Hyderabad mera jaan...mera shan
I love hyderabad...people reading this sentence might just imagine, what the heck is wrong with this guy...why is
he making such a redundant statement....well let me tell u guyz something, abt an year back i would have said I hate
Hyderabad!! there are numerous reasons...i had numerous reasons to complain...phrases like "L*** K*** ki sense ledu",
"Ba*****s ki eppatiki budhi radu" used to frequent my mouth. Used to always argue with my mom that hyderabad is the
worst place to be at and all.....but AUgust 13th 2006, I was driving past the hussain sagar...the same place that
used to stink....the same place which i thought was too poluted, seemed so pleasent and mesmerising...the mere
thought that i was gonna miss the necklace road for abt an year or even more made me pensive and nostalgic.
14 th august 2006..I was near the airport, all set to fly off to New York..the most happening city in the world.
I somehow felt that quitely behind my parents...friends and relatives, some one else was wishing me a bon voyage....
.....it was my darling city Hyderabad.
A few months later, one fine evening some one from my room comments that hyderabad is hydera'bad'. Suddenly a feeling
of possesivenes came up in me...i started arguing...started debating(well the arguement was way too violent to be
called a debate) with that guy, trying to prove the point that Hyderabad is the best place on earth. A couple more
guyz joined him in arguing that hyderabad isnt the best place..their statement was a blunt" emundi ra hyderabad lo"
..donno why but that particular statement got the fire in me burning...i knew they were wrong...i knew i was right,
but arguing with 3 people is not a mean job...but i was...they were making some valid points and i was dispelling
them with a lot of vigour. Time and again i used my trumpcard IT and CYBER TOWERS to ward them off from cornering me
And yes..the point that i am good at statistics really helped me. But as I was arguing a thought constantly came
across my mind..."why was i fighting for a place which i hated so much till some months back??" I kept that question
aside and fought..er..argued. The arguement went on for a good 2 and half hours...and ultimately, as always..I won!!
It is easy to win a cricket match, as there are set rules and winning is a defined event in cricket, but it is not
so in a debate..making a person contradict his own statement or retract from his own thought isnt a task of ease.
I had won several such debates earlier...several to list..The previous night itself i had won over them in the topic
that had me supporting CBN and them supporting YSR, but still..this victory was very sweet.By the time the arguement
was over it was around 3 am...so we had just one thing on our mind...sleep.
But that night as I lay on my bed...a thought constantly crossed over my mind and prevented me from sleeping..."why
did I fight for hyderabad???" Then started the real battle....the debate in my own self...i started to prove and
counter prove my own points.I started to analyze hyderabad as a true Hyderabadi....it's flaws and strengths...
Hyderabad is a growing city...or rather it is a booming city..it has manpower, technology and everything
and thanks to CBN it has become extremely presentable...any person who wants to set up a company wants a place that
is peaceful, resourseful and fertile in terms of technology, and hyderabad has all these three components in ample
measures. The development rate of hyderabad across the past 10 years is well past the adjective splendid...in fact
it is scintillating. I have been to places, quite a number of places...i have seen a good part of south India..
U go to CH**** and say " arey bhai AN** ***** kaise ja saktey hain" and he would give u a wicked grin and walk away,
he would under no chance speak with u in hindi. U go to another place called B****** and ask him the same question..
well not the same though...u ask him abt some place there...and he would give an innocent look and try to understand
what u r spking...its not his fault, the awareness of hindi in that particluar place is bad..similar situation can be
observed in K*****. why am i telling u all this....well go to anyplace in hyderabad and ask him arey bhai charminar
kaisey ja saktey hain...and he would direct u for sure...This is what is required for setting up a corporate
warehouse...u need accepting people..Why is hyderabad snatching up oppurtunities from B*****, it is not just because of
the infrastructural opurtunities provided by the govt. such small issues which a commoner would leave unsighted
work a lot up for a city.
I used to curse the roads of Hyderabad for their traffic jams and all..but not any more...i have seen places now
and i sure do know what a traffic jam means. I used to abuse the MCh parking ticket collectors for their parking
charges...but the fact that parking in manhattan costs around 30 $ shook the living daylights out of me.
Chal chal re chal mere saathi....hum ban gaye hyderabadi....i loved this song a lot...just for the sake of its
melody..never cared to listen and understand the lyrics...once in NY..humming the song became my habit. Every day
my computer starts up with that song and shuts down after the song "pedavey palikina" from nani.
Then my anaysis lead me to the conclusion that I never hated hyderabad....It was just that i wanted it to be even
better...rather the best.
I have my life associated with hyderabad...My parents..my friends...my childhood,my adolsence and a good part of my
youth. I have memories uncomparable...I have memories of secret lake..the place we used to call our 'ADDA'..the
place where we used to have some of the most avid convesations of our life...the beautiful biryani of Hyderabad
house...the superb rides on necklace road...the pani puri at Juiblee hills chat bandi...the cricket matches behind
TV's hse..the short pitch matches on LAL's rooftop...those long drives on cars...frequent visits to Coffee day....
those discussions on sam's rooftop...shopping sprees at central....movie carnival at prasad's...and last but not
least...st. alphonsa's H.S....Gowtham jnr college and yes ultimately...VNRVJIET...maaannnn....that was life...
if only i could get on a time machine and get back to those days...those beautiful days...
What am i doing here man??....living ? no way...how can i??
.......when i have left my life thousands of miles away.....