Traffic woes in Hyderabad

I have been busy with my new car - my first four wheeler. From the time, I was a kid, I had a fascination for "Red Maruti Car". It got realized now, except the "red" part as Maruti Alto doesn't have the proper red I like.
So, yes I have a driving license and had learnt driving 8 years back. So I had a refresher course from two different driving schools here. But as I have heard driving your own car is really different from driving in driving schools. With the driving school instructors having all the controls, when I drove my car, for sometime I felt as if the car is running amuck.

Well, to start with it took me atleast a week to get the confidence - why not - if everyone drives by rule, it will be a hell lot easier! I am reminded of a Tamil saying - just not writing it here as it not very decent. But a similar one is "Be a Roman when in Rome"

And after a week I have a few things to tell everyone - in Hyderabad no one bothers the indicators you use - either they are not literate about it or they just dont care. For instance, as soon as you put left indicator to inform that you are going to move to the left, a swarm of two-wheelers and autos will try to speeden up and cross me from left side and I really want to yell - when I put on a left indicator - it means - I am moving left and you either need to slow down or move to right.

Share Autos and RTC buses - I just can't stop raving about the gimmicks they perform. Autos take up one and half times their actual space as there are extras hanging out from both sides and the drivers consider themselves no less than racers that they just choose the direction and start moving - you cant expect any signal about stopping , starting or turning whatever from them. Yes poor fellas - they are multitasking and we expect them to signal? They gotta blast loud music for all people in road, and they need to hear a poor passenger who needs to yell at the top of the voice to stop(over the loud music) and as it doesn't work - nearly 4 to 5 other people sitting in the auto tap the driver's shoulder to inform him to stop. And now he feels he has already crossed where the passenger needs to get down and hence brakes so suddenly irrespective of the speed he is in and moves to the left of the road, unmindful of if he was in the middle or the right end of the road!!!!

RTC buses - bus stops for them are just to indicate where they need to stop. But they wont stop at the left end, there by disrupting the left most and the middle lanes basically because the bus stops in the middle lane and the passengers have to commute and block the left most lane as they need to alight and get into the bus.

I just wish I was appointed as traffic police for a week - who are more bothered about cars and two wheelers and dont care about these share autos and RTC buses who ARE the real culprits in causing disruptions in traffic!

Harry Potter disappoints

Watched two movies, visited General Bazaar @ Secunderabad, R.P. Road(Rashtrapathi Road) and Charminar.....

On Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I have to say that I am pretty much disappointed. To be true, it felt like they conducted a survey among HP fans and asked them which scenes would they like to see in visuals and just compiled them all into a movie, keeping in mind to have a mix of comedy, romance, innocence and wittiness in them. Be aware that 3D is only for the first 15 minutes. And the announcement in the theatre was even more worse. It went on ".....Please keep your 3D glasses safe to keep them cleaning.....". Nevertheless, that really pepped up the mood a little.

And the second movie - The Hangover - nothing great about it too. The gross comedy managed to have us in splits but the usage of the four letter word in every other sentence was an overkill. I feel the Bollywood flop movie "De Taali" which was telecasted in DD last week also managed to evoke the same amount of laughter without even being gross.

Still disappointed with Harry Potter. Disappointments are common when you have high expectations.....

The Case of the Stolen Debit Card

This is one post many of my friends wanted me to write. It was in Draft mode for quiet a long time(more than a year) because of a few reasons and now, here it comes...

This incident is dated 21st January 2008 - a day to be remembered in this journey of my life...

I stay in a hostel, which is a bit on the costlier side. I was in a two-member room - got to share my room with another roommate.

I was going to Yoga classes (Isha Yoga - 7 day Inner Engineering program) from 6 AM to 9 AM everyday and Sunday full day(6 AM to 6 PM). Monday morning, I noticed that my debit card is missing from my purse and hence, immediately checked my account using net banking and found that my debit card has been swiped across various counters in Hyderabad Central for a total amount of about Rs. 43000 and the balance in my account was only Rs. 15.

Tried phone banking and for some reason it did not work. Then I visited the bank's branch in Jubilee Hills and the branch manager there was really helpful and I blocked my debit card and he informed the necessary people to start investigation on the transactions and told me about the procedure I will have to follow.
I had to submit the Lost/Stolen Card form with franking(stamping of Rs. 100 in each sheet of the form. There were two sheets) along with the copy of FIR which I will have to get it from the police station in my area where I suspected losing the card.

While travelling back to office, I got the number of Hyderabad Central's office from Just Dial(040 -24444444), called them up and explained what happened(That a stolen debit card has been swiped 7 times across various bill counters in the mall). They told me to come in person.

I was going to the police station to raise a FIR. On the way, I collected the bank statement from the bank's Hi-tech City branch along with the exact card swiping timings.Then went to the police station and the police officials had just gone on some duty and I was told to get a User form from any of the e-seva centres which is a pre-requisite before they come.

In the meantime, I decided to visit Central and while I was on my way, I called up my roomie and asked her if someone entered our hostel room and I explained what had happened. She told me that none entered the room and told me to call her up if I needed any help and keep her informed what I am doing. At that time, I didn't suspect her at all as she is very rich that she spends around 10K per day without worrying.

She asked me what I am doing. I said I am going to central to see if I can find out anything. She asked what can I find there. I told her I will call her later.

Then went to central, tried meeting the office people - they were of little help. Then if I hadn't told u before, there were 7 swipings between 12.17 hrs to 15.58 hrs(Shopped for 43K within 3.5 hrs).
One for 9990.00 in Just LifeStyle(Just In Vogue), 17500.00 in IIIrd Eye(a digi cam shop) , 1 said Madura Garments and the rest all said Hyderabad Central. Though 3rd Eye and Just LifeStyle are also in Central, thank God it showed its own names against swiping.

Somehow, got in touch with Just In Vogue. Initially, t he person in charge was reluctant to give any information. Then I had to say that I am "Fathima" and I am telling u that a fraud has been committed using my card in ur shop but u r not ready to give information. He said, he will give info only to bank and all that. I tried to find if its a guy's watch or a girl's watch,etc. At last he budged and showed the signature and details. The signature was totally different and the phone no left there in the bill was fake.

Then went to the camera shop and guy in charge was very helpful. He told it was a girl and she was roaming there for more than 1 hr in that area.

Then went to the back office of central. The guy over there was also helpful(None of the top officials were helpful) and led me at last to the CC footage room. (Usually, the footages get erased and re-written every 24 hrs. So I was afraid that it may get erased). There, somehow after a lot of convincing, they agreed to show it(as they said proper permission has to be obtained).

In the meantime, my roomie was calling to ask what I was doing. I was really getting irritated.

Then in one footage of the camera(I could give the timings the person was in each shop based on the swipings) in front of the watch shop, I saw a girl's back pose exactly at the swiping time. So got confirmed that it was a girl. But the camera at that place was not working properly, so could see only a blurred image.
Then I tried to see the footage was at another place. At that time, my roomie called up again and confessed again that she did it, and at the same time, I saw her in the camera.

She told me to come to room immediately and that she is not that type of girl,blah, blah, blah and that she will return back all the money and all that.

So, I got my money back later and all that...
Thanks to everyone who helped me in identifying the culprit...

Jab I Met

Wowee!!! I was in the new Airport at Shamshabad on Wednesday to catch a flight to Coimbatore and to my surprise, I met ISRO Chairman Mr.Madhavan Nair there! I had seen him in newspaper only a day ago. I could hardly believe what I saw and I asked him if he was Madhavan Nair and he acknowledged it.

Now, I realise, I should be carrying a autograph book with me.

I also heard Actor Rajnikanth travelled in the same flight(in which I travelled) to Coimbatore the next day.

More abt my review on the new Hyd International Airport in my next post. I liked the airport unlike the critics.

Hyd Explorations - 3 : Chowmahalla Palace, AP State Museum and Salarjung Museum

When talking about the Nizam period, I have to mention about two royal ladies - Durr-e-Shehvar and Niloufar Khannum Sultana.

Durr-e-Shehvar:
The Princess of Berar
Wife of Prince Azam Jah Bahadur
Daughter in law of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur
Daughter of Last Caliph of Turkey Abdul Majid Khan II
Mother of Mufarram Khan and Mufakkam Khan(Esra Jah is wife of Mufarram Khan)

Niloufar Khannum Sultana:
Cousin of Princess of Berar Durr-e-Shehvar
Wife of Moazzam Jah
And was considered as one of the most beautiful ladies of her time

Chowmahalla Palace
Click here to visit the Official website of Chowmahalla Palace
Entry fees is Rs.25 and it is at a walkable distance from Charminar.

Chowmahalla Palace gets its name from the four palaces it comprises off. It belonged to the Nizams. It has lots of photos of the royal family - esp. Princess Niloufar and Princess Durr-e-Shehvar.

Now it has a studio called Royal Studio, where in visitors can wear dresses as worn by the royal family and get their photos taken. It costs around some Rs. 100 to Rs. 200(Not sure).

I came across a lot of new words during my visit here.Sikiligar is the name used for Sword smith; In a house, Zenana is used to denote the part where women live in and Mardana for men; Mahallat is an evocative name used locally to refer to the ladies in the household of Nizam-ul-Mulk, head of Asaf Jah Dynasty and ruler of Deccan. In this museum, it is used to denote Royal ladies of Asaf Jah dynasty 1885 - 2005


AP State Museum
The entry fee is Rs.10.
This museum houses a Mummy of 16 or 17 year old girl. The Mummy has been brought from Egypt. There is a description of how the dead bodies are processed. The Mummy is fully covered with cloth and Kept in vacuum, but the cloth at the toe nails are worn out, which when seen gives a spooky feeling.
Here, there are many statues, sculptures, Spittoon(Sailabchi), Nagardaan, Pandaan,Guldaan(flower vase), Aftaba(water jug), Surahi(water jug)which were excavated or collectedfrom various places in India. Tulwar is a type of sword and it doesn't translate directly to sword, as I had believed.

Inscriptions on stones/walls, which were found in various places, have been brought and embedded in concrete structures in the museum. The inscriptions are mostly in Persian(Naskh, Nastaliq scripts) and Arabic(Thulth script)

In one of my previous blogs, I have told about Jade stone vessels which were used to identify if the food is toxic. Here, in this museum , there are a collection of Jade vessels and a briefing about it. Jade vessel was considered to identify toxic food either by changing color or breaking. There was another type of material, which resembled Jade - Celadon. It seems Salah ed din (Saladin), Sultan of Egypt, sent 40 pieces of different vessels made of a bluish green stone material to Nur-ed-din, Sultan of Damascus and the material got named after Saladdin - Celadon.

Salarjung museum
The entry is Rs. 10.
This museum houses the articles and items collected by Salarjung who was the prime minister of Nizam and an art lover. Three generations of his have taken care of this - Salarjung I, Salarjung II, Salarjung III.

There was much hype about the musical clock and Double sided statue. The clock was an example of real good craftsmanship, considering the time it was made and its capabilities. The double sided statue which has a man on one side and woman on other side is a marvel. But I fell in love with "The Veiled Rebecca" statue made of marble by Roman Sculptor Giovanni Maria Benzoni. This was one thing that had me stumped to the ground. The status is of Rebecca who was brought up by her brother and when she was of marrigable age, he brings Isaac to home one day and asks Rebecca if she likes him. Rebecca likes him and covers herself using a veil because of shyness.The sculpture is to depict that moment.

Click here to see a glimpse of the statue though the photo here is nothing when compared to what you get to see in original.
Click here to see another admirer of Veiled Rebecca

There are many sections in the museum. And of all sections, I liked the clock section(where in the year and country where the clock was made was specified) and the manuscript section(which had old manuscripts).

Marie Antoinette(once Queen of France)'s dressing table and writing table are also present in the museum. One day is not sufficient to go around this museum.

Burglary and Camera

I thought I will step down from the palatial stuff to some mundane matters temporarily. But what do I see? There has been a burglary in Andhra Pradesh State Museum 2 weeks back(18th Januray 2008). I should have visited this museum before the burglary. Read about the burglary here:
Burglary at AP State Museum
Burglary at AP State Museum (The Hindu Newspaper)

And for people who have asked me why I don't carry a camera to places I visit, here is the answer:
First,few museums and palaces don't allow cameras to be taken inside
Second, in case, even if they allow, they charge exorbitant rates for it.
Third, pictures steal the show from description. If book or novel writers start substituting their descriptive writings with just pictures, it will be either distractive or take away the flow. So pictures suit only text books, where in we try to study the facts and not the beauty of the object in picture.
And the last (but not the least) reason is I dont have a camera with me(atleast in Hyd).

I am sorry if you expected something else by seeing the title and got disappointed :-).

P.S: Will be writing soon what you expected!

Hyd Explorations - 2 : Qutb Shahi Tombs and Nizam's Museum

I am currently reading "Sign of the cross" by Chris Kuzneski. It has reference to Tiberius who married Julia - about whom I have written in one of the earlier blog posts.The author's writing style has a similarity to Sandilyan's writing style. He has a secret unveiling and brought up in each chapter.

Coming to the explorations,I visited Qutb Shahi tombs near Golconda and Nizam's Museum at Purani Haveli.

Qutb Shahi Tombs
Route: Go to Nampally bus stop which is near railway station. From there, there is a direct bus(I don't remember if the bus number was 142 or 172) which drops one at the gates of Qutb Shahi Tombs.The route is Nampally - Masabtank - Humayun Nagar and on the way to Gachibowli, it takes a left turn to reach Qutb Shahi Tombs.

Entrance fee is Rs. 10 per person. Office phone number is 040-23513410

There is a museum named "Qutb Shahi tombs Site Museum".

There are many tombs and a mosque and a separate mosque built for Aurangazeb when he came to capure these parts of India. The description at the entrance of the site museum gives a concise view of the Kings (and a Queen too. Mistress of King - Bhagamathi is also buried near her King) buried in the tombs there. Except for the last Nizam, who was taken as a captive, the rest of Qutb Shahi rulers are buried here. The architecture is a blend of different cultures, with Persian and Turkish dominance. And most of the rulers constructed their own tombs before they died.

The notice outside each of the tombs intrigued me. It said : "Dwelling inside the hall (tomb) is stricly prohibited".

Nizam's Museum (A must see)
This is behind Princess Durru Shehvar Children's Hospital, Near Police Commissioner Office.
Route: It is near to Afzal Gunj bus station.

Entrance fee is Rs. 70. Museum office Phone number is 040 - 24521029

There is a very lengthy two storeyed room which has a two-storeyed wardrobe or cupboard(on both sides).The first storey contains clothes and the second storey contains perfumes,soaps(made of Jadibooti) and accessories like shoes, etc. Now, as the steps have become weak, the visitors are not allowed to climb to the second storey of the cupboard, but as the doors are made of glass, one can see the contents from the floor. It seems the Nizam won't wear the dress he wore once, again.

There is a lift operated manually by pulling ropes in working condition. It is for the King to come from ground floor to first floor to his wardrobe room. After he gets dressed, he goes down by the same lift.

There is a marble bed, a marble writing table, and a marble cupboard which the Nizam used to take it along with him when he went on hunting. They are very heavy and I wondered how tedious a task it would have been to carry it. It seems the Nizam used to stay in hunting sites for months together and hence it was worth carrying. But one should see how the iron nuts and bolts are screwed in to marble stones without cracking it to make the furnitures.

Collections of the last Nizam gifted to him in a single day(during Silver Jubilee Celebrations in 1937) are on display in this museum. The collections of his Prime minister is in Salar Jung Museum.
The collections here range from Paan dhaan, Attar Dhaan, carpets, letters of appreciation and best wishes(Dua) written on a variety of things, bidri works, letter caskets,hukkas(the utensil used for smoking) ,perfume sprayers(not like what we have - they are so beautiful). They are made of gold, silver, gold plated silver, iron, mother of pearl(Sippi. I didn't know so far that Sippi was known as Mother of Pearl). Even a vessel into which you spit chewed Paan(beter leaf) is made of gold! Jade stone vessels(For testing liquids and solid food) to find if poison is present in the food items. It seems the color of the vessel changes if the substance that is put in to it is toxic.
The throne which was used by the Nizam during the silver jubilee celebrations is also kept for display.

There are two types (classification based on blade shape) of swords on display - Abbasi(straight blade) and the other one having a curved shape. Actually there are many types of swords in the world. Visit this to know more about Swords.

There was one painting of the sixth Nizam with his crown. Not an ordinary one. They give you lens to look into it. If you see through the lens, a few spots which look like a mere design for normal eye are in reality the faces of the previous Nizams. That is, the Nizam's ancestors are painted so minutely(Like writing one's name on rice) on his crown. And the Nizam's two sons are painted in his eyes(the black retina or whatever you call it).

The curator of the museum or the officials there take care of things very well.The number of visitors is less and they patiently guide you and give a description on all displays. One negative thing is there is no proper restroom in the museum.

Princess Durru Shehvar Children's hospital that is in front of Purani Haveli was constructed in the memory of Princess Durru Shehvar who got married in to Nizam's family.