Confusing tests stump drivers - SAB CHALTA HAI BHAI

Hyderabad traffic is an epic in itself — spoken of in fearful tones by outsiders but a fun, video-game-arcade experience for the natives. With zooming cars, zipping bikes, horns blaring, you’d be no Sherlock Holmes to deduce that getting a driver’s licence isn’t too hard.

Scratch the surface and alarming stories come forth. A ‘proxy’ taking the driver’s test instead of the applicant, experienced drivers flunking the test because of redundant questions and a list of grouses. continue reading

More on the same shelf:

Traffic Lights - Hyderabad Traffic Police
"Traffic lights, also known as traffic signals or stop light, is a signaling device that is positioned at a road intersection, pedestrian crossing, or other location to indicate when it is safe to drive, ride, or walk using a universal color code."

City changes signal:
GSM technology to send instant alert for repair, timers to blink as per red/ green light ... This, incidentally, is also the first time that a traffic signal has been ...

Theme Song composed by A R Rahman @ Hyderabad International Airport

Aasmaaan!!!!!!
That's the latest ARR song that's been released - It's not from any movie/pop album... I'm in loue with this one track already - starting off with slow whispers, and then moving on to "aasmaan" at a high pitch, with wonderful string arrangements which is typical of ARR - he has created magic again!!! says A.M. Aravind @ Rahmaniac's Reflections

This theme song composed by maestro A R Rahman playing in the background, welcome the guests. Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated India’s most modern Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad. Much more specialities of this Airport, AR Rahman Biography

Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi, Singer: Naresh Iyer, Composition: A.R.Rahman
Watch Video, Audio
GMR Airport song lyrics
Aasmaan….ho zaraa raaste palat ke hum taiyaar hain
Baadalon karo zaraa dhoop ko azaad hum taiyaar hain
Dekho udd chalaKhwabon ka shahar
Lo hum aa gayeNeeli si dagar
Hawaaein chod doHum taiyaar hain
Dishaaein mod do mod do mod do... [Lyrics courtesy: N S murthy]

The plan to build the Airport, Posted by Pradeep Sadanapalli Youtube / News updates on the Airport

Hyderabad: Break traffic rule, be constable for a day

Hyderabad: Shwetal Rai / CNN-IBN Published on Sat, Feb 23, 2008, in nation section

You won't be fined for breaking a traffic rule during non-peak hours in Hyderabad. You'll instead be given a role to play: of a traffic cop. That’s city traffic police's way to make people follow the rules.



Read the details, CLICK here.

What Mysore can learn from Hyderabad...

[Original title: What namma Mysore can learn from Hyderabad; namma=our]

Dr. K. JAVEED NAYEEM, A Mysorean writes: Although I know that Mysore does have its own charm, I have still often wondered why people compliment us so much over our luck in being in such a nice City. But it is only when we compare Mysore with other ... Continue reading [info courtesy: churumuri swalpa sihi, swalpa spicy / Star of Mysore]

Readers' comments are interesting:

9 Responses to “What namma Mysore can learn from Hyderabad”

chetan krishnaswamy Says: 4 November 2007 at 10:29 pm
Let me focus on the most pertinent point in your story…our Biryani is better

Anonymous Guy Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:14 am
Agree with Dr. Nayeem 100%

Kadana Kuthuhala Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:19 am
I think the writer should’nt worry about mysore so much as it’s the people of mysore that actually hinders progress. So if the ‘deve gowdas’ of mysore contribute in their own way, the progress will be definitely slow which obviously means slow growth.
BTW, what does ‘Namma’ mean???

thisisananth Says: 5 November 2007 at 11:16 am
I stay in Hyderabad and experience the traffic problems that you have said. It s really lack of planning on part of GHMC. Even though there are flyovers at every junction, they ease the traffic only at the junction. The traffic at peak time is very slow moving that 13 km distance is taking 45-50 mins. An efficient public transport system can alone solve this. But the buses are few and infrequent. Even the hyped MMTS( multi modal transport system) didnt yield the expected results, the reason being that it just goes around the city and doesn’t touch the main junctions at all. An efficient underground or any other fast railway system can only solve the problem. Hope successive govts who are dodging this issue will realise its importance and take up project without any further delay and be committed towards its completion and make Hyderabad a really enjoyable place.

Dinesh Says: 5 November 2007 at 8:31 pm
[flyovers] are the only solution to any city’s growing traffic needs? On the contrary, I believe transportation engineers have a saying, “You cannot build your way out of congestion”. And thisasananth’s comment seems bears this out, as indeed our experience in Bangalore. And as he says, an efficient public transport system alone can solve this. That and severe restrictions on usage of private vehicles.

ERR Says: 5 November 2007 at 9:43 pm
Let us hope and Pray Mysore will not have a single flyover, if thta’s possible…

Doddi Buddi Says: 7 November 2007 at 4:16 am
Thank you Dr. Nayeem for the update on Hyderabad. I last visited the city in 1988 and I was not impressed at all. But the newspapers made me believe that Hyderabad was doing very well when compared to Bangalore. I am sad it is not true–more hype than reality it now seems to appear.
Bangalore would have done well if only the likes of Dirty Devegowda had not stuck his nose into every development project that could have lifted the city out of its problems. Systematically DDG has rogered the city projects like the transit rail, Kheni’s road to Mysore, the new airport (delayed by many years), roads and other projects. I was in Hassan recently and even the approach road to the city’s industrial park has become a two-lane road from a four-lane road. The reason–the contractors hired by HD Revanna gave us a disposable road–an innovative concept in road making!
Coming to Mysore, I love the ring roads around Mysore. Looks like that is the only thing our town planning authorities have got it right.

Harshith_mysore Says: 21 December 2007 at 4:38 pm
@ ERRI do hope we dont get any flyovers in Mysore.
I always wish Mysore retains its old charm which i used to see in my childhood days.

shanker Says: 3 January 2008 at 8:09 pm
what development have seen in chandra babu naidu and not in ysr, may be you have read development of chandra babu in newspaper and media, if so he developed hyderabad why is lost in election and even he didn’t get single MLA and MP seats . may be i even accpect that he bought IT to hyderabad. with no proper infrastructre

See also: Nizam of Hyderabad and Tiger of Mysore by Neria Harish Hebbar, MD

Hyderabad breathes easy!

Yes, the Ganesh immersion passed off peacefully and Hyderabad breathes easy again. Yesterday, people were off the streets, traffic was the thinnest ever in the whole year and the police were busy policing. But give them due credit. Our policemen did a great job--keeping a 'virtual' eye on the massive procession and monitoring it at every point. tv channels covered the procession 'live' late into the night and that was that. Finally, all's well that ends well. The T-20 victory cast its joyous shadow on the procession, according to this morning's newspapers. The processionists had an extra reason to celebrate and a good many of them celebrated the T-20 victory with gusto.
And so, after taking a day off, we get right back into our daily lives : buses, bikes, cars, autos, pan-shops, multiplexes, restaurants, wine-shops and all.....

GHMC--An Alice in Hyderabad's Wonderland

Hyderabad is suddenly being seen as the city of disasters by some of our prophets of doom. Yes, there have been tragic bomb blasts at Mecca Masjid on May 18 and at Lumbini Park and Gokul Chaat, three months later. Both the Mecca Masjid blast and the Lumbini Park blast could possibly have been averted with some vigilance, screening and precautionary measures. But, as always, we seem to be growing wise after the event. Public places now are more sensitive to security, which is a good thing.

The other tragedy that shook us up was the collapse of a section of the flyover near Panjagutta for which there are simply no excuses. The contractor, the consultant, GHMC and all the other government agencies are equally responsible for the death of Ankit Aurora, young techie whose life has been rudely cut short, and that of Ramu, a supporter of a politician, from Armoor. Disaster management is an expression our officials have not heard of. There is no nodal disaster management agency it appears, equipped with gas cutters and other emergency relief equipment. Of course, the officials were there to give sound 'bites' to tv cameras, sounding more like politicians than men on the job responsible for both the disaster and its relief operations. How else can one explain their irresponsibility in blaming 'the unprecended rain' for the flyover collapse? It rained for an hour dammit--I live about a mile away from the blessed flyover: I should know. Of course, a 'wizened' GHMC Commissioner clarified the next day that by 'unprecedented' rain was meant 'the quantum of rain in an hour, a single hour, that is.' Oh really! Give us a break Mr. Sarma! Like millions of other Hyderabadiz I was born in this city and have lived here all my life and have seen enough of 'unprecedented rain'. The GHMC and everybody else told the citizens of Hyderabad that this flyover and others being built along with this elsewhere in the city, were 'quake-proof' and 'terror-proof'. They're telling us now that they aren't even 'shower-proof'! GHMC is the new Alice in Hyderabad's Wonderland. Welcome to 'Greater' Hyderabad!

Hyd flyover collapse: 30 feared killed

Murder or Suicide?
After the bombs in Hyderabad, we all might have talked about the fear of terrorist attacks and unsafe home one more time. This was followed by the collapse of an under-construction flyover due to heavy rains. continue reading
Digging by Water Board led to collapse of scaffolding?
SAFETY CONCERNS: The spans of the Punjagutta flyover under construction that collapsed on Sunday after heavy rain. continue reading




Hyderabad Flyover Collapse Slide show

Life after the blasts....

Will Terror Threaten India's Economy?, Aug. 27, 2007 By MADHUR SINGH, Time Magazine

Hyderabad expatriates shrug off role of external forces
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
Published: August 26, 2007, 23:40

Terror 'outsourced' in India, By Siddharth Srivastava, Asia Times

India finds unity in terror, By Sreeram Chaulia, Asia Times

Hyderabad has bounced back, as our news channels and papers remind us. But, the eerie sense of unease that follows a tragedy of this scale, hangs over the city like a dark cloud. Public places are best avoided feel most people, telling their children not to frequent local hotspots. How could the police not screen visitors at the Lumbini Park after a warning from central Intelligence that another round of blasts could take place? Why was the security of the park given to a private agency, which had no screening mechanism in place? These are questions Hyderabadis are asking, knowing what answers to expect from politicians.
We have a low-key raksha bandhan today, marred by the grim background of death and suffering of innocent victims.

protests and strikes

We've had more than our fair of share of protests to put up with. Yet, our politicians simply don't seem to grow up. Who gets killed or even injured in police firing? The poor and the innocent. Hyderabadis are sick and tired of political parties doing this to the citizens--picking up a cause or latching on to it, as may be the case and going berserk in the name of 'protest'. For the past few days it's been the Leftists, with the Telugu Desam merrily jumping on their bandwagon.
What do we Hyderabadis have to say? Who's asking?

Leaders and activists of Left parties for relay hunger strike

Hyderabad takes lead in protests

Bandh today: TDP extends support to Left parties

CPI-M demands action against cops for Andhra firing

'smart' city....what about citizens?

Hyderabad is all geared up to introduce multi-application smart cards soon.
These cards, which will double as driving licence and vehicle registration documents will also bring up--thanks to hand-held readers, the history of previous traffic offences, tax and insurance data and and related information on the driver.
The city's turning 'smart' if this bit of news is to be believed, but what about the worthy citizenry? Thereby hangs a litany of woes, which I'll save for another day. The only thing I'll whine about today is what our political parties are doing to Hyderabad--in terms of worsening things. They paralyze traffic for the flimsiest of reasons, creating hopeless snarls. The Left parties say they're doing it to get land for the landless. Others have other reasons. What do our 'netas' think of pressing in their cadre as traffic volunteers to show their protest, instead of getting them caned and fired upon by the police and paralyzing traffic? Idea worth publicizing? What say folks?

see also:

Hyderabad opts for smart system

Smart cards for motorists by October, The Times of India

Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers
Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers, Jaya Menon - Chennai

Pay but don’t touch – Security, Satisfaction, and Expectation
Arby’s rolls out ‘contactless’ payment cards

Hyderabadi roads

We're back with the same refrain--Hyderabadi roads and the attendant chaos that goes in the name of traffic. A longtime Mumbaikar (Deepak DeSouza) wrote to the DC yesterday complaining of the utter absence of pedestrians' rights in Hyderabad. His grievance is spot on.

Where are the 'footpaths', one may ask? In no other city does such chaotic traffic go unregulated, as Deepak rightly points out. That's sadly true. One simply has no place to walk--if one doesn't depend on any mode of transport, that is, such as a car/bike/auto/pushcart/bus/truck etc. The sidewalks have been taken over by 'nature's callers' and hawkers or more often, simply don't exist. Hyderabad's traffic police continues to wink blissfully at the anarchic movement of all and sundry on the streets. One would have expected an aggressive, pro-active campaign from the traffic authorities to bring some sanity on to the streets, but the big question is--where are they, Hyderabad's traffic police, I mean?
On a different note, if you're web-savvy, there are enough tools to navigate you. No longer do you need to ask in the local lingo-"yeh rastaa kaaN jaata?" And get the tongue-in-cheek retort--"kaiiN naiiN jaata bhai, bachpan se dekhruN... aap jaareN jaaN kaiiN jaareN." There are web-tools to help you get there--"jaaN kaiiN aap jaareN", that is.....be it Charminar, Gachhi Bowli or Nacharam!

Wah Hyderabad!

Taking the same thought forward, from last time--is Hyderabad ready for the big league of metropolises or is the pretence getting to it? On the one hand, there are islands of relative prosperity like Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, parts of Madhapur, Begumpet and other areas. We have 'service apartments' in and around Hi-tech City to cater to the inflow of MNC personnel, the hospitality industry says things are looking up like never before, all hotels are notching up high occupancy rates and real estate prices are going through the roof. On the other, a half-hour thundershower is enough to throw the city out of gear, kill a few people and disrupt thousands of lives for a few hours. And, in terms of infrastructure, the city's bursting at the seams--the roads can't take the traffic, new roads and fly-overs are a long way off from nearing completion and as for our City authorities, the MCH ducks for cover, when it is needed the most.

No one spares a thought for large swathes of the city's population living in sprawling slums from Uppal to Rajendranagar and Kukatpally to areas beyond Vanasthalipuram, sans government facilities in terms of civic amenities, not to speak of two of the most critical areas--health and school education. Don't mention government facilities like the Osmania Hospital, Gandhi or Niloufer Hospital, which were known to be the best in town at one time (when we were growing up in the sixties and seventies). Many schools run by the government do not have roofs, boards, desks and benches, leave alone enough teachers.
And yet, we claim Hyderabad is the most happening place. We need to shake ourselves out of this delusional state and get real.

oh Hyderabad!

Hyderabad Blast, May 18, 2007

Added to the miseries of day to day living, we have amidst us a network of lunatics, committed to making life in this city even more difficult. The bomb blast at Mecca Masjid is a case in point. Friday marked another sad day in the annals of our beloved city. But, we need to pick ourselves up and get on with our lives and show the loony bunch and the rest of the world that bombs kill people--they cannot touch the spirit and soul of a city.
Moving on to other things, traffic continues to be as chaotic as ever in this crazy city of ours, with most roads leading nowhere, at the end of the day. If you want to be enlightened on the rules of the road--here's some advice you could do with.

See also:

Hyderabad in Mourning?

Friday Bomb Blast in Hyderabad – Amusing Incidents and Disturbing Aspects. by Ashish Naredi

Misdirected Hyderabad Bomb Blast Investigations, By Adv. Irfan Engineer, 31 May, 2007, Countercurrents.org

The changing metropolis

That Hyderabad is not what it used to be, is something not worth repeating any more. Besides, isn't that true of every other city? But the pace at which change has overtaken the twin cities, is something no one, least of all our MCH and other civic bodies, had anticipated. A large, consumerist middle-class, and huge swathes of migrants seem to have sprouted from nowhere--thanks mainly to the IT sector. In turn, a related chain of service businesses burgeoned and boomed, making the city look like a happening city--you simply need to visit one of the many high-end malls or local pubs to see what I mean. But, scratch the surface and what do you find? A city that is fast losing the green cover it had, obsolete sewerage systems, municipal authorities who couldn't care less about roads, streets, parks or parking spaces, and who would merrily look the other way if you happen to be a builder or a contractor, regardless of what you are doing. Be it traffic management, civic problems, mass transport--things that are of basic importance in everyday life, Hyderabad is far from a happening place. Somebody needs to remind our city's denizens and authorities that ' a few MNCs do not a metropolis make', no matter what the real estate prices may say.

One recalls the tree planting campaign taken up by the MCH (in Mr. Narendra Luther's time) during the Emergency years in the mid-seventies, when it was widely being perceived that the city's rising temperatures could be ascribed to the widespread of denudation of trees. Those saplings had grown into sturdy trees only to be chopped down mercilessly by the same civic body, over the last few years. Who says we evolve with time?

The other face of Hyderabad....

Strong winds wreak havoc; two killed The Hindu, Apr 15, 2007

Shopping, food are good in Hyderabad :
Vishaka Singh, IndiaGlitz.com, April 22, 2007

All it takes is a cloudburst or a determined shower, so to say, to throw city life completely out of gear. If the wind-god decides to puff and blow, Hyderabad has had it. Hoardings go flying, trees get uprooted, power lines snap, and life, in short, gets totally dislocated. If two tall trees sway this way and that, our electricity folks feel they've had enough.We who belong to this third world city that nurses delusions of leapfrogging into an elite club of metropolises know how to sift the grain of reality from the chaff of hype and illusion...
It's a bit difficult to swallow the bitter pill that a city that lays claims to competing with Shanghai or Singapore, has infrastructure so flimsy and frayed at the seams, that a downpour can paralyze it and a deluge all but destroy it. But that's the plain ole truth--Hyderabad is an overgrown village and if you need further evidence--after all the polluted lakes, overcrowded localities, ill-equipped hospitals, pathetic schools, choked drains, land grabbing cases and insane traffic--you need help!
On this rather sober note we look at our beloved city this week--preferring NOT to look at its hoariness, heritage, history, aristocracy, culture and legacy, for the moment. Remember Faiz--"Aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane meiN mohabbat ke siwa..."

Nothing changes, yet nothing remains the same...

Well, unfortunately, real life in Hyderabad can't keep pace with the frenetic pace of bloggers in virtual space. The city's languid lifestyle was once a major attraction. Today, it is a happening place with all the attendant problems on infrastructure and civic life. For old timers, the Arts College and the High Court are monuments that mirror the city's grandeur (of yore). Youngsters prefer to talk of Hi-tech City, the pubs in town and multiplexes. For some, there are distinctive traits that go with Hyderabadi culture; for others it's the new melting pot--accepting and open enough, culture be damned. For yet others, with one foot planted here and the other 'there', 'two-timing' is simply not easy.

If you're looking for a good book--there are many on our city--Ms. Noopur Kumar's 'Portrait of a City' has some excellent photographs (by Mr. D. Ravinder Reddy) on the many facets of Hyderabad, over the last few decades. It's an excellent coffee-table work and certainly worth a read.

Saty
----
***image source: D.K. Agencies]
See also

India centre (at Hyderabad) engineers played key role, filed 40 patents for Vista ,
Venkatesh Ganesh

Hyderabad: A Tale of Hype and Hope. By Patralekha Chatterjee. (Urban Age, 1999) [includes: From Minarets to Microsoft]

What else to read

The ubiquitous 'auto'.....

Catch the City Happenings - Daily life in Hyderabad***

"Auto strike called off, panel formed", says The Deccan Chronicle

And now for an update on life in our beloved city....
For a week now, they have been off the roads, and traffic has never been smoother, better, more organized and anxiety-free, on our (justly) much maligned roads. The ubiquitous 'autorickshaws', which have been a permanent fixture on our city roads, since the early 70s, make sudden, sneaky appearances and disappear, after fleecing an odd customer. The reason behind all this--our dear 'automen' don't want digital meters and have gone on an indefinite strike, assuming that they would bring the city to its knees. Well, that didn't quite happen--life goes on, schoolchildren continue to get dropped, resources get pooled and the RTC does it's fair bit. Meanwhile, some of them--the auto fellas, I mean-- have never had it better--a two mile ride can now cost you a hundred bucks!
So much for 'desh ki dharti' post-Republic Day. And speaking of Republic Day Celebrations, who doesn't know how it's celebrated? As a child, I'd see my parents sitting glued to the radio listening to Melville de Mello (was it?) on AIR, describing the Parade in Delhi. And in later years, when you had nothing but just Doordarshan to watch, the entire household (and this was a 'ghar ghar ki kahani') watched the Parade in the Capital on TV. For donkey's years now, neighbourhoods have had the habit of planting a loudspeaker somewhere (courtesy local MLA, for the most part) and subjecting the entire neigbourhood to patriotic songs like 'mere desh ki dhharti', 'ai mere watan ke logo' 'yeh desh hai veer jawanoN ka' 'apni azadi ko hum' etc., played endlessly all through the day.Well, things haven't changed one bit (in this respect) in all these years.

*** Much more in pictures: Life in Hyderabad ... photos by Steve Cubbins and Alex Wan

City Non-Stop - It happens only in Hyderabad

Questions people have asked about this traffic:

Have you ever seen such a flawless cut?

How many accidents in a second?

Who controls the traffic?

Who monitors the movement of vehicles?

Can this pattern work any where else in the world?

NB. A Hyderabadi may respond:
Hey Ghar mein bol ke aaya kya??? Arre Marna hai kya??
Arey bhai, agey chaltay kya, sawalan nakko karo, mein zara jaldi may hoon--keep moving, dont bug me now, I am in a huury....

Welcome to the city of the seven loaves, Hyderabad

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[PS. Background audio clip is by Sulaiman Khateeb--also sp. sulaiman khatib--Dekhani Urdu drama in verse] probably included in his book: kevre ke ban (Gulbarga, Sulaimān Khatīb Yādgār Talīmī, Saqāfatī va Imdādī Ṭrasṭ, 2002)




This is a virtual Hyderabadi portal--first have a galnce of this virtual city

And now, you are entering the pearl city: Today's weather Check Stock market get set to eat target=_blankhyderabadi biryani and don't miss Google Map




Quotable quotes:

Hyderabad of "the seven loaves" by Syed Ahmed El Edroos;
[based on a legend that Asif Jah I met a saint on his way to become the ruler of Hyderabad. The saint gave seven loaves of bread, which symbolized that his dynasty would end with the seventh ruler].

phir bhi dil hai Hyderabadi
mera dil hamesha rahega Hyderabadi
[Courtesy @ Harini Sanjeev ]

PHIR BHI DIL HAIN HYDERABADI
[courtesy: Rajeev ]

Phir Be Dil Hai Hyderabadi-The Heart is Hyderabadi
[courtesy: Hyderabad Pages by WingFoot]

Phir bhi Dil hain Hyderabadi [courtesy = Satya Swaroop P ]

8 Km - Distance from Charminar to Golconda Fort

Hyderabad ke Adrak ke Panje, Babban Khan.