“Ananth Nilaya” – A Houshold after 26/11 Attack

It was just any other morning at “Ananth Nilaya”, this is the home which Srinivas & Vidya dreamt all their life and built it with lots of hopes. Ananth Nilaya is in midst of silence located in the extension area of the city. Srinivas is a Professor at the University of Karnataka in Scientific Research Dept and his wife Vidya is a professor at Sociology Department. Being the household of professors, there is silence all over, the only exception to this would be when Shreyas is home. Shrey as they call him, is a recent graduate and is at home until he joins Microsoft Corporation for work where he got selected through his campus placements.

Prof Srinivas Ananth is deeply engrossed in his newspaper without even bothered about the door bell. Vidya comes out of kitchen telling “what did I see in this man, doesn’t seem to see beyond his newspaper”.

She opens the door angrily “Shreyas!!!!!, how dare you step into this house, don’t you have little courtesy to inform your parents that you will not be coming home. You know how worried we were all night”.

“Sorry Ma, I slept off at Rajeev’s place yesterday after movie” explains Shreyas.

“One phone call, Shrey or even a message would suffice” Vidya goes on, Shreyas dares stops her (on registering ‘Shrey’ which is only used at normal circumstances and at extreme ones it is ‘SHREYAS’) “Last time ma, one last time, I am really Sorry”.
Vidya(Orders) :“Ok, go and get ready now, we all are going to Prachi Akka’s wedding today”

Shreyas :“No Ma, Please I don’t want to go to any weddings, Please!!Please Please”

Vidya :“No Shrey, you are coming with us, everyone will ask about you and its good occasion to meet everyone before you leave for Bombay(Mumbai) next week”

Srinivas : “Where were you all night, where was your mobile”

Shreyas: “At Rajeev’s place, and there was no battery in my mobile”

Srinivas: “ Why did not you inform us, we called all your friends and then we called Shekar, who told us you are at their place”

Shreyas: “Shekar Uncle told you na, then what’s the worry”

Srinivas : “This boy will never understand us, Good he is going to Bombay, hopefully he will learn to manage himself alone there, I don’t know what kind of graduation he did”

Shreyas (sheepishly): “ Paa, It a Bachelor of Technology from IIT, Madras, you both were there at the convocation, weren’t you?”

Srinivas: “Stupid fellow, you always talk non sense, Vidya he is coming for Prachi’s marriage right?”

Vidya: “Yes, he is (warning shreyas), Shrey wear that Blue Shirt we got for your office”

Shreyas: “No way, I am not wearing those formal shirts, I will come in jeans itself”

Srinivas : “Jeans!!!! All your jeans are in such a good shape that even that Municipality Venkatappa refused to take them once”

Shreyas: ” What does that Venktappa know about style & jeans, he only know to clean those roads, that to inefficiently…….” (smiling )

Vidya now pitches in to take control between the duo….

Vidya: “You are grown up boy now( sounded like the mother of Complan Boy) don’t make me scold you and Sri ( pointing towards Srinivas) even you get ready, he will come in formals only”

Shreyas: “Ok, One more week then it is only me, I can do what ever is want to, Oh God!!!!Thanks for giving me the joining location as Mumbai, Thanks a lot MyproSoft Corporation”

At the wedding every one esquires about Shreyas relocating to Bombay  and gives different opinion about the place

“Vidya, he is your only son, How are you letting him go to Mumbai, send him to Bangalore , There are good IT companies there”

“ Its too crowded, he will have to travel in those local trains”

“Very big city, all hindi Film stars stay there, probably he will see few of them”

“Houses are very expensive there, Hope he is getting good Salary to save some”

“Once these boys go out to Mumbai , they never come back”( as synonym to America in India)

Next one week at Ananth Nilaya went on arranging things for Shreyas and packing his luggage. On the day Shreyas had to leave, almost nobody spoke at home.

Vidya only managed to say “ Take Care Shreyas, don’t roam around in Mumbai as you do here, have your meals on time and please call me everyday”

Srinivas added to it “I would have also come with you and got you admitted to a hostel or PG there but, You never listen to me. Do as you want but don’t forget to keep us informed, Take Care”


Shreyas” I am 23 year old paa and can manage myself, please don’t treat me like a kid and I promise(turns to Vidya) Maa, I will call you everyday”

Rajeev:” Don’t worry Aunty, we will all stay together only, once we get to Mumbai many of our college friends will also be there at the company accommodation”

After Goodbyes, Shreyas and Rajeev leave to Mumbai.

@Mumbai -23rd November 2008
City of dreams, many people come here with so many dreams, Shreyas and Rajeev where no different to anyone there at CST station dragging their bags amidst crowd to the nearest taxi stand to get  to their company accommodation, a Hotel near Apollo Bunder, Colaba.


Today its 26th November 2010 , With all the 26/11 pictures on the Main page of all newspapers of the country.

And the same ‘Ananth Nilaya’s early mornings............................... But there is something which is not as it was 2 years ago…….


Professor Srinivas finds the main door open and newspapers on their doorsteps with pictures of 26/11 attack while Vidya is still asleep. He then rushes to Shreyas’s room and does not find him anywhere.
Srinivas wakes Vidya tells her about missing Shreyas which was enough for Vidya to crash down…….

Srinivas is restlessly shuttling between hallway and the door with newspapers in his hand and Vidya trying to regain her control but is still unable to get up. Then the door bell rings!!!!!

Srinivas bangs the newspaper onto the floor and rushes towards the door angrily and exclaims “ Shreyas!!! Where were you all night?? We were so worried”

Shreyas does not respond at all. This is not new these days at Ananth Nilaya, Shreyas seems to have forgotten to talk completely.

Srinivas with tears in his eyes tries to ask him again “Where did you go Shrey”. On hearing Srinivas, Vidya manages to the hall and is so happy to see Shreyas that she hugs and cuddles her 25 years old son like a kid herself.

“How are you, are you alright?” Vidya asks Shreyas.

“ Amma, I found him sitting on the bench at the bus stop near my home and got him to you” Venkatappa comes in explaining.

“You found him near your house, how did he reach that far,” asks Srinivas curiously.

Venaktappa tells “ I saw him sitting there Sir, and asked him so much why he came here and all, but he did not respond at all, then I understood what your maid Gowramma was telling, ‘Shreyas Anna is shocked after that Bombay shooting and is going to mental hospital doctor also’”

Srinivas (shouts) :”He is not mental, he just in shock and Dr. Ketkar is a psychiatrist not mental doctor”

Venaktappa (Now Guilty): “I know Sir, Shreyas is very smart boy, he got first rank always and is Engineer but that Gowramma does not know anything”

By then Vidya notices that Shrey’s feet has scars and is also bleeding and Srinivas gets it, that explaining anyone will not help.

Vidya then nurses Shreyas and takes him to his room and puts him to sleep using some sedatives.

Meanwhile Professor Srinivas Ananth gets ready to go to University and tells Vidya “I am keeping the car at the gate , Don’t forget to take Shreyas to Dr.Ketkar, will join you there. I will take the bus to University”

Vidya just nods her head lifelessly.

Today, Vidya has resigned from her almost 3 decade long teaching job which always kept her going. Professor Srinivas still teaches at the University to make their ends meet, however is not interested in it anymore. Now 25 year Shreyas is undergoing treatment with Dr.Ketkar the renowned psychiatric in the town….

Wondering What happened to Shreyas?????

Shreyas and Rajeev were one among those many Mumbaikar who witnessed the dreadful incident in which 10 young boys took the city on their stride and did something that even a worst Nightmare would be scared of……….

Shreyas then young energetic boy with full of life and dreams to make it big witnessed this, and the death of his close friend Rajeev. Rajeev who succumbed to death spending his last few seconds there, smiling next to injured Shreyas, who was all aware of the happening but could not help his best friend because of the bullet which hit his leg.

It took more than 6 months for all the physical wounds of Shreyas to heal. And only his physical wounds were healed rest will probably remain with him always………..

Vidya and Srinivas were happy to have their son back but are still longing for his reaction to their call.This was with one, Ananth Nilaya but there are many and many more household still under the nightmare…….


Imagining Rajeev’s Ananth Nilaya is beyond my abilities to pen down…………..



All the above characters are fictitious but I am sure this will have some resemblance to what the Victims of 26/11 witnessed. There would be more than one Ananth Nilaya’s which are still trying to regain their dreams and life just to be able to pretend and lead life normally………. Yes!! Only to pretend to lead life normally after 26/11 Mumbai attacks .

26/11 does not need a year(2008) along with it, every time it comes, it will surely get these dark memories of 78 hours of havoc back, which are etched deeply in all our minds.
This is my small tribute to our soldiers who put their life second to fight 26/11 and to all those who lost their lives or loved ones in the mishap.

I am one among the many INDIANS who are still waiting for Kasab to be punished and still waiting for justice against every individual who was involved in this incident in anyway…………

Jai Hind!!!!!!!

Expressions- On the Submerged Island!!!!!

Nice rainy chilled out noon, actually only the weather outside was nice. Inside my office, it was a weird situation and cannot call this tensed, but yes a weird one for sure. It was the last working day for a bunch of colleagues and as per unspoken rule, the person quitting treated others. Funny!!!! Treating when you are quitting, oh… I think this is one of the happiest moments in their life…. “Quitting an Organization”

Are Employers listening???? Resigning makes people treat other who hold on, or rather are forced to hold on...….. Oh No!! I am not writing about our IT culture- QUIT to GROW and all, everyone knows it and probably very well. It is something different from this……

Imagine, a Stormy night you and your co-workers are trapped in an island and the sea is eating up the island. This island, almost submerged in waters would be discovered again someday after millions of years.
SIREN……”Last Ship for the day”, calls captain from the ship, storm completely blows out the sound coming out of the loudspeakers, almost muting it. In such situations, people need not be told what to do, it comes out involuntarily...…. However while every co-worker of yours is leaving the island, you are forced to hold on & stay on the island as if you are committed to living on it all your life, or it could be that your legs are buried deeply into the abyss of the island due to the CURSE and uprooting yourself would be disastrous to humanity. Everyone sympathises with you and gives you expressions like, the poor fellow is so badly trapped and would also die in this trap. Some of them even dare and call your name in the storm and ask you to join them. Helplessly you refuse all such offers and mention to them about your curse. Somewhere deep inside you know that there is someone who can free you of this CURSE, no it’s neither a Frog nor a Prince and it’s neither the Whale keeping Sea scene in mind. “Let out this one secret and you can’t get out of it” would be the closing words of the curse…… Everyone around you is leaving; you will be left all alone with the Sea, whose company you hate to the core….. All the trees, bushes, homes are slowly disappearing in the Sea. Sea, rushing towards you with all its speed and power, you are half gulped and waiting for another half to be eaten soon….. Far across the sea the Last Ship and your co-workers are still visible, every expression on each face is 100 times more dreadful then this Sea troubled by Storm. Everyone you know has something to tell you, to get you onto the ship…. But (Stubborn you – What others felt of you), you are really helpless, cannot accompany them in this journey of life and chose to die on this island. Island, who’s only proof of existence, is your face and head, still visible in the stormy night waiting to be eaten by the SEA….

OH MY GOD!!!, this, not the way I feel when my colleagues quit the job and I am still stuck at the same boring project, to be honest, I think would have…. But the situation here is completely different…..
This was how I was treated, when a colleague treating everyone on the floor on his last day, forgot to invite me for the lunch party ...

Disclaimers- All the Characters above are fictitious with no resemblance to anyone dead or alive. It is exaggerated only to entertain human mind with no hard feeling toward any species on this earth or on the submerged island or the Last Ship leaving the island.

Just a Thought

As the name goes, it's just a thought that fluttered my mind after inspiring lines of this one. Could not bind it with any titles........... So it's just a thought.......

Ek UMRR Guzar jaati hain

Zindagi Ki Talaash Mein.......

Yeh WAQT Guzar jaata hain

Manzil ki Talaash mein........

Manzil, Muqaddar Ya Talaash...

Nahin hain AKS Zindagi ke........

Par Har Kisi ka Muqaddar tho,

Yahan ek Anjaam Hain....

Uss Manzil-E-Anjaam se bekhabar,

Talaash Rahe hain Chalave ko...........

Talaash Rahe hain Chalave ko, Jab

Bhikre hue hain,

Khushiyon ke moti raha mein, Bus

Samet ne ki dher hain......

Phir bhi nikal pade hain,

Ek Bewafa-E-Aashiyaane ki talaash mein.....

Aise hee beeth jaathi hain UMRR,

Aur jaate hue kehe jaati hain......

Zindagi tho SAFAR ka naam hain,

Talaash se na koi naata, Muqaddar se na koi rishta hain iska

Jo Samaj gaya iss ko, ye Manzil nahi HUMSAFAR hain uska......

Surprising Surprise!!!!

Disclaimer: Read this at your leisure. The author cannot write short stories.

Surprising Surprise????? , If this is what you are thinking then you are right!!! I was actually surprised to know that someone planned a surprise for my birthday ( Hey hold on, read further, I am not that bad, that I do not deserve one!!).

About my birthday celebrations, almost all of my birthday’s during school went with mid-year exams and me distributing sweets to only those few in school who remembered it in spite of exams. Hey, there was an exception, my last year in the school (10th Std). That year, I had all my classmates sing Happy Birthday for me!!!. Thanks to Politicians (probably) because of whom the exams got postponed.

After that day, all of my birthdays have been almost normal even the latest one!!!!!! To make it even worst many people who wished me all these years forgot to wish me this year!!! They had to be reminded about my birthday by other friends of mine. For some great ones, I had to remind them, that too after taking about the weather for an hour. Actually, they thought I was blessed to this world on the next day!!!!

Then how did this surprise come up???? This came up almost a week after my birthday to prove that birthdays are sweet memories to be cherished no matter what happens on the day.


Thanks to MM and CC (not Crazy Curly), who had same spirits even days after my birthday to put up an eventful Birthday Surprise for me on Gandhi Jayanti!!! With the help of our friends' cum neighbours.

I had some plans until the afternoon of Gandhi Jayanti, as this day is National Holiday (Hopefully its stays the same in coming years in spite of Tharoor’s twitter debate) I had some preplanned meeting and without any hint of things happening behind me I returned home in the afternoon. Here I was greeted by my roommates who left home with a “Tit- for Tat” leaving me alone at home as I reached.

Thinking back I feel so dumb for not evening thinking why these people left me alone at home for almost 4 hours giving funny reasons, which I otherwise could have easily become suspicious. Maybe if it was on my birthday I could have, but I had already convinced myself that these people will make me cut the cake when I treat them, even if that treat be a month after my birthday. Ridiculous na…….. I know, I am that mean at times…… ;)


MM & CC left the place on my bike, about which they always cribbed!!!! MM and CC had some shopping and other plans for MM's long upcoming official trip; you can say that is what they said to me….

When they came back home, CC voluntarily asked, “Aren’t you ready for the evening walk, we supposed to go right?” I did not even doubt this unusual behaviour of CC. Normally she would have bluntly refused to come for a walk at 7 pm, after day long shopping.

After a long walk combined with Grocery shopping, we returned home, CC even managed to buy candles for my birthday cake, easy to fool me you see…. !!!

I rang the doorbell of the house, and the lights went OFF (that is what I thought, w/o even noticing there is light on at neighbour’s….). MM opened the door for us and
Yipeeeeeeeeeee!!!! There was my neighbour along with MM and there was cake at the centre of the hall with CANDLES on it…….. How did candles get there??? CC arranged for the store fellow to delivery the grocery home before we reached……..

This was a surprise I did not expect at all……Wait this is not the only one…

Anyways with the cake, there was a box and a note next to it, which was more tempting than the cake itself and got me curious…….. After cutting the cake I quickly opened the box for my gift like a little kid, and found WHAT? ……………..A Comb (Birthday Gift????).
A NOTE next to it was still waiting for my attention and half of which read “There is something for you………..” TREASURE HUNT, ha ha ha…….GIFT HUNT!!!!!!
Hurray thatzzz Fun……

I Cut the Cake and opened my gift, I found a comb with a note that said,
“There is something for you… Barack Obama will take you there”
I dug the shelf for the book “Dreams of my Father”, which seems to be lost…..
Thanks to next 'note' and a gift which fell down the shelf, that I wanted at any cost……
Looking at me, it said to me…”You are best at it”...
I am best at what? kept thinking, first best thing, no that’s not there….
But the second one was The Kitchen, where 3rd clue waited in the kitchen cupboard …
It said to me… “You are so obsessed with this place that you won’t let anyone stay in it for long”
I did not have to think at all on this….. I read it half and there I was with my 4th clue and a gift……
This one was also nice to me and said “You make _______ in it”
CAKE!!!!!! Microwave, instead of a cake, it gave me my gift and the next clue……
“You love spending most of your time there”, don’t think of any non-sense…..
It’s the idiot box at the corner there….
Idiot box gave the clue by playing the notes on the String of the “Guitar”
Guitar- The pride of our store room, none of the guitars gave me any clue……
People kept telling think out of the blue…….
Store Room having guitar is the clue…..
The clue in the Storeroom screams at me, “It’s too cold for you to get in”
I answered UTILITY, but how cold could it get? We are not in Finland yet!!!
It has to be the Refrigerator, I bet………..
A chilling clue warmly said “You end your day on it”,
My Homoeopathic hair fall Pills, I don’t end my day ON it….
Oh!!! My bed held a gift and a note towards me!!!!! And smiled…
“YEP!!!!!!!!..........!!!!!!! END OF YOUR JOURNEY.”


I unpacked the gift in a fast forward mode and found some BANGLES… Before I could say or react, MM said this is your gift. I did not want to show my disappointment of not finding any treasure at the end of hunt!!! There was hope that said, this not all of it, there is another Gift (not a hair band, hair clips, earrings, nail enamels etc which came along with the clues). I sat with all my small clue gifts thinking, what next???

Then CC told me to wash my hair which had eaten more Cake than I would have!!!! This time finally my battery started!!!!! There is gift along with my towel in the cupboard. I tried not to show my curiosity of knowing where's my gift, but I gave up and Gift was worth it!!!!!!

This was not the end of it!!!! I even found another note and a gift in my handbag (which I carry to work every day) couple of days after the Surprising Surprise!!!!!! Which said, “You Carry it with you every day”.
So sweet of MM & Neighbour who kept the note in the bag that it should have led me too!!!! I can never forget this one
Thanks, M, CC and crew………

MM- Mobile Maniac (Thanks to CC for this name).
CC- Candid Curly (Thanks to CC again for this name and the blog name- I could not find the better name myself)

Music of Your Soul

I walk across the unknown lanes and stop for something familiar...
On these lanes, I have a company of something known...
There is silence everywhere, but something not letting me calm down.....
Is it from the stranger or from within my very own....?
Everything seems known but the decision, unknown....
Find it hard to defend or rather say to oppose...
Feeling of belongingness to seems to exists as long as it persists.....
"In loneliness and in a group, in known or unknown, You are are not alone"
Said to me something, something which is very known....

Listen to me, Listen to your Soul.....
Because I am your very own..........

Nostalgia!!! - In Episodes

After a very long time, call it Season 2 Blogging!!!!! Thanks to people who asked me to Keep Blogging!!!!

Here I am with my very own full-length blog!!!! , in episodes ( just to keep me out of lazy bags and keep Blogging Regularly !!!!!!!!!)


Disclaimer: This not a travel blog or the place where you could get information about the place I have mentioned below. This is just the memories of the 13-14-year-old girl of what makes her nostalgic even after 10 to 11 years!!!!!!.


PART ONE!!!!- Jab We Met!!!!

As a school kid, we all loved travelling!!! but travelling thousands of miles for 3 to 4 days on a train had a purpose for three of us ( For all who don't know the three of us, it's  my mum, lil sister and myself). This was to meet my Pappa, as I call him, who worked in these places where we travelled to during our summer and winter vacation.

Our tickets would get booked months before our midterm and yearly exams got over. To make it even great we mostly travelled the evening after our exams or the very next day. Thanks to Indian Railways, which was trying to upgrade itself from narrow gauge to broad gauge, due to which we travelled more than necessary.

I don't know in which phase of broad gauge did Hubli (where we lived) comes into but we had to travel to Miraj in M'rashtra for about 7-8 hours and then board the train there to North India.


The first time I travelled this long to meet Pappa was when I was in 5th standard, I guess so. I only remember where and when all we travelled but not the classes studying ;). Hey, don't take it as, I met my dad when I was in 5th standard, it was then he moved out of Hubli leaving family there, just not to disturb our schooling. As it was the first time we travelled my grandpa,( I call him Ajja) planned his Delhi trip around the same time to help us reach our dad safely. Ajja is particular about the time when he travels and my Mum (mummy) looked totally against him that day.


My grandmom (Amma) goes to any extent to make you eat good food even in worst times. Amma along with my aunts prepared all our meals for next 3-4 days at home and packed it for us. Mummy in all her excitement packed to carry entire house with her!!!! This too is totally against my Ajja who's motto was " Always travel with very minimum luggage". To add to all this we had my paternal cousin in early twenties travelling with us, who had her set of bags to dress perfectly,  during each day of our stay with Pappa.


With a van full of bags we left to bus stand and for my mummy's bad luck for some reason we missed the afternoon bus to Miraj. I still remember the look Ajja gave to my mum that day, which clearly told, "Oh God!!! what do I do with this daughter of mine", poor Ajja.

Ajja who traveled in public transport mostly in spite of facilities he got from his job, had to get his office driver to drop us to Miraj as we could not delay anymore even sun was prepared to say his Good Nights to this part of the world and our train would depart as soon as the sun said Good Morning!!!!!. Along with the driver, Ajja asked my uncle(Maama) to accompany us, you see my grandpa is this cautious when he travels!!!! But I don't think even this much of planning will help when things were going to get worst :).

"Ah!!! All well that ends well", was the expression mummy had on her face. Poor mum little had she knew she had to get more of Ajja that day. Any Guesses here!!!!!


Most of the jeep journey I kept sleeping Only to add to my mum's burdens I woke up when the jeep was not moving anymore!!! I asked Ajja, " Miraj Banntthuuu?" , (Did Miral Come?). And again Ajja gave the same look to my Mum who was sitting in one corner of the Jeep with all her luggage at her feet.


Actually, the office jeep got punctured on the Highway approx after 30 Kilometres from the nearest city, those days travelling 30 km was not as fast as today, Thanks to roads. This happened at 1-2 am in the night. Thanks to Ajja who asked Maama to accompany us, who went with our driver to fix the tyre, as the driver did not carry spare with him.


Ajja stayed back in the jeep with us. My sister and myself slept back, only to be woken up by my mom, when we were in the narrow lanes of a city, this time with my usual habit of reading the boards of shops, I realized we were in Miraj and it was nice pleasant morning and I said "Aiyeee , Miraj Bannthhu!!!!! , a ? was replaced with ! this time. But still, Ajja gave same look to my mum.

We had missed boarding our Nizamuddin Express which already had departed an hour ago. Can You beat this one!!!!!

Poor Ajja did not even take us to the hotel, took us straight to Railway Station got the tickets Cancelled and then booked unreserved Sleeper class ticket for next day and then took us to the lodge very next to Miraj Railway Station so we can be on time next day.


The Next Day, we finally got into the train, with 10-11 Bags + 2 kids ( my sister and myself who are no better than those huge bags), Mummy, Cousin and Ajja in his early 70's. We girls could only carry the water can and Ajja's small briefcase which he carried even for 15-day trip. Every other bag was beyond our capabilities and the older ones had to manage them.

In the train, we had to adjust with other reserved seat passengers until the TC allocates us the seats of the passenger who missed their train on this day!!!!

Probably if Jab we Met had been there then, we would have said, "Babaji!!! Ab Aur koi excitement nahi chahiye , Boring Bana do ji iss journey ko".

However, it was not that boring, as Mum met her childhood friend (who was also travelling with her daughter to meet her husband who was in Indian Army) for her relief she can at least talk to her friend. As much as I know my Mum, she would not have spoken to Ajja entire train trip directly without having us as mediators, and would have wondered what conclusion my paternal cousin come to witnessing the entire drama!!!


This is what happened " Jab We Met " our Dad. And In My Mom's perspective Jab She Met dad in the Great city, with one of the seven wonders of the world, which an emperor built for his beloved, Taj Mahal, Agra.

The END- Part One

Happy and Safe trip to Hyderabad !!!!

Calling the blog this way has a reason............ :)

Hyderabad!!!!
For all those who thought Hyderabad has something to do with Hyder Ali(Tipu Sultan's Father), then you all will be disappointed like me. Hyderabad was called Bhagyanagar( named after Mallika Bhagyamati) earlier, later when the queen was rechristened as Hydermahal the city also got rechristened to Hyderabad.

Hyderabad is very well connected from Bangalore via roadways, railways and airways. It is always good to start your trip with to and fro reservation (that too early reservation). The challenge we had was, to reach Yeshwantpur Railway Station on time. For this, one has to do a lot many things, leave early from office, have everything packed in advance even the dinner and take the shortest time taking route to the station(this may not be the shortest distance).

The train Samparkh Kranthi from Bangalore to Hyderabad, had people from different walks of life, various party workers, to locals of Hyderabad and Bangalore, tourists and students. Anyway, I always get positive vibes from a train. As the train started from Bangalore towards Hyderabad, we were all excited about the fun and excitement that was in store for us in Hyderabad that too with no place to stay( I mean no prior hotel reservation).

As the train entered the city, the first station of Hyderabad we saw was Falaknuma( the name itself gives a royal thought), then when the train stopped at Kachiguda Railway Station, we, wondering where we will stay. Then our travel agent came as hope to us, who had booked us a Car, had also booked rooms at Nand International near to Railway Station itself.
There are many hotels near Tank Bund, Lakdi-Ka Pool as in Hotel Venkateshwara, Dwarka Palace, Amrutha Castle and so on........ for all of these to accommodate you, prior booking is a must. Other wise you must be really lucky to have rooms vacant even in rainy season. The Tariffs range from 600 to 1800 depending on the beds. Amrutha Castle is a little expensive, as it's a 3 star hotel.
Staying near to Tank Bund can save a lot of time as this place itself has  a lot of places of interests, as in Hussain Sagar Lake( Eat Street Along the lake), Snow world, Birla Mandir, Charminar, Neck Lace Road, NTR Park etc. For Shopping Koti( Sultan Bazaar, Abids, Laad Bazaar( Near Charminar) are easily accessible.

For travelling in Hyderabad, there are Autos, these are no better then the ones in Bangalore, charging you 3 times more then the actual. So better polish your bargaining skills to save your pockets. Another best way is to rent a car ( Not taxi). A car for rental would cost 800 to 900 for Non AC and 900-1000 (for AC). This tariff is for 8hrs or 80kms (which ever gets over first), after 8hrs its per hr Rs.50 and after 80Kms its Rs5.5 per Km. In case both 80Kms and 8hrs expire then cumulative of both the overtime get applied. This is the tariff what we got as of August 2008. Keeping this in your mind either book you Car with Car rental company like Agarwal Travels or talk to your Travel Agent about the rent. More importantly, the rental tariff does not include parking charges ( Rs 10- 20 at every place) or night duty charges of Driver( Rs 50 -100 per hour after 9 pm).

The places of Interest which we visited in Hyderabad are:

Snow World: Artificially created Snow ( you would love it if you have never been in snow-capped region). Entry Fee: Rs.250 per ticket, open from 11 am to 10:30 pm all the days of the week.

Golkonda Fort: Fort built by the Kings who ruled Hyderabad. Entry fee Rs.10, hiring a guide won't be a loss, he would charge you Rs.250 for all the historical information about Hyderabad. There is Sound and Light show at Golkonda Fort in the evenings. This show is in English, Hindi and Telugu. visit this link for more details: http://www.tourisminap.com/soundlightshowsathyderabad.htm.

Qutub Shahi Tombs: This is approximately 1km from Golkonda. These are the tombs of the king who built Golkonda fort.

Dhola-Ri- Dhani: This is the best place to experience Rajasthan in Hyderabad near Kompally. "Aathithi Devobhava" is well pictured here even though you pay the entry fee you still feel you are the honoured royal guest. This is the resorts depicting Rajasthani ambience with the entry fee of Rs:350 (Including dinner+ Taxes) . One can go on Camel Ride and royal Shikara. Dance to the tune of Rajasthani folk music and much more....

Charminar: This is the most famous monument which all of us know. This place is closed on Friday. This place can be accommodated on the day you are planning for shopping as it is near to local shopping areas( Not malls).

Macca: This a Masjid near Charminar where women are not allowed. So no updates on this from me.

Hussain Sagar Lake: This is the lake located at the heart of the city. Locals feel this lake stinks but it was not so when I went there. The boat ride can keep you thrilled as well as give you meditation experience with motor boat and slow boat rides respectively. Along Hussain Sagar there is Eat Street( don't go by its name, it is a street with KFC and other big brands in there, you can even get your nails crafted and get yourself tattooed here. The boat ride is for Rs45 per person.

NTR Gardens and Lumbini Park: These are the Gardens which will refresh you with its musical fountain and Laser show.This is near Hussain Sagar Lake. No more updates on this, I missed them both.

Ramoji Film City: This is very well connected by buses, I feel this way coz I got the bus very easily. One can get buses to Ramoji from Secundrabad and Koti. If you reach Koti Circle and walk a lil , you can find a bus stop( not the Bus stand at Koti Circle) and Bus numbers 205 and 206 will take you to Ramoji in 10 bucks. It is a long journey in the city ( Not for bangaloreans ;) ) via Dilchuknagar. Entry Fee at Ramoji is Rs.300, worth the money you pay...... The most important thing to remember at ramoji is...... it opens by 9:30 am and its better to be there by this time for its every day opening show. It is the fun place one cannot afford to miss if you want to know the tricks of film making and enjoy throughout the day activities. Stunt Show and Free Fall from Ramoji towers are the best.

Birla Mandir: This is the temple across the Hussain Sagar Lake on the small hill with a view of the lake. This is nice white stone temple which leaves speechless.

Salarjung Museum: A must visit, to know about the life of royal houses and history of Hyderabad. No more comments on this as I missed this one too....................... :(
For Shopping:
I can only tell some of the local shopping stuff:

Near Charminar...............
Madeena: For clothes at reasonable price. Again do not hesitate on bargaining.
Laad Bazaar: Well known as Chudi Bazaar. Better wear your Sunglasses here, I don't know about the sunny day but the glitters of the bangles along this street is worth watching. Again..... Do Not Forget Bargaining. You will also get the most famous Hyderabad Pearls here.

Koti ( Sultan Bazaar): We missed this but they say this is also good for shopping.

Abids: I still do not know how to pronounce this Abid's or A-bids.

Karachi Bakery at Koti: You get most famous Karachi Biscuits here. And if you miss this..... then get ready to face all your folks aback home who know about this place.


Paradise Biryani: This is in Secundrabad and most famous biriyani centre in Hyderabad, initially started in the small room. For those non-vegetarians, your trip is a complete waste if you miss this place. My mouth still waters thinking of Veg Biriyani I ate here....... I am a vegetarian and I loved it.........


Irani Chai: I missed it ...... hope you get to taste it in Hyderabad. You get this chai almost every where..........

Pulareddy Sweets: A good place for exotic sweets... I missed it ........ hope you get to visit this place



The Most important thing about Hyderabad...... Do not be ignorant about the climatic conditions as we did.......... We almost spent half of 2nd day and entire 3rd day in heavy rains. The other side of the story was we were prepared for sunny Hyderabad with all our sun glasses, caps and sunscreens.

Thanks to the umbrellas we brought near Birla mandir for Rs.75. At the end of the trip when we looked back at our umbrellas we realised how worthy Rs.75 is and how useful the umbrellas was...... For those last two day spent in Hyderabad, we witnessed rain for continuous 30hrs. So I just want to share, rains in Hyderabad can also be unpredictable.
For all those who don't know, Hyderabad is actually known for its hot and humid nature throughout the year except for rainy season(with fewer rains).

This was not true for us and we missed out on all our shopping plans............. Thanks to rain.
Actually, our experience of Hyderabad contradicts with others.......Who would get to experience the rainy and chilled Hyderabad in their first visit?...... Its only lucky ones like us......... :)


Summary of Tips:
--Plan all your days in Hyderabad in advance so that you don't end up wasting your time.
-- Book your Hotel in advance.
-- Hire a Car for convenience
--Carry your Sunscreen, Sunglasses and caps.
--Umbrellas- you never know how useful it might be.
--Polish on Bargaining Skills( this is must if you want to save your pockets) .
-- A 5 days trip to Hyderabad would leave you completely satisfied.
--Do Not Forget Pullareddy sweets, Karachi Biscuits and Paradise Biriyani
--Tickets to Snow World, Dhola-Ri Dhani can be brought from any travel Agents across the city.
--For any telephone numbers of travel agents, Car rental, hotels etc.... Just Dial Number 040-69999999 can be kept handy.

For the shorter trip as we did one can use this:

Day 1: Snow World--- Golkonda Fort with Qutub Shahi Tombs--- Dhola- Ri-Dhani(Good for evening till night, reach here by 5 pm and ends with dinner at 8 pm)

Day2: Salarjung Museum--- Charminar-Shopping at Koti(Sultan Bazaar, and Karachi Bakery), Abids, Laad Bazaar, Madeena, Hussain Sagar Lake in the early evenings(for the Boat ride), Eat Street. Drive to Secundrabad for Paradise Biriyani and Necklace road walk(If no rain)


Day 3: Birla Mandir at 8 am and head towards Ramoji for full day entertainment and fun.


That's all!!!!!So have a Happy and Safe trip to Hyderabad......... You won't be disappointed.


Finally, I am tuning myself to work after two back to back trips( sounds a lil like FM RJ's dialogue). Now Hyderabad is not two trips back to back......... another one is Madikeri trip...... Hope I get out of my lazy bags to share information on Madikeri..........
Once Again Happy and Safe Trip to Hyderabad.................... :) :)