Cricket fever in Hyderabad

Cricket fever grips Hyderabad, Indo-Asian News Service, Hyderabad, October 04, 2007

The third ODI between Australia and the home team is scheduled to be played at the Uppal stadium here, on Friday, October 5. Tickets have already been sold out as all the newspapers have reported this morning. In fact, the police have had to use their 'lathis' is some places, to 'persuade' cricket fans to leave.

One only hopes that the match will be an enjoyable day out for all the enthusiasts, minus the taste of 'lathis' and other signs of general disorder associated with crowds.
One wishes though, that the HCA--if wishes were horses--had sold more tickets and cut down on their 'complimentaries'. Well, well, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

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The Hyderabadi diaspora!

They're all over the place now. Yes, dear ole Hyderbadiz. Everywhere in the world. Across continents, countries, prairies, deserts, great lakes, green forests, islands. Everywhere. The Hyderabadi diaspora continues to expand just as the city stretches from Shamshabad to Bhongir today. A long way from where it started. But, as we here never tire of reminding the rest of the world and ourselves--once a Hyderabadi, always a Hyderabadi. So, they keep coming back to find old haunts gone, buildings pulled down and turned into malls and multiplexes, homes razed and converted into three-hundred and fifty flats on five hundred yards and being sold at 5000 a sq foot. Well, well, times-they are achanging. And if you're a Hyderabadi young and rearing to go that's what you would do too--flap your wings and get set to fly.....

countdown of another kind

The alarm bells are going off. The Deccan Chronicle reported today that Microsoft sounded it to the state government to get its act together (translated into plain words) on the security and traffic fronts. This is seen as an example of a rising sense of insecurity and unease in corporate houses on Hyderabad. The report has it that Bangalore is now the preferred destination--not that it's any better, in terms of traffic, but it's probably seen as a safer place these days.
As for us Hyderabadiz, we're back to chewing our nails and scratching our heads. And if you ask someone from the State government--he'll tell you things were never better. Sure. Speak for yourself, mate.
To end on a positive note--the bazaars are crowded, Charminar is all lit up and Haleem is giving everything else a run for its money.

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.....

Hyderabad in the 60s

Back then in the early 60s, there was just one (upmarket) shopping area--Abids. Secunderabad's M.G. Road was a distant cousin, less frequented by Hyderabadiz. The Old City bazaars were very much there, mainly for bangles and pearls.
A dozen double-deckers plied merrily along on a couple of routes. There was hardly any traffic worth the name--buses, bicycles, a few two-wheelers and the odd car or jeep. We didn't know the word 'pollution' existed or what it meant. In contrast, a 5 year-old will enlighten you on the causes and effects of pollution.
Back then, Osmania Hospital took care of Hyderabad's health concerns and Gandhi of Secunderabad. There was Niloufer Hospital (where I was born in the year of grace, 1957) for kids.
It was a small contented, laid-back city, with the remains of its past Nawabi era very much in place--the Bashir Bagh palace was very much there, but was gone soon! The Begumpet Palace 'Aiwaan-e-Begumpet' was intact, as were the other palaces and larger houses. The slums of the city, inevitably, were just getting established and middle-class colonies were sprouting here and there. There was nothing of the real-estate frenzy now driving Hyderabad.
In January and up until the tenth of Feb. you had the All India Industrial Exhibition, as the prime source of entertainment. The rest of the time, the movies took over. One waited with bated breath for Wednesday nights and for Binaca Geetmala on Radio Ceylon. Cinema Posters occupied the place that hoardings do, and NTR's and ANR's fan clubs tried overdo each other--in endless bouts of tit for tat each would plaster the other's idol, just before the release of a new movie with dung-cakes!
Good times they were, when one could drink Gandipet's water and importantly, it was sufficient for the city's needs. This was the time when we forgot to plan for the future and the amnesia continues after nearly half a century! Good luck!

Hyderabad--another nightmare metropolis

It's turning out to be another nightmare metropolis, thanks to its most chaotic roads. Hyderabad is hardly destination tomorrow anymore. It's a get out of there today if you can sort of place.
Added to everything else, the city's under the grip of conjunctivitis right now, making life even more miserable for Hyderabadiz. And it shows no signs of abatement. The 'pink eye' is all over the place.
Equally pervasive is the presence of securitymen everywhere, because of Ramadan. The cops don't want to be caught unawares and intensive security is in place. Now you would expect citizens to be thankful to the police for this elaborate security cover. Yes, many of us cross our hearts and thank them for it. But then there are these habitual cribbers who grumble about too much 'security'. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Public places--parks, museums, malls and multiplexes aren't attracting the crowds they used to, till very recently. Let's only hope that the Ganesh immersion passes off peacefully.