As a family we like meeting up , be it for a short vacation or an occasion to celebrate. This year we had my brother and Bhabhi’s silver jubilee wedding anniversary and the Rao family decided to meet up in Hyderabad and celebrate the occasion.
Why Hyderabad? No particular reason except that our daughter has just moved in there on a job assignment in a software consultancy company – just setting up her house and the family also wanted to get introduced to her fiancee and his sister’s family who also stay in this charming town. The third reason was to enable my mother to accomplish a unique feat of visiting all the twelve Jyotirlnga’s and Srisailam , close to Hyderabad was the 12 th. She is close to eighty years and quiet a travel freak, a source of inspiration and enthusiasm profound
Well, the group of seventeen arrived at her house as a noisy ‘jing bang’ group early morning of 17 th September 2010. After freshening up, we had a small celebration with gifts and blessings to the silver jubilee couple. There was a citation that read
Happy Anniversary dear Lakshmi and Madan,
It has been so much fun,
Thank you for being the best, We love you a ton!..tan ta dan!!
Years come and years go, but we always meet, more often on the run!
We are one of a kind – We are the Raos’- tan ta dan!!
Some live on the edge, some live on a prayer
And some live it up, like this lovely Thane pair
Songs and rhymes fill the air, they sing along without a care!
Enjoy the ups and the downs of life, every colour, every flair
Today as both of you look back with happiness and pride
Upon the twenty five years that you've spent side by side,
May every memory that you share, multiply your joys beyond compare!
With everlasting love from all the Rao’s! On your silver wedding anniversary– tan ta dan!!
There was rejoicing, fun , frolic and a lot of camaraderie.
The group then proceeded to a city tour in a 22 seater starting with the Golconda fort , just an hours drive, built in 1463 was the capital of the Qutb-ul. Shahi dynasty that ruled for over two centuries . The guide gave us an interesting perspective of the fort, the city of Hyderabad and this is how it got its name. History has it that the king loved a local girl called Bhagmati and therefore the city was named Bhagyanagar and after she converted to Islam , she took the name of Hyder Mahal and Hyderabad derives its name from that. Some wonderful characteristics of the sprawling degenerating fortress..the acoustics , lighting and the water pumping . 
There are stories of Ramdas , a devout hindu who was under house arrest there and his deep faith in God surfaced as a dream to Aurangzeb in the late 16 th century , who in turn released him. I understand that Aurangzeb appointed his governor as the Nizam to oversee the place. Well there is also a story of the Nizam’s being cursed , in that the seventh generation would cease to rule Hyderabad and this actually materialized in 1948 when Nizam the 7 th acceded to join the Union of India after being persuaded by Sardar Patel, much against the Nizam’s wishes. How many of us know that the Time magazine in 1930 had rated the then Nizam as the richest man in the world—the Bill Gates. Hyderabad was then monetarily the richest state in the word ..wow!
Well, Hyderabad has a rich culture and the old city is witness to it. Our next halt at the Charminar gave a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of the city, the narrow approach roads serve many a pedestrian, both young and old, street dogs, handcarts, auto rikshaws and navigating your four wheeler is a good driving test.-perhaps an ideal location for the Regional transport office that certifies / issues driving permits..
The old city has a maze of disorienting alleyways with Charminar as the focal hub . We chose to shop at Lad bazaar, the churees, pearls, jewelry bazaar. 
Shopping here is an experience in itself.. One sees groups of veiled burqa clad young women bargaining with petty street side vendors or in small row shops as the seller slips in and out multiple sets of bangles on the fine wrists of young ladies. One sees henna and bangles sellers echo the joy and pride is there to witness. There is a riot of colours in the shops that display an exquisite range of studded lac glass bangles , bridal ware and associated fashion accessories like the Chandbali—(I heard the name for the first time and heard my lady family members speak of a theme party around chand bali!). The atmosphere is vibrant, colourful, chaotic and absorbing..one sensed a certain eery feeling and went with the long wait taking the noise, colour, chaos in ones stride.
Srisailam: Well we made it to this temple town on the banks of river Krishna in a comfortable Toyota car and returned same day—took 12 hours of which nine hours was for the drive 240 km one way. Very comfortable, good roads and weather and scenic beauty. The focused visit to the temple saw us see the lingam of light called as Jyotirlinga. 
Light dispels darkness and is revered as is fire. A jyotirlinga is self born and legend as seen in one of the multiple inscriptions there speaks of how Priness Chandravati discovered the place. While in penance in a forest, she saw milk flow continuously from the four udders of a cow , sinking to the ground. She dug the place and low below she discovered this swayambhu siva linga bright and shining light like the sun’s rays. Another story speaks of Vrishabha , a sacred bull rewarded by the God’s darshan for his devotion and penance.
Another trip to Film city was again a sharp contrast to the Srisailam temple visit. The Ramoji film studio is the world’s largest complex that houses over 500 sets in 2000 acres of land. 
Has the capacity to produce some 60 films simultaneously and has sets to depict artificial waterfalls, caves, airport terminals, railway stations, places of worship in almost any environment, be it the palace interiors or a shopping complex like the charminar’s meena bazaar or the trendy mall that we spoke of. It’s all there, a voyage from the real to the unreal.
Later on another day , we visited the shopping malls in HITEC city in Madhapur.- The INORBIT...and what a sharp contrast my friend. These are sprawling malls with glass facades, big designer shops that display the latest western trends. There was a common thread , one of vibrancy and radiant energy but the character of the crowds was in sharp contrast. Here we had the yuppies or dinks attired in shorts and or jeans pushing trolleys with their lone young kid seated in the trolley..it struck a chord as I recalled the sight of the black burqa clad young women , soaked in tradition ,supporting their kid resting on their hip and the other hand engaged in trying out the colourful bangles. The young couples in the mall seem to be mimicking western trends with adulation often blind if not obsequious.
We went to a restaurant- The Chili—in the mall—spacious, crowded and serving an international cuisine. This again brought back images of the road parallel to the lad bazaar in the old city that had street hawkers and tiny shops vending their servings in hand carts in what apparently looked unhygienic, yet appealing and a ground reality Both coexist..the rich diversity is there for all to see. Both markets radiated energy , confidence, joy and vibrancy and catered to their market segments
I did feel that Hyderabad is not only the meeting ground of North and South India but also the east and west. Is It the Information Technology industry that has given rise to these malls – showpieces of wealth and as I went to bed , I recalled the multiple construction activities in progress and vast lands occupied by large public and private sector industry and the mushrooming business schools. I did reflect on the subsidy associated in the grant of these lands to the affluent IT sector or business schools while the common man paid a hefty price for housing their small needs in layouts adjoining the showpieces. I know for sure that at one time , these were distant lands with poor infrastructure , but growth catches up and these distant lands become mainstream and part of the city . A perspective here is that these industries and or large universities then are the drivers or engines of growth..a chicken and egg story
Overall, I have fond memories of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, known for its pearls, Biryani . history, IT and now diversity. A healthy balance is good and I wonder what is the integrating force .. Is it the Spirit of life- the joy, the ‘here and now’ celebrations and get together that make life worth living.
The value of family reunions is profound , well worth the time and money. So go in for a family reunion and Enjoy. For some memory recalls, see photos …
nice write-up! and superb holiday for all!
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