Hyderabad

I was very kindly invited to Hyderabad for a few days last week.  I thought it would be a good opportunity to see a city, as opposed to the rural town where I’m staying. I travelled overnight by sleeper train, which in itself was quite an experience.  Indian trains are comprised of a variety of carriages of different classes.  I was advised to travel in 2^nd AC (second class, air conditioned) & had a lower bunk to one side of the long corridor.  On the other side of the narrow corridor were small cubicles of four bunks at right angles to mine & curtains supplied the only measure of privacy.  As I peered out of my curtains, I received a lot of stares of curiosity as the only white face on the train!  It reminded me of the film “Some Like It Hot” with Jack Lemon & Tony Curtis, as people clambered up & down into upper & lower bunks & curtains flapped backwards & forwards & heads popped out!

The bedding was provided: a single blanket to lie on (which I had certain misgivings about) but also a pillow & two freshly laundered sheets in a sealed brown paper bag. Having secured my luggage, so that no-one could access it during the night (I’d been warned of this possibility), I slept quite well, considering the number of people trudging up & down past my bunk through the night!  In the morning I was woken to shouts of “Coffee! Coffee Sir!” or “Chai!”, as attendants carried urns of tea & coffee & disposable cups up & down the carriages. 

I was anxious not to miss my destination station, as Hyderabad has several stations & I was being met by a driver.  I had no idea where the exit was, so just followed the majority of passengers, as they disembarked & climbed the stairs to the footbridge.  As I emerged from the station, I was suddenly bombarded by a sea of male faces, crowding me & all trying to secure my fare for their taxi or ‘auto’, as the yellow three-wheeler tuc-tucs are called here.  I had to be far more forceful than I would normally be, just to fight my way through the exit, where, to my relief, a man held up a piece of paper towards me, which had in red: ‘LINDSEY VFT’ on it.  Gratefully, I followed him out of the chaos & into the waiting car.

There followed yet another hair-raising journey through crazy traffic.  I suppose I should be getting used to it by now but it’s hard to relax & look around when tooting vehicles are coming at you in every direction, swinging in & out of lanes & cutting across from the right hand lane to turn left!  The place is simply swarming with yellow ‘autos’, which have painted on the side: “4 in all” but you plainly see at least six people hanging out the sides of them!  Similarly, the roads are full of motor scooters, which also seem to carry the whole family – I’ve seen several with five people riding on them – & no helmets of course!

The weekend was a rare treat, as my first hosts live in a huge, beautiful, western style apartment with all mod cons!  It was a different world from what I’ve been experiencing for the last two weeks in Kadapa.  So, I made the most of the hot & cold running water & luxuriated in the wonderful real shower!  It was with secret disappointment that I found in the next house that there was no loo paper or shower, so it was back to the bucket wash!  However, I’ve learned to go prepared now for every eventuality!



Birla Temple of Marble



The three days gave me the chance to do some sight-seeing, such as the beautiful Birla Temple, which is made completely of marble.  Sadly, of course, photos are forbidden, so I couldn’t take any in the temple or of the fantastic views from the top, which look over the whole of Hyderabad.  Unlike our Western souvenir shops, outside the temple there wasn’t a postcard or photo to be seen, so I couldn’t even buy a picture!  In fact, I haven’t yet found a postcard since arriving in India.  Apart from sight-seeing, the weekend was, of course, dominated by the cricket!  It seems the whole of India shut down for the afternoon & evening to watch the World Cup Final.  The roads were quiet for once until India won & then the country went mad with delight!  There were fireworks & fire crackers long into the night & people drove around the streets, whooping, shouting, whistling & singing.  It was a night I shan't easily forget!



Ghandi outside the
Assembly Rooms



Buddha in the 16th Century
man-made Lake