Death in Summer - William Trevor

Vinod gave 'The Love Department' which i loved so I checked on William Trevor and found that this book was among his finest. And Vinod bhai had it so I borrowed it. It's a beautiful read.

The book starts with the death of Letitia, wife of Thaddeus, in a bike accident, leaving behind an infant child. The husband and his mother in law, look around for nannies and several apply, none being suitable. However one of the nannies, Pettie, who is a wild one owing to her abuse in her childhood in a home for the homeless, takes a fancy to Thaddeus and imagines herself taking care of him and his infant. She is assisted in her endeavours by one of the boys who was also in the home, Albert, who keeps an eye on her and tries to keep her out of trouble, kind hearted as he is.

Thaddeus does not love Letitia. However he has inherited a huge estate and spends his time living off the produce of the estate until rich and generous Letitia marries him. So generous is she that when she finds a letter written to her husband by an old lover, Mrs ferry, of his seeking financial help for her medial condition, she offers her money. Mrs Ferry however dies despite the help Thaddeus provides.

Pettie, in her obsession for Thaddeus's love, decides to take away the object of his affection, the infant child and kidnaps her. She is seen by a couple of kids, panics, leaves the child in the ruins of the home of homeless where she grew and disappears. The police arrive, investigate, and soon, Albert arrives with the baby, saying that he got a note about its whereabouts. Pettie dies too, somehow ends up in the rubble of the home, which is demolished. Albert tries to tell the Thaddeus family that Pettie did not mean to harm anyone and all she was looking for was love. To meet her love Thaddeus, she spends all her fare, by travelling twice to their residence.

It's tragic in so many ways and one feels for Pettie and Albert as much as one feels for Thaddeus and Letitia and Mrs Ferry. William Trevor fills in so many details that you get lost in the world while he slips in a dramatic twist - much like life does. Fabulous writing, lovely characters, unforgettable story.       

Acts of Love - Moments at Sunrise

Shared moments at Hussain Sagar at sunrise. Acts of Love. And stories that lie underneath. 

Two friends sharing a special moment

And hope arises with the new day. 

A young couple - a memorable moment shared 
 

Two friends again - looking into the future and what it holds for them

Will they come back here again after ten years or twenty? It would be nice if they would.

Two friends the girls - and a stranger helping

The two girls are friend and they caught hold of this boy to take their pictures or videos and he did it with complete commitment. And once again one wants them to retain the same love for each other, after twenty years or more.

Boy waiting for the sunrise 

 Alone. And the dog jumps in for company. But he is a disciplined kid who was doing push ups and other exercises, who has the will to get up and watch the sunrise alone by himself. He will do well.  

 

There's autumn where life sheds the past. And there's greenery and new leaves, giving hope and promising the new. The cycle continues - we rise and fall, we fall and rise. And death awaits all. Until then, breathe and enjoy the life the good God's given. It's a beautiful life full of sunrises, friends, lovers, helpful strangers, friendly dogs, fallen leaves, new leaves, clouds, breeze. Ah, breathe in the love!
 

Lovely.

Hyderabad by Walk - Darul-Shifa to Mir Alam Mandi

Tanya announced a heritage walk from Dar-ul-Shifa to Mir Alam Mandi, with focus on the City Planning from Qutb Shahi era to the Nizam era. My usual walk partners were busy so I went alone.

Aza Khana-e-Zehra Ashurkhana (1930)

The old Municipal Office (MCH) now slowly fading away into history

The walk would begin at Aza Khana -E- Zehra, an Ashurkhana of great beauty with high ceilings and beautiful interiors (built by the VIIth Nizam in 1930 in memory of his beloved mother Zehra to whom he was very attached), onwards to Darul Shifa, the Ashurkhana in Darul Shifa, to the Jillukhana darwaza of Purani Haveli, to Munshi Naan, to Inayat Jung deodi, to this chai joint, to Mir Alam Mandi.

Darul Shifa entrance - us entering

Abbas Union FC

Ok, let me begin at the beginning. The walk was scheduled early at 730 which suited me fine because it is easy to drive at that time with no traffic, easy to park in that part of town, and its not too hot and we wind up in time for breakfast. Anyway we met at Aza Khana e Zehra - Sushil, Sahil, Razzak were waiting. I parked in the gully next to the Ashurkhana and sent up a prayer that no traffic cops would be on the prowl at the early hour. Tanya joined us with Kaushal, her genial friend from Haldwani, and soon we got everyone in, some 10 of us, and got going. As always Tanya shared well designed post cards with pictures and a lot of information packed into them about the places we were visiting (with maps of that era).

Symbols on the walls of Darul Shifa

The Thinking Man Made of Scrap - Creativity is possible anyplace, anywhere

The Aza Khana-e-Zehra was shut due to the early hour but that did not stop us from admiring it from the outside - its right next to Salar Jung Museum. In the inside are high ceilings, a huge prayer hall with lovely windows, jaalis, carpets and other beautiful stuff which I saw in another walk. Across the road was the Municipal Office which was spread over 6000 sq mtrs now on the way to oblivion as it gives up its life for the Metro Line. its a very interesting structure - rather European and quite quaint. I always used to wonder what this building was and thanks to Tanya, the mystery is unravelled. She also said it used to sell railway tickets at one corner. The MCH moved out in 1986 to its new office near Tank Bund.

An old building now a PHC

Munshi Naans basking in the sunlight

A little further on the right was the Darul Shifa, or House of Healing, a Qutb Shahi era hospital or rather, house of healing built in 1595 CE during the reign of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (the founder of Hyderabad), which no longer serves the purpose. In its heyday it apparently was the place where medicine men from all over the world would come to treat patients who were treated free of charge. However its premises hosts a few lovely Ashurkhanas which I saw before so didn't venture into. One of the Ashurkhanas has the Sartauq Alam, a steel standard on which is fixed a piece of the fetters of the fourth Imam of Shia Musalims, Hazat Zainul Abideen. As Ashurkhanas are places of mourning and worship for Shias, one could see posters condemning the death of Iranian leader Ayotollah Khameini. Inside we checked some of the old signs and designs on the Qutb Shahi buildings. Quite interesting.

The Jillukhana Entrance of the Purani Haveli

The ground in front of Darul Shifa is the home ground of the oldest football club in Hyderabad, Abbas Union FC, which is coached by former player and Dhyan Chand awardee Mr Shabbir Ali. I heard that the ground will soon turn into a Metro Station making play grounds even rarer and distant for young kids. How many prospective footballers' destinies would change with that one decision is food for thought. 

Nawab Inayat Jung Deodi

Onwards towards the chowk where Munshi Naan used to be but has since shifted since it was bang in the Metro Line. We stopped at an old office of some sort which has now been converted into a PHC or the Ayush variety. A short walk and we found Munshi Naan - they were busy making fresh naans and we all got a few and ate some pieces of that delicious bread Tanya ordered for us. A customer who had just picked up some naan told us some nice things about Munshi Naan and went on his way. Nothing better than a customer referral.

Approach to the Mir Alam Mandi

Mahankaleshwara temple

Our next stop was at the yellow gate of the Jillukhana of the Purani Haveli which is where the decked up elephant comes on Muharram days and gets garlanded by the Kotwal of the city to this day. It is an impressive gate which we missed during several walks. The road opposite the gate leads directly to Chatta Kaman which is an over bridge that the Salar Jungs used to cross over to the gardens and guest house area closer to the Musi river. And if you go further, Hotel Nayaab, Madina, Shadab and Pathergatti. Now to give us a perspective of how large the Diwan Deodi was - the main gate of the Diwan Deodi starts from near Hotel Madina and spreads across to the entire area that includes the Salar Jung Museum which was where the famous Lakkad Kot of the Salar Jungs was located. Tanya said there was a stepwell and a mosque of that era still in the Salar Jung Museum premises - should check that out. Gardens, an opulent Deodi that stretched right till the Mir Alam Mandi.

Mir Alam Mandi Kaman

Kaushal Admiring the Gate- Impressive

We walked a bit more, turned left and stopped at this place for chai and moved on, past the Inayat Jung Deodi which is quite prominent on the main road. Further down and we turned right into the Mir Alam Mandi road, walked past a huge temple, right up to the gate of the Mandi which was again, high enough for elephants to pass. Inside the gate is a busy 200 year old Mandi, one of the oldest and largest markets in Hyderabad, spread over 5 acres and hosting about 300 vendors, brought into existence by Mir Alam in 1804. The kaman itself is of great historical value and the pictures of the old kaman look very different from what it is now - the entire place is under restoration.

Mir Alam Mandi

The Kaman

Now, Mir Alam was the Prime Minister to the third Nizam Skiandar Jah (1804-1808) and it was he who began construction of the Salar Jung Deodi on the bank of the Musi. He was the great grandfather of Salar Jung I who served as Diwan when the sixth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Khan took the throne when he was a mere 6 year old and guided him through teh years of growing British dominance. The Salar Jung family gave five Prime Ministers or Diwans to the Nizams and naturally the Diwan Deodi was a seat of power. 

Map of the Diwan Deodi (courtesy Tanya)

Mir Alam lived in tumultous times with interesting contemporaries such as the mercurial Raja Chandu Lal, James Kirkpatrick (the white Mughal), Mah Laqa Bai Chanda etc. Mostly famous for leading Hyderabad's charge with the British East India Company against Tipu Sultan, a mission that ended successfully, he appears to have been instrumental in the construction of the mandi adjacent to his deodi. The Mir Alam tank which is seen as an architectural wonder of those years is named after him.

Entrance to an old Deodi - stories everywhere

Old man with his oranges

The walk ended there so I had to walk back to the car. Zubair was heading to Abids so I offered him a ride since I was going to Paradise. We walked back, took a detour to see the old Kotwal building, bought a couple of oranges from a really old seller who went through the practice of sorting oranges, picked the worst, and gave them to me, which I promptly gave off to another really old beggar at Paradise.  Me, I am just the medium. 

A group pic by Sushil

Good walk, full of good humour, energy and information and food and chai, well led by Tanya who is always full of good cheer, good information and enthusiasm. Interestingly this was an all men group, which was a first, and Tanya led the group with her customary ease and grace and thoughtfulness. Thanks Tanya.                 

Miranda Days - Music Competition and a 3rd Prize

This effort by Orpheus got them the third prize, quite an energetic performance. A does the sound check and the intro at the beginning.

Miranda Days - Another Music Competition

So there was this music competition at Kirorimal and the Acapella group of which A is a part, participated. Here goes.

Thought for the Day - 5 Things I Believe About Love

An interesting question asked by someone who read 'If You Love Someone' - tell me five things you believe about love. And five things why you wrote 'If You Love Someone'.

Five things I believe about love

1) That love is not about possession, it is about seeing the person you love grow to their highest potential, do what they love doing, and being supportive about it. (And in that process, if required, giving up what may be best for you - for the person you love.)

2) Love is selfless, about placing the other person ahead of you, thinking for them, being thoughtful in every way - to me thoughtfulness is the best expression of love

3) Love is sacred, inviolable, it is about respect, gentleness, care, understanding

4) Love is about actions (not flowery words or empty, grand gestures), about promises kept, about showing up, about being there so that the other person knows you are there for them, egging them on, even if you do not subscribe to their choices

5) Love is about giving yourself up wholeheartedly, and if circumstances demand it, giving up your life for the person you love if its best for them

Five reasons for writing 'If You love Someone'

1) To explore the idea of love as I understand it - that Aditya can give up what he knows is the greatest love he can ever hope to find, giving up the one person who totally gets him because he feels it is in her best interest - (and in doing so gives up a chance to heal himself - he chooses the harder route)

2) To explore the idea that a man and a woman can share such love - platonic, innocent and divine – with great understanding, compassion, love - something which most people do not seem to find in most relationships.

3) The idea that a man and a woman can trust their bond/love enough to give it all up for thirty years - to explore and grow as individuals - a grand, naive experiment that can go completely wrong and turn into a lifelong regret, or give a great reward of having explored each other's destinies fully without burdening each other

4) To explore the idea that women tend to lose themselves in their marriages and are rarely allowed to fulfill their potential unless the husband separates, or dies (the number of women who do justice to their potential after separating is evidence). Meghna falls into the trap, gives up her job to help her husband and finds herself regretting it. And while there, to inspire a thought for women, to keep themselves first and not get subsumed or lost in unsupported, unfulfilling relationships and marriages.

5) To explore the idea that a man and a woman can meet as adults - at fifty - without judgment, social conditioning, just as friends who share something beautiful between themselves. When asked by her husband if she will return, Meghna is forced to give an honest answer and she says - 'I don't know'. In a perfect world she need not wait for Pankaj to die to claim her life or freedom, and she can retain her choice of coming back or not, without guilt, shame or judgment.

...

Good questions. And it felt good to revisit a project, I cherished.

And Music Comes Back Big Time - Titanium

It's been a long time since a song took me over like this - remember 'Danger Zone' that I played on repeat for days on end, 'I'd die without you', 'Somewhere I belong', 'Something about you', 'Sairaat', 'Zehnaseeb', 'Manmarziyan'...ah so many. And then I hit upon this song which I heard before but on Anjali's playlist and it stuck - all day. Loud, sing along, groove along stuff. Shout aloud in your car stuff.

And loved the lyrics too. Powerful stuff. Empowering stuff. Freeing stuff.

Fire away, fire away

Shoot me down but I get up

I'm bullet proof, nothing to lose

You shoot me down but I won't fall

Ricochet, you take your aim

You shoot me down but I won't fall 

I am Titanium