encounters with hyderabad. -----part 2.. agra sweets and the autorickshaw..

My experience  with eating joints offering northern cuisine hasn’t been worth mentioning..But agra sweets is different. . I order a sandwich and 2 balls of gulab jamun..balls? yes thats what they look,like a ping pong table ball..15 rs each for a ball..( sare aam loot maar!!)but the city is having a nice time with the rains and so am i, not at all in a mood to crib .I can see through the glass a huge poster of the latest telugu release..Telugu cinema is not to be under rated.The state of Andhra Pradesh has 3300 cinema halls!! The film posters on the road dividing are more than the no of street lights..

        The roads are owned by the auto rickshaws..You come to hyderabaad and an auto ride through the city is more thrilling than any xbox or ps chase game.they are fearless, can challenge a SUV and even claim to beat it dnt knw how..They can race in wrong side of road,abuse traffic policemen but will dare to reach your destination any way.


Coming out of Golconda fort i hired an auto..


Auto.. to sahib kitna Hyderabad dekhe aap??

Me..zyada nahi..abi ye mera teesra din h..

Auto..sahib aye ho to charminar zarur jana,salarjung museum bhi jana,
Birla mandir raat ko bahut sundar dikhta h..


Ye dekhiye sahib is gali me hindi ghajini ka climax shoot hua h..

Me..yr ek baat btao m ghanta dekhu Hyderabad?? 300 rs pe Golconda me guide ne le liye,150 ka auto kar ke aya tha,abi tumhe 120 dene hai..ek ghante ka Golconda 700 ka pad gya..
Sare Hyderabad me loot macha rakhi h..hhuuhh!!


Auto..are ye to tourist logo ka rona rehta h..isme aapka galti nai h..ye sab harami hote h..lekin mai theek rate bola aap ko..naraaz mat hona m aapko banjara hills se le kar jaunga..shayad aapko acha lag jaye.


(banjara hills is a posh area in Hyderabad and house to azzharuddin,sania mirza,vvs laxman and many filmstars,politicians,)


Me..(xcited.).chal theek h..mje sath sath bta te rehna.


Ye dekhiye Mahesh babu ka gar..kya zabardast ghar h sahib dekho..


Me..(mahesh babu??!!!! Name sounds of a 70 yr old politician who has build villas,guest houses, with money produced out of fraud..
Later to my surprise i realised Mahesh babu is a telugu superstar and husband to former bollywood actress namrata shirodkar..he is 35 and the sexiest celeb in south india.)


After a few minutes ride he introduced me to bunglows,five stars and also Apollo..one of the largesr hospitals in asia


Me..acha!! aap hindi filme dekhte h??


Auto..bilkul sahib..mane kal hi sharu kaan ka latest picture dekha..OM SHANTI OM..


ME..kya?? use gaye to teen saal ho gye..


Auto..ummm..fir to pta nai.. ye dekho pokhiri ka poster..


(pokhiri starring Mahesh babu is the biggest telugu hit and was remade as wanted in hindi..)


Me..hyderabad ka total population kitna hoga??


Auto.. hoga koi 1 crore..bahut janta ati h yahan door door se..
to kaise lag rahe Hyderabad?


Me..badia hai lekin ek baat btao ye traffic aisa kyu h..koi b red light me bhaga raha h,traffic police kuch kr ni rahi..


Auto..(smiling) mere pass license ni h..6 saal se chala raha hun aur gadi ka koi kaagaz b ni bana hua.


Me..isme khushi ki kya baat h?? Ye to galat h..


Auto wala..aap to gar se soch k aye ho ki Hyderabad k khilaaf sochna h..
Hyderabad bura nai h sahib. ye sab yahan choti baat islie h kyu ki Hyderabad bahut bura waqt dekh chukka he.ek time pe yahan hindu muslim me itna tension rehta tha...har roz koi na koi lafda.


Tourist log old Hyderabad me ane ko darte the.bahut se log charminar dekhe bina hi laut jaate the..
Yahan police wale ko 4000 do wo kisi ko b goli maar dega..aisa haal tha..mai khud apne time me bahut badnmaashi kiya hun..hume pta nai hota tha k kya masla (issue) he ,koi bada paalitician bolta tha to hum tod fod kr dete the,aag laga dete the.
Lekin ab aisa nai h sahib.ab hume samaj agya he ki ye bade paalitician harami hote he,ye bas apna faeda krna jaante he..mere jaisa bahut log h jo badal gye h..abhi bhi bahut badmaash bhare rehte h aold city me.lekin padaai likaai zaruri h..is se samajh a jati h k in sab lafdo ka koi faeda nahi.aj hamre yahan agar hindu muslim me koi lafda hota he to amne samne baith ke baat khatam ho jati h.
Dheere dheere sab teek ho jayega..abi ye saale telangana ka shor macha rahe h,magar dekh lena kuch ni hoga..shanti hi hogi..koi telangana velangana ni banega..
Wo dekho sahib building..110 maale ki ban rahi h(Singapore towers,underconstruction bulding.to be the highest in country after completion) ...5 saal baad dekhna Hyderabad dunia k ache shehro me ayega..


He dropped me and wished me luck ..sahib charminar weekend pe mat jana,,thoda tension rehta h..mon to thur kabhi bi chale jana..

I don’t know wether those bunglaws really belonged to the names he took...i don’t even know wether 120 is reasonable from Golconda fort to madhapur .but i could easily sympathize with his efforts to make me view Hyderabad according to him.
       2001 census says Hyderabad is 40 lacs and growth upto 1 crore is hard to digest..i knew the figures but i could also see how desperate he wanted a stranger like me to understand the importance of his place.