Hyderabad Meetups

Bigzero

OK,

Let us try this.

Time : Saturday, 6.00 pm
Venue : Yatri Nivas

We can meet at the gate of Yatri Nivas at 6 pm, and then decide on the venue ( in case we feel we should move somewhere else).

markhyd - how does this fit in with your agenda? a quick peep-in perhaps?

folks, is this timing ok?

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markhyd

Should be able to make it i think. It's on S D road, right?

vsp27759

Dear Big Zero,
I shall make it.
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V.Srinivasa Prasad
Hyderabad/22.6.2005/16.40 hrs.

Bigzero

SP Road, just under the Paradise Flyover. That is where the AP Tourism office ( Secunderabad ) is.

jpvs

Not yatri nivas - not again! ... okay just kidding..

I will try and make it there - Saturday - Che baje.. then.

painkiller009

hi..
infact i 2 can make...
sat 6 pm,yatri nivas is ok...

Bigzero

Great! so let us meet on saturday 6pm!

I suggest we assemble outside the AP tourism outlet at the Yatri Nivas gate. It is a little tricky since none of us have met.. I will send a PM on how we can identify each other.

somnath

With your kind permission let me propose the menu, Hyderabadi Biriyani at diner after a nice walk beside Hussain Saagar. Agree?

Bigzero

not a bad idea, somnath! and when are you coming down to hyderabad?

somnath

Ohhhhh….. I’ll love to be there.
You know BigZee, Hyderabad is the city where I’ve started my professional life. Immediately after passing out from the college - Calcutta to Hyderabad, without relatives, friends or any known person; that’s how it was started. But when I am back, found more confident and ready to take any challenge. How can I forget those days?
I used to stay at Hotel Deccan Continental and it was a great place to stay. Don’t know how they are doing now a day. I really miss, as I said nice evening walk beside Hussain Sagar, Charminar and the chaotic market full of pearls and bangles shops, Birla temple, Salarjungh museum, zoo and the great Golconda forte. The most amazing thing in Hyderabad is the co-existence of a multistoried building and architecture of Shahi Gharana. Wish I could go once again. Emotional? Ha ha….. honestly speaking – a bit.
Hope I’ll be able to see how it looks like after nine years. May be the look is changed but the flavor ( including Biriyani ) remains the same. Wish you a rocking meetup on Saturday night.

Cheers,
Somnath

laterally inclined

All the best for your Hyd meetup BigZ!!

markhyd

thanks for organising that BigZero, it was great to meet all you guys and see those amazing Himalaya photos!

looking forward to next time.

Bigzero

same here, markhyd! glad to have met you! keep in touch,

the detailed meet-up post follows...

Bigzero

Hyderabad Meet-up Report

When : Saturday, 25th June 2005
Where : Tamarind Tree, Yatri Nivas, Secunderabad
Who: Bigzero, rajkumar, painkiller009, vsp27759, markhyd
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CAUTION : Long Post!
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I realised I had chosen a bad time for the meetup when i landed at the spot. 6 pm at the AP tourism counter at Yatri nivas was somewhat the peak of activities there - That was the time for most of the AP tourism long distance buses to shirdi and mumbai to depart. Buses pulled up one by one right in front of the office, and there were people everywhere - boarding buses, waiting at the reservation office, jumping off autorikshaws, and hanging around onthe sidewalk . Autos were parked right in front of the office where the buses were supposed to pick up passengers. The long, sleek APTDC Volvos pulled over, the autos and the bhel-puri vendors scampered to safety as the gruff-looking drivers pretended that none of them existed and maneuvered the buses into the parking position.



A Bus pulled right in front of me, and I was watching the goings-on with interest as the attendant opened the side hatch and started loading baggage. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked – “ are you waiting for the bus?” “no,” I said. We stood side by side. It was around 6.30 by then, and I was looking around to see if could spot anyone who could be an IMer trying to locate bigzero.



This tall man next to me suddenly asked “ are you ***?” I jumped at the mention of my name, and said, Yes?



“Hi, I am rajkumar”, he said, and extended his hand. And then we started chatting. I knew he was just back from Himalayas, and he started talking about his Himalayan experiences, right there at the sidewalk. This is an amazing person, I thought, as he started talking. Having spent a month every year in Himalayas, trekking all alone to the remotest villages, he was a storehouse of information. “I did my first trek in ooty, and tasted blood there. Never looked back since then”, he said.



“Let me see if the others are joining in,” I said after 10 minutes or so. I called up painkiller first. “Yes, I am almost there”, he replied, and very soon he too joined us.



It so turned out that painkiller has toured all parts of India except Kerala –. And there we were, one Himalayan expert, one who has seen the length and breadth of the country, and one who wished he traveled more often. Painkiller had some interesting northeast experiences to share. We know so little about northeast, and here is an 18 year old who has seen it all!



Painkiller started talking about the experiences in northeast, and I checked in on vsp. “I have just about left the office, will be there soon,” he said. I then called up markhyd. “Oh! The meetup! I am in a party in the Sheraton, I completely forgot about the meetup! I am coming over there straightaway!” he said. I gave him the directions, and in around ten minutes, he called me back. “where are you? I am inside the yatri nivas compound, checking out the various eating joints”. ( Yatri nivas has a number of restaurants inside the compound – Tamarind tree, which is an open-air place, Hunters Roost, which is a sort of a dhaba, Angan, a proper restaurant, and a Pub. ).



“Hey, we are waiting OUTSIDE” I said, and moved over to the entrance, to check him out. And there I saw a very formally dressed markhyd, approaching. Yes, in a crisp white shirt and a TIE. “Gosh,” I said - “a bit formal isn’t it?” “Sorry-sorry! I just came out of a party and forgot about the tie completely!” he said, and started taking off the tie.



I introduced him to the rest of the crowd, and we decided to move in, since it was already four of us.



We sat around a table at the open-air Tamarind Tree restaurant. It wasn’t the peak time yet – in fact it was just about 7.00 pm or so, and the tables around us were mostly empty. We ordered some snacks, milkshakes and soft drinks, and started chatting away.



Markhyd talked about his plans to tour India on a bike next year – himalaya was very big on his agenda. And there you had rajkumar sitting next to him. He had brought some 8-10 albums containing Himalayas snaps, and very soon, all of us were going thro the photos with great interest.



Vsp called me at that time, and I looked around to see him approaching. I had met him once before, and thus didn’t have trouble finding him. He joined us at the table, and we ordered another round of snacks. Vsp is an active participant of the Indian railways discussion board, and he has amazing knowledge about the Indian railways, and the train schedules. He and steven ber would be a deadly combination!



I was hoping that turlapati also would turn up – she had mentioned that she could be stuck with some tight schedule ( she confirmed later by PM that was exactly what happened. ).. Jpvs too seems to have missed the meetup. Sad to miss you, turlapati & jpvs, let us have a meetup next time you are in town.



The discussions went on about various topics, but the theme of the evening was definitely Himalayas. Rajkumar was giving a running commentary on the various aspect of living in Himalayas, and prospective Himalayan tourists, markhyd and myself, listened intently.



It suddenly started drizzling, and we were offered a table inside the AC section. We had finished our snacks by then, and the coffee was served inside.



We took some photographs, and at around 8 pm or so, decided to clear the place. It was raining outside, though not very heavy.



It so happened that everyone except me had come over by bus or auto, and I offered my chariot to be the official IM vehicle to drop people.



Everyone got in, and as I pulled over to the main road, the discussions started again. We had caught the Saturday evening rush-hour, and the discussions naturally shifted to the traffic scene in hyderabad.



Markhyd got down at Greenlands, near lifestyle. He is leaving India very shortly, and we wished him all the best. Well, I am driving down to kerala next weekend, and he has shown some interest to join me at least till bangalore if he is still around. A seat is reserved for you mark, let me know if you are in!



We then went to rajkumar’s place – hey, thanks for inviting us, rajkumar, that was very nice of you. He had tons and tons of music cassettes and CDs, mostly classical and (Himalayan) folk. And yes, he had a collection of video footage of some of the remotest Himalayan village, shot using his handycam. We saw bits and pieces of the video, and were quite impressed. You really should do something about all this, rajkumar, so that others can have a look too!



Before leaving his place, he gifted us with some instant noodles of the Himalayan variety ( it was delicious, I had it for breakfast on Sunday! ), and some Almora sweets, which, is called ball mithai. Dark masses of jaggerry with silver balls all around it – that is the best way to describe it. It did taste great!



We then moved from there and had to practically cross the city to be back in secunderabad. Painkiller was from a place quite far off, and We dropped him at the center of the city, so that he can catch the bus home. We (vsp and I) moved on – VSP was all this time providing us a running commentary of( especially me – since I was the only non-hyderabadi ) the various landmarks on the way. This was quite an amazing thing to happen – though I had passed through some of those roads dozens of times, I was never aware of some of these places he was mentioning. We should definitely have a tour around the city during daytime, vsp!



I finally dropped vsp near his place at around 10 pm– well, not exactly his place, as he happened to be staying with a relative for a function that day. As he got down, he promised to show me some interesting parts of AP after I am back from kerala ( I am away next week, only to return on aug 1st week. ).



And there the meet-up ended. An evening well spent, a group of people who were total strangers till that time, bonded by a common passion for traveling in India.




p.s. : For those who are wondering about the photos, it will take some time, since I have just loaded the camera, and the 36 snaps roll takes a while to finish!! I am hoping to post it sometime next week.

SHIMLA

A great report, Bigzero, thanks ! You had a wonderful meet.

IM is doing a great job in bringing together people with common interests !

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