Here are some things I miss in Hyderabad from say, a couple of decades ago:
1) Irani cafes (They were the first casualty. I am talking of the good old real Irani cafes that had lots of space, good biryanis, chai and a wonderful culture of chai, cigarette, biryani and lots of space and time)
2) Parking anywhere you liked (We could just park anywhere and rush in to Irani cafes, bakeries or whatever, now the vehicles will be towed off or clamped down upon or have parking receipts sticking in them)
3) Talking for hours in Irani cafes (there is no place that offers the ambience to talk for hours as I did in Irani cafes)
4) Movies at Sangeet (Ah, that was an experience, like going to the Opera or something, good English movies, good sandwiches, decent crowd, girls ummm)
5) Real biryanis (not the masala mixes that pass off as biryanis these days)
6) Secret lakes (Durgam cheuvu was a secret lake, not known to many people those days, now there is almost no lake!)
7) Rocks, rocks, rocks (the rocks that used to be so unique to Hyderabad, a small one balancing delicately on a large boulder, now most of them turned to rubble)
8) Romancing on Tank bund (we could park the bikes right on the kerb on either side and settle ourselves on the benches, grass, and amble over for a fish fry and kebab or corn until late in the night)
9) Shopping at Abids (all shopping was at Abids and Kothi and not in all the malls that have sprung up these days)
10) Listening to good old Hyderabadi wisecracks in new releases (Ah, every new release had its own drama and fun with wisecracks that filled the theatre each time a Rekha or a Helen came on, way before the multiplexes came on and polite people started to clap after movies!)
Amen.
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6 comments:
What I miss the most is being able to go anywhere and not having to spend 2hrs or more in the trafic.
madhav
I really liked the article, and the very cool blog
Yes, the traffic itself, or the lack of this heavy, mad traffic. It was so easy and simple to drive and get anywhere then. Empty roads almost.
A monthly bus pass for Rs. 17.50 and a Kamat thali for Rs. 2.25. Don't exactly miss these, but they are fondly remembered. Sangeet Balcony for something like 4.95 and Stalls for 3.30 or so. All old movie halls are missed too, Ashok, Navrang, Vikranti for instance. Multiplexes don't serve chai and samosa like the old theatres did.
Raja,
Good you brought up the theaters. I wanted to do one blog on the old landmarks of Hyderabad - none better than our old cinema theatres that are no longer there.
Durgam Cheruvu is formed because of a small dam which is visible from the old Bombay highway. The runoff formed another rather large lake on the other side of the highway.In fact I remember, the highway used to run along the bank of the lake. Sadly, like the Durgam Cheruvu, this lake is giving way to petrol station and other commercial structures which have been built on the encroached lake.
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