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....

Sankranti and 'patangs'

I wonder who it was who brought 'patangs' or kites to Hyderabad. They fill the skies in quite a few sizes and all the colours you could think of.
From the time that we grew up--in the 60's--to these days, the price of patangs, manja ( the sharp thread used to cut other kites) and charaKhs has gone up in astronomical proportions. No wonder, there aren't as many kites as we used to see around December and early January, but Makara Sankranti seems to have made up for all that. There were zillions of kites everywhere and I couldn't resist getting into a few 'painches' (kite-fights) myself, when my job was actually to keep a close eye on my kids and their friends who were flying from our rooftop. The terminology (of 'patangbaazi') hasn't changed with the times, mercifully, and so everyone knows that a 'Dhiil' fight is one in which you keep releasing the string till you cut or get cut, just as 'khiinch' is tugging to the bitter finish (definitely requiring more skill). But not everyone these days seems to know what a 'jiiba' or a 'pattidar' is, as opposed to earlier times. But then times they sure are achanging......

NB. It is a harvest festival celebrated in most parts of India under different names .. Sankranti(A.P, Karnataka), Pongal(Tamil Nadu), Makar Sankranti (Maharastra and Gujarat) and Lohri (Punjab and Haryana). source: Me, Myself, I and stuff...., by Rajitha
PUNCHLINE:
Meethe gud main mil gaya til,
udi patang aur khil gaya dil,
Har pal sukh aur har din shanti aap ke liye Happy Makar Sankranti..
source: SMS Messages Collection#18- EJalgaon.com

Catch the City Happenings - Sunrise and Sunset at Hyderabad

This is about a day in Hyderabad.

More on Moazzam Jah

Well, you might think that yesterday's post was a prelude to this. It didn't occur to me at the time I posted my take on Narendra Luther's book that I have a few recollections of Moazzam Jah myself, and my own little brush with royalty--inconsequential as it may have been.


I had just joined a Master's program in English in the year1980, when a friend's senior cousin, Rashid Qayyum, asked me if I'd be interested in helping Moazzam Jah's son--Shahamat Jah, with some English. In other words, was I willing to be his 'tuition master'? I agreed quite readily, because for one thing, it meant some extra bucks I could do with. For another, and more importantly, I'd be able to catch a glimpse of the legendary Moazzam Jah, the former junior prince of erstwhile Hyderabad. For the next few months I went quite religiously to 'Fern Villa' in Red Hills where I'd sit with Shahamat in his room trying to help him with the odd poem or essay. Once in a few days, Moazzam Jah Bahadur would ask for me and make small talk. He also invited me for dinner once and ensured that some very good vegetarian food was cooked. But, by then he was a shadow of his former self and could not move about freely.

As Hyder Ali Aatish of the Lucknow school tells us:
na gor*-e-Sikandar, na hai qabr-e-Daara
miTay naamiyoN ke nishaaN kaise kaise

*grave

saty

'Nocturnal Court': Life of a Prince of Hyderabad by Narendra Luther

Talking of books on Hyderabad, I think Narendra Luther's 'Nocturnal Court', a translation of Sidq Jaisi's unforgettable account of life and times in Moazzam Jah's Court ('Darbaar-e-durbaar) is an excellent work. While the English translation is certainly nowhere close to the Urdu original, in spite of Luther's monumental effort, for those who can't read the original, and as it happens, they are the vast majority, the book provides a very rare glimpse into the exotic evenings at Moazzam Jah's Court. And for those who don't know who Moazzam Jah--after whom Moazzam Jahi Market in Hyderabad is named--was, he was the second son of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the Seventh Nizam of Hyderabad.

Moazzam Jah's real name, if I remember right, was Shuja'at Ali Khan. He also wrote under the taKhallus or nom de plume of 'Shaji'. Off-hand I like most others can quote quite a few of Shaji's memorable couplets, written in simple Urdu, but I guess one would suffice, for now.
shaam-e-Gham kaT rahi hai mazay meiN Shaji
shaam-e-Gham ki seher ho tau kya kijiye
Saty

Multicultural Celebrations Around the New Year by Desiz

An interesting audio talk -- celebrations in India that is a land of unity in diversity.

PS. We dedicate this post to recognize the Gujarati's in Hyderabad.

Sal Mubarak~ Happy 2006!
Hungry for Holidays, anyone?
Listen to the whole show
Duration 11m 4s

Technorati tags: gujarati
New year
Desiz