A photo in rain

Rain gods are cheering from last night. The much needed rain is here. I took this picture in rain at steps on the way to second floor.

Meeting with Len Aiyyapa

I went to Tirumala to have darshan of The Lord Venkateswara. I was in line with another family. We were in a special line. We introduced each other. The younger one in their family asked about me and I reciprocated the same courtesy. He told me that his brother is Len Aiyyapa and he playes for the Indian hockey team. As I have very little familarity with field hockey, I could not show any excitement. After having darshan just before saying good bye to my new acquaintance I took his autograph. Later I realized from web that the person I met is no ordinary one.

August 23rd - Vinayaka Chavithi

India never dries up with festivals at any point of the season. Lord Vinayaka birthday was on 23rd of this month. I celebrated the festival with my parents after a time gap. The dawn started with wishes from relatives and friends through voice and text. We completed puja by little over 12:00 in the afternoon. I had prasadam in more than usual quantity.
"Tenali Rama Krishna" movie, relatives and an acquaintance visit busied our afternoon. In the evening, Brahmasri Chaganti Koteswara Rao speech deliverance on the occasion in Bhakti channel was remarkable. Gained and missed some points. On the weather front, the sky was scattered with thick clouds all throughout the morning and afternoon.
Later in the evening, I went around in my neighborhood and spared no time in taking pictures of the Idols after brief interruption cropped up due to rain. I saw reverence and enthusiasm filled not only in the eyes of the devotees who were doing such a commendable job of installing, decorating from small to huge Idols and but also its visitors sparkling eyes in the decorated lights. Many of the idols were aptly decorated. Oil and electric lights added brilliance to the decorated Idols.
The music speakers for devotional songs were not at work at any of the locations this time. And moreover the idols were not placed anywhere close to the main road. So, traffic congestion was not more than usual. Occasional sprinkles kept some of the traffic off the road.
Lastly, I like to salute our policemen who were on work to prevent any untoward incidents on that holiday.

Old Coins

Vinayaka Chavithi is 2'morrow. I hope to celebrate with veneration and enthusiasm as I am celebrating festival after a very long time in India. Today I went to Koti (yes Gokul chat comes to mind) and bought Tenali Rama Krishna and Chakrapani DVDs.
After a small drive on my Aviator, I got into cleaning mode for 2'morrow's pooja and stumbled across old coins which were passed on to me and my brother some time back.

Pictures of One (1972) and Two Paisa (1975); Ten (1970) and Twenty Paisa (1970)



Pictures of Two Anna (1945) (front and back)

George VI King Emperor One Rupee (1947) (front and back)

August 9th - Trip to Golconda fort

On Sunday 9th, 2009, I wanted to visit a place to quench my travel curiosity. Around 10:00 am I go ogled to check if any place interests me. I narrowed my choice to famous Golconda fort. Even though born and raised in Hyderabad, I never visited Golconda fort.
My friend Shanthi Kiran agreed to tag along. We finished lunch and started around 1:30 p.m. I was keen to drive my beautiful, splendor and lovely Aviator but my friend insisted that we take his Pulsar bike.
We reached Golconda fort but with a little misadventure at the entrance. The fort has many entrances; we wanted to take one from Chilkur side. We should have realized that as it is completely under military control and we should be extra careful while taking routes. We entered the first gate and later to be stopped at the second gate by military staff person. The guard said we actually breached and did not stop at the first gate signal which we never noticed. After a brief "talk" we were let go. Thanks to our brave soldiers who are on a constant vigil all the time. The doors of the gate have sharp pointed metal spikes pointing out. It could be to prevent any attacks from elephants in olden times. We paid for our bike parking and an entrance ticket to visit Golconda.
Well, we entered the famous Golconda fort. The citadel was built by Qutub Shahi kings (who founded Hyderabad) to defend from the invading Mughal emperors. Aurangzeb is the Mughal who conquered and destroyed much of the fort in 1687 A.D. The entrance is well maintained with well trimmed lawns on both sides of the aisle. We took no service of a guide. But guides will be delighted to help you at a cost. Our first stop was Balahissar gate. The gate is a huge one with the fusion of both Islamic and Hindu cultures. Soon after passing though gate, you will hear loud clapping clamor of the tourists in a large hall. You cannot blame them as there are testing the great acoustics system at work in Golconda. One can see a panoramic view of the citadel ruins after passing through gate. To the left of the view one can find an ammunition store house and a photo gallery exhibition.
As you get close to the steps which lead to summit view of the fort called as “Baradari”, you will find a mosque named after "Taramati" which is well restored. Taramati was the famous courtesan to Abdullah Qutub Shah as Bhagmati was to his grandfather Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah. There are ruined and half ruined buildings all over the place. The sight of which can be left to an artistic imagination. It took about 20-25 minutes to reach "Baradari" at a steady pace. APTDC scores good points in keeping up the necessities of the tourists with proper water facilities and refreshment shops. But all along the way, I felt little disappointed with the litter that tourists dumped on sides. The litter was from small paper to empty water bottles.
Lucky for us, Sun was not dehydrating us and it was cloudy with mild cool breeze. In spite of these extremely favorable conditions, we were sweating while taking steps. On way up, you will notice a granary known as “Amber Khana”. The old granary house is in dilapidated condition but one can imagine the size of the storage house looking at ruins. Just before the summit point, a must visit "Ramdass Jail" where “Kancharla Goppana” was imprisoned. Bhakta Ramdass as called was an ardent devotee of Lord Rama who siphoned treasury money to built temple at Bhadrachalam. Last stop was "Baradari" which is a two storied building from where kings used to enjoy surroundings. There is also an audience hall.
We took some pictures, small videos of and from "Baradari" and we headed back to parking lot. That day was one of the memorable days as I checked out on one of the items on my wish list.
A dynasty’s work to keep its enemies at bay turned to be an architectural splendor and one of the jewels in Hyderabad places to visit.