I am back from a trip to Hyderabad and I didn’t have time to dissipate my enthusiasm by bugging my friends about the trip. Since the enthusiasm hadn’t found an outlet I simply had to write this on my online journal. My friend P and I decided to attend my friend’s wedding early this month. We used the wedding as a good excuse to see Hyderabad. My memory of Hyderabad was that of ten years back when I visited that city as college student. The distractions of going on an excursion are many…least of all being the total lack of perspective. So I looked forward to this visit as I was now a mature adult having a good idea of people and places. Ahem
We worked out the trip from Sunday through Monday so that we could get back by Tuesday. My friend’s wedding was on Sunday night. We planned the places of visit and realized that Salar Jung Museum and Golconda fort had to fit in. But we had learnt that the museum needed good amount time to look around. So we squeezed Golconda fort on Sunday and the museum for Monday.
We reached Hyderabad (Nampalli, as locals call the station) on Sunday morning and from the time my feet touched the ground I was hit by the chaos in the city. With not much difficulty we located our mode of transport – aamchi autorickshaws. What we didn’t bargain for however were the auto drivers. They were a class apart from the Chennai auto guys in that they were willing to help the poor tourists about their city and in driving like maniacs. But more of that later. My friend had warned me that the trip to our hotel would not take more than 25rs maximum from the station. Armed with this info we bargained with élan and ultimately found a guy who said he’d put the meter on. We argued that we will give him only Rs. 25 (our Chennai attitude very prevalent here). The guy accepted and we were off. By the time we reached the hotel the meter didn’t show a penny more than Rs. 11/- and we were shocked. We looked up to see our smirking driver who rather tamely told us that the meter was the best bet! My friend and I stored this very important piece of information and milked the auto driver for what it was worth. Within 5 minutes we had an idea of the auto charges to all important places around Hyderabad!
As it was my friend A’s big day, we didn’t want to disturb him. But he had other ideas. Despite our repeated assurances that we could find our way to the hotel my friend came to the hotel to check if we indeed managed that feat! Which was good in one way, coz we transferred the gift we lugged from Chennai, into his car and extended our best wishes for the big event in the evening? Since it was a Muslim wedding, the women and men would be seated separately and there was fat chance of us seeing him, even though he was the groom! After he left we lazed around in the spare and very cheap hotel, booked by our gracious groom to save us the trouble of checking into expensive ones. If one ignored the myriad tiny creatures crawling about the room, one could simply switch off the mind and coexist. Our first place of visit was the famous, Charminaar. Like happy tourists we looked about the crowded centre and our gaze fell on a nicely built mosque, which we came to know was Mecca Mosque, second largest after Jama Masjid, Delhi. We decided to visit the mosque. Our efforts in going there led to us parting away with Rs.150/- this was engineered by a rather enterprising guide, who played on our ignorance of ‘things’ in Hyderabad. So it was with huge suspicions that we set out of the mosque. The flock of pigeons brooding there serenely did nothing to bolster our diminished pride at being so easily fooled by benevolent looking people! From there we walked in search of good Kohlapuris and came across a colourful character selling that lovely footwear on the roadside. With his panache of speech he sold a good three pairs to us and also showed us the way to a good eatery down the road. By now my stomach was rumbling and I wanted to sit somewhere and sink my teeth into a lovely reshmi kabab and paratha. The food was yummy and buttery and with replenished energy we set out to take a bus to Golconda fort.
We decided to take a bus on hearing the astronomical rates charged by auto drivers in the city. Pretty soon we realized what a mistake that was. The geography of the ‘Lakadi ka pul’ (wooden bridge), which was the name of the place, become startlingly clear when we were made to run from one bus stop to another in circles, literally, by certain helpful drivers, shopkeepers and pedestrians. When at last we spotted the said bus, we scrambled in and collapsed onto one of the empty seats with satisfied grins on our faces. I blithely reassured P when she asked after the conductor, saying, that he’d come along to give us tickets when he was ready. So when he did arrive at our spot I gave him the fare and announced ‘Golconda fort’. He looked down his glasses like a teacher looking at a dull student and told me the bus was not going to the fort and that they were returning from a cut service because it was Sunday. We let our sorry selves out of the bus which by now had traveled considerable distance from the point where we started. By now all good humor had vanished and we wanted to flag down the first auto that drove our way. Upon hailing one, we came to realize that he was asking us Rs. 80/- which was half of what everybody else had warned us about! P and I didn’t want to come across as people who had been just issued a reprieve from death sentence. So putting on a poker face I asked P – What do you think? For which P who surprised me with her acting skills, replied with a nonchalant toss of her head and a flick of her wrist – Whatever, I am too tired to negotiate. As if!! We were smirking on having got such a good bargain that too with good acting skills to match. We reached the fort through winding streets interspersed by speed breakers, and filled with youngsters happily whizzing about in blue or ash coloured Bajaj Chetaks! Clearly the CBZz and Yamahas of India had not reached them! When we reached the fort and asked the good driver who had charged us so low, as to how much it would cost to get back to the city, he smiled lightly and said Rs. 160/- Seeing our shocked expressions, he elaborated kindly that he had an errand to run this way and so he had offered the price. But other drivers wouldn’t do so, he said. We felt like deflated balloons at that moment. So much for our nonchalant act!
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