Hyderabad continued

The Charminar

Qutb Shahi Tombs
Qutb Shahi Tombs
Taramati Mosque, Golconda Fort

Outb Shahi Tomb, Tomb of Md. Quli Qutb Shah

Hyderabad Trip

Some pictures from Hyderabad

Pigeon

One of the pigeons at the Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad

The Flight of Pigeons

Shot at the Mecca Masjid, Hyderabad

Pictures from Hyderabad

Sunset on Hussain Sagar Lake, Hyderabad

Would love to know which one you like better......

Terror Strikes Uttar Pradesh

Back from Hyderabad

I was planning to post a blog entry as soon as I got back from my trip to Hyderabad. I wanted to write about our journey and also prepare an itinerary for travelers and others interested in visiting the city.

However, the theme changed. The terror blasts in Uttar Pradesh changed the course, content and mood. It is yet another heinous and dastardly act of terrorism, through which nothing will be gained. Killing, injuring and maiming countless innocent people is no solution to any political or any religious end. When will people realize it?

The three blasts occurred around noon in and around court premises. The terrorist attack on the Parliament is still fresh in our minds. This time the attack is on the judiciary. If I may hazard a guess – who’s next? The President? There seems to be a system – a pattern in the attack. The terrorists are focusing on the three pillars of democracy in India. They have hurt two till date.

At this juncture, the security forces must tighten their defences in and around the Presidency. And a heavy hand must come down on all terrorists captured. They must all be taught the hard lesson that the unity, the sovereignty and the social and democratic mosaic of India cannot be perturbed.

I have always spoken against capital punishment, always sided against such punishment. Today, I feel that such capital punishment is a necessity for terrorists. Bring them to the court rooms they attacked, prosecute and hang them.

Read more from Rediff

SHOOTING THROUGH GLASS

Most museums do not allow photography at all. And I find it very irritating. For instance, during my last month’s visit to Hyderabad, when I visited the famous Salar Jung Museum, I was so disappointed to learn that cameras were not allowed inside. Damn.
We could click pictures of the museum from outside, I was told. Huh

Worst of all, mobile phones were allowed inside. And these days, even the lowest end mobiles have cameras. People were shooting pictures of anything and everything, and I kept kicking myself for not having carried one. I really wanted to click a few pictures of the Veiled Rebecca. It was so lovely. You can read more about this statue and the sculptor here.

Anyways, I still don’t understand why photography cannot be allowed inside museums and monasteries. What harm can it cause? When so many objects were kept in the open at Salar Jung Museum. So many people kept on touching these objects. I tried to prevent some, but who would care. I myself got tired of the exercise after a while. Better allow photography than let people touch and damage these objects.

And perhaps, that is exactly why, I was happy when I visited the Andhra Pradesh Archeological Museum. Photography was allowed and to get the permission, one had to just buy a ticket. Cool!

However, please note that in museums most of the articles are on display behind glass partitions, to prevent visitors from touching and damaging these centuries’ old artifacts and articles. But it is usually never too easy to shoot pictures through glass. The most common problems relate to flash shining back and reflections. Then there are some who wouldn’t allow the use of flash. Good! That prevents light shining back. However, the low-light conditions are not good enough for decent photography. The results are usually not very good either. However, I got lucky at the AP Archeological Museum. Here are some pictures that I would like to share with you.

Please let me know what you think of these pictures. Post your comments.

Pictures from Golconda Fort

Panoramic view of Golconda Fort

Against the Sunset

The Wall of the Fort

Hyderabad Bomb Blast

Around 1:30 pm today, a bomb rocked the Mecca Masjid compound in Hyderabad when the Friday Namaz was being offered. This being another ghastly and dastardly act by some terror mongers to foster a divisive influence among the masses. Clearly, the peace and harmony of the wonderful and high spirited Hyderabadis was targeted. First and foremost, I would like to urge the people of Hyderabad not to press the panic button, and not play into the hands of those willing to instigate animosities and provoke communal disharmony.

The Mecca Masjid stands 100 yards Southwest of the Charminar. The mosque is said to comprise bricks brought from Mecca built into the central arch, hence the name. The five arched facades were carved out of a single piece of granite, a stone which took five years to quarry. The courtyard houses a large pond flanked by two stone and slab seats. Legend has it that a visitor who sits on one of these seats will definitely return to Hyderabad. A room in the courtyard is said to contain sacred relics, one of which is the hair of Prophet Muhammad.

The construction of the Mecca Masjid was begun under the orders of Sultan Quli Qutub Shah in 1617 and was completed in 1694 under direct orders of Emperor Aurangazeb. The mosque is one of the largest in the country and can accommodate ten thousand people at one time. It is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and is adjacent to Charminar just across the road. The constructions of this mosque was started by Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah, The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Abul Hassan Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb.

The hall of the mosque is about 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long, Each of the two octagonal columns on either side are made out of a single piece of granite, It took about 8000 Masons and laborers and 77 years to complete.

It is said that when the foundation stone was being laid, Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah invited all the pious religious elders of the city. It was announced that the king wanted the foundation stone to be laid by one who had never missed his prayers. None came forward, therefore Sultan Muhammad himself laid the foundation for he had never missed even his midnight prayer since the age of 12.

Unfortuantely, 12 namazis lost their lives, while they were closing their prayers. That’s real sad. The bomb used RDX and is assumed to have been set off by a mobile phone as a trigger. Police rushed to the spot at the earliest and avoided a worse scare. They discovered two more similar bombs which did not go off.

While all politicians have come out to condemn the heinous act, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy have asked the citizens not to listen to rumours, nor to spread them. All caution has now been taken with Section 144 imposed in the area thereby banning the assembly of more than four people. Police remains at the spot and central RAF have been kept on stand by for the city. Also forensic experts from the Centre have been called in to investigate the site.

Following the blast at the Mecca Masjid, the injured, numbering in the 40s were rushed to the nearby Osmania Hospital. There were road blockades in different parts of the city. Police, however, rose to action to disperse any such mobs and things became normal. However, shops remained closed and not many buses were seen plying across the city. The characteristic autorickshaws were also not zipping across the city as frequently as they normally do.

It gives me such a weird feeling. I visited this place just last week. Here’s a picture that I took from the Charminar.
My condolences for the lives lost.
Peace and harmony!

Hyderabad Tour

Well, at the outset I must caution the neutral reader that I shall not remain neutral. In fact, you stand cautioned by the fact that my opinion of Hyderabad is rather biased, due largely to the summer heat. Clearly, one must never ever venture to tour Hyderabad in the summer. Make it in the winter and maybe you will like it more.

Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh has developed in recent years at a fast pace. So much so that it is considered to be at par with Bangalore. Well, the Telugu speaking populace would claim Hyderabad or Cyberabad to be the IT hot spot of the country, whilst the populace of Bangalore will vouch for itself. Let’s just keep it at the fact that both have grown very fast in recent years and that both have traversed the IT path in a major way. By the way, did you know that the Indian HQs of Microsoft and Oracle are in Hyderabad?

Anyways, as I was saying, summer is the time to avoid Hyderabad. The temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius, not the exact comfort to travel around. Make it in the winter, when the temperatures remain at a pleasant 16-18 degrees.

The airport is situated at Begumpet, and is well connected to important parts of the country and abroad. The main railway station is Secunderabad. In fact, Secunderabad and Hyderabad are twin cities connected by the Tank Bund. However, many are not aware that there is another major railway station - Hyderabad Decan, at Nampally, which is closer to the Old City. As a traveler, perhaps this is where you would like to be.

There are two trains from Howrah Station that travel to this city. One, the Falaknuma Express, and two, the East Coast Express. Go for the Falaknuma Express, it is faster, has a pantry car and does not stop at some 58 stations like the East Coast Express.

There are many places to stay in Hyderabad. There are budget and economy hotels to really luxurious ones. Take your pick. I wish to refrain from making any advertisements for the Hyderabad hotel industry.

For my part, I stayed at a Government Guest House, thanks to a kindness of a gentleman whom I wish not to name. All I can say is that this Guest House is in Basheer Bagh, really not far away from the older part of the city, and also very close to the Assembly House.

I will detail the various places later. For now, I would just like to mention that I couldn’t travel like a tourist due to the oppressive heat.

And would like to leave you with a picture of the Charminar, which supposedly is the hallmark of the city.

Going to Hyderabad

I am going to Hyderabad tomorrow. Accompanying my wife on her training and hoping to visit some places of interest in Hyderabad. However, the temperatures there are scorching. In fact, I was reading about Hyderabad in a website and it said something like - if you were planning to tour Hyderabad in the summer, you must have survived the Saharan (or sub-Saharan, i don't remember which) climate for 6 years, and should have done splendidly well. Not very encouraging, is it?

Anyways, I had to go, and if I can, I will visit some of the places. Of course, I also intend to shoot lot many pictures and hope to post some here soon.

For now, I may be off blogging for a while. I want to enjoy my vacation. So wish me luck.