. The flyovers and wide roads immediately captivated me and I hoped for a rocking stay. In the next 6 months, life unraveled numerous challenges, opportunities, excitement, fun, some interesting bunch of people… in the eyes of a 20 year old having her first lick of city life!
A stream of events from the past flash in front of my eyes… the day when me and my roommates had just 1 day to find a house and in the scorching summer heat we went door to door checking out houses….the night when we went hunting for food post 11 pm, got pizzas packed and had a moonlight dinner on our terrace… early morning walks on Hussain Sagar lake.. window shopping at Lifestyle a zillion times (I never bought anything… thanks to the meager stipend).. eating hard-boiled/soft-boiled eggs for breakfast (took me around 3 months to boil an egg right!)… moving around in the jumpy Hyderabad city bus… watching movies for Rs. 30 at Anand theatre… eating at road side places! It was during this 6 months, that I made up my mind on what I wanted my future to look like :)… so its significantly special!
My second stint with Hyderabad was shorter… just 2 months in Apr-Jun 2006… as it would happen, I was again a student but with a better stipend :) This time around I could go to Lifestyle, Westside and buy stuff.. travel around the city in auto rickshaw.. watch movies at multiplex theatres (including Telugu movies)! I explored lots of food joints including the ever famous Bawarchi biryani and Hyderabadi kebabs… my teammates had a tough time finding a restaurant where I did not step in towards the end of it all. I enjoyed my long lonely walks in the Himayat Nagar/Barkatpura region and my impulsive decisions to do anything and everything… it was a new phase of life. It was during this stint that I visited the Salarjung museum and was enthralled by the ‘Veiled Rebecca’ statue in there. Now that I think about it… wanna go back to that museum once again.
As destiny would have it, I was thrown back at Hyd a year later. I once again went through the door to door house hunting in the scorching heat… and then I realized that it ll not be the last time I do this. The last 2 years has been about finding new places to hang out, exploring unknown weekend getaways, multiple rounds of Golconda fort, trying my hand at dancing/music/work outs/cooking, tons of movies (mostly bad!)…. and diverse relations/friends/people. I discovered Chowmahallah palace, Irani chai, peaceful Banjara Hills and more of the vast city. Thanks to the paddys and venis (our maids) and khaleems who have helped sail through the times.... and the saga continues!
People hailing from other cities complain that Hyderabad is not happening enough, not a shopper’s paradise, doesn’t have weekend getaways / hangout joints… I have my list too… especially I am appalled by the traffic sense of folks out here… but to me the city represents zestful life, rich food, royal architecture, bright weather and lovely memories! Cheers to Happy Hyderabad :)
My first association with the city began in Jan 2004... in the form of a 6 month long internship. Still a student, I packed my bags, ready to envelope my first brush with city life. As the auto rickshaw swept past SP road in the early hours of a chill morning, I looked around with a child’s enthusiasm. The flyovers and wide roads immediately captivated me and I hoped for a rocking stay. In the next 6 months, life unraveled numerous challenges, opportunities, excitement, fun, some interesting bunch of people… in the eyes of a 20 year old having her first lick of city life!
A stream of events from the past flash in front of my eyes… the day when me and my roommates had just 1 day to find a house and in the scorching summer heat we went door to door checking out houses….the night when we went hunting for food post 11 pm, got pizzas packed and had a moonlight dinner on our terrace… early morning walks on Hussain Sagar lake.. window shopping at Lifestyle a zillion times (I never bought anything… thanks to the meager stipend).. eating hard-boiled/soft-boiled eggs for breakfast (took me around 3 months to boil an egg right!)… moving around in the jumpy Hyderabad city bus… watching movies for Rs. 30 at Anand theatre… eating at road side places! It was during this 6 months, that I made up my mind on what I wanted my future to look like :)… so its significantly special!
My second stint with Hyderabad was shorter… just 2 months in Apr-Jun 2006… as it would happen, I was again a student but with a better stipend :) This time around I could go to Lifestyle, Westside and buy stuff.. travel around the city in auto rickshaw.. watch movies at multiplex theatres (including Telugu movies)! I explored lots of food joints including the ever famous Bawarchi biryani and Hyderabadi kebabs… my teammates had a tough time finding a restaurant where I did not step in towards the end of it all. I enjoyed my long lonely walks in the Himayat Nagar/Barkatpura region and my impulsive decisions to do anything and everything… it was a new phase of life. It was during this stint that I visited the Salarjung museum and was enthralled by the ‘Veiled Rebecca’ statue in there. Now that I think about it… wanna go back to that museum once again.
As destiny would have it, I was thrown back at Hyd a year later. I once again went through the door to door house hunting in the scorching heat… and then I realized that it ll not be the last time I do this. The last 2 years has been about finding new places to hang out, exploring unknown weekend getaways, multiple rounds of Golconda fort, trying my hand at dancing/music/work outs/cooking, tons of movies (mostly bad!)…. and diverse relations/friends/people. I discovered Chowmahallah palace, Irani chai, peaceful Banjara Hills and more of the vast city. Thanks to the paddys and venis (our maids) and khaleems who have helped sail through the times.... and the saga continues!
People hailing from other cities complain that Hyderabad is not happening enough, not a shopper’s paradise, doesn’t have weekend getaways / hangout joints… I have my list too… especially I am appalled by the traffic sense of folks out here… but to me the city represents zestful life, rich food, royal architecture, bright weather and lovely memories! Cheers to Happy Hyderabad :)
posted by Priya | 4:47 AM
5 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
yay! someone's posting...and such a happy post, at that :-)
cheers to hyd - the laidback, nawabi, kebabi, "we are like theeeees only" place...a town full of life, ableit, in slow motion!
yups.. happy, laidback life it is!
:) I used to think that I didn't have a taste for food until I was in Hyd!
hey! so you did post about hyd. after being here, i think what makes a place livable (for me) is having 5 or 50 people with whom i can hang out... food, architecture, getaways, zest, infrastructure are all pointless if the city doesn't have people i can feel comfortable with...
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