Thought for the Day - What Makes You Happy

Small things really. A cool breeze. Clean towels. A nice fragrance. A smile. A good book. An easy conversation. A lovely sunrise. Or sunset. A barefoot walk on the beach.

I also realised reading funny books makes me laugh (and happy). Funny movies. People who make me laugh. 

Things that would make me happy but I gave up are toys (mini cars), cricket (should start playing again), table tennis (same), reading comics (started), watching cartoons or animation films (started). 

When I was a child, five years old perhaps, I got the best birthday gift ever - a bunch of mini cars. I think it must have been my mom's idea though they said some uncle bought them. One of those was an open top Willys Jeep and to this day I mentally search for it. Can't get over that I lost it somewhere. Would it have felt abandoned by me my poor Jeep?

I bought a few mini cars on a whim recently and told a few people and lo behold in a couple of months my collection grew to some 18. I just love seeing them all over so I put them in places i can see and push them here and there. Makes me feel happy seeing them.

Yesterday I told Vinod that I want to buy a car. He thought I wanted to buy a new car. I told him I wanted to buy a mini car. He told me he read an article that older people were now buying toys. I am part of that brigade. I need to read that article.

I guess that's it then. Whatever rocks your boat - get them out, keep them in sight, touch, sound. Enjoy the feeling. Don't let the old man in like Mr Eastwood said I think. It may seem silly to some but its ok, this is about what makes you happy.

The Winter of Discontent - John Steinbeck

This is the third Steinbeck I read after 'The Grapes of Wrath' and 'Of Mice and Men' and am in awe of how he writes. I finished reading the novel and went back to read it again and was amazed at how tightly he set it up, how deep his understanding of human psychology is and how well he articulates the subtle in such few words. 

So we enter the world of Ethan Hawley, happy in his unfortunate circumstance of having to work as a clerk in a store he once owned. Ethan has made peace with losing his family's legacy and riches and in the end even losing the store in a building he owned. But he remains honest and true to his values. Happy with his wife Mary and his two children, Mary and Allen. Steinbeck, the matter of a few taut opening pages introduces us to Ethan, his boss, a migrant Sicilian Marullo, his wife Mary and her friend Margie, the banker Baker and his assistant Joey. Conversations turn towards some money Mary has received from her dead brother's estate which the others feel should be invested. Ethan however says its her money and should be left alone.

Margie, a fortune teller of sorts and someone who is living off her husband's alimony, tries to seduce Ethan, just as a supplier tries to bribe him but Ethan sticks true to his values. But then Margie tells Mary that Ethan will come into fortune, Joey tells him how to loot a bank and not get caught and Baker tells him he should make money. Ethan slowly changes and tips off the authorities about Marullo's immigrant status  and acquires the store, pushes his friend Danny to drink and death and gets his estate and even tries to loot the bank which does not happen. In the end Ethan is disgusted with himself and tries to kill himself but his daughter, sensing his mood, stops him. The scene where she says she wants to go with him when he says he has to go out is so beautiful and heart rending. Steinbeck ends the novel with hope which was a relief to me.

One para he wrote stayed with me and rings true even today - 

'Now, a slow, deliberate encirclement was moving on in the town and it was set in motion by honorable men. If it succeeded they would be thought not crooked but clever. And if a factor they had overlooked moved in, would that be immoral or dishonourable? I think that would depend on whether or not it was successful. To most of the world success is never bad. I remember now, when Hitler moved unchecked and triumphant, many honorable men sought and found virtues in him. And Mussolini made the trains run on time and Vichy collaborated for the good of France, and whatever else Salin was, he was strong. Strength and success, they are above morality, above criticism. It seems then that it is not what you  do, but how you do it, and what you call it. Is there a check in men, deep in them, that stops or punishes? There doesn't seem to be. The only punishment is for failure. In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught.'

How true it is even today. Its a human thing and will never go away.

Steinbeck is up there among my favorite authors. Now to read 'East of Eden'.          

Hyderabad by Walk - 10 Kms Around Hussain Sagar

What started as a casual 5 km walk with Vasu and Srikanth became a full circle of the Hussain Sagar lake, 10 km approx, something I had done once last year with Sunnie and Kiri and never did again despite my many plans to do so.  And it just happened like that making it ever more clear that the best things are those that are not planned.

 

The Police Station on Tank Bund - a structure from a pre-independence era

Wall art or whatever they call it

Rail Coach Restaurant - not sure if its working

Hopes of seeing the sun rise over the lake vanished quickly as a solid cloud cover kept the sun away which actually helped us through the 2 hour walk in a way. We parked at the restaurants on Necklace Road as usual and headed towards Sanjeevaiah Park (named after Damodaram Sanjiviah, an erstwhile Chief Minsiter of the state). There was some running event going on, so half the road was blocked. We trudged along on the other side - past the Lake Front Park, the Butterfly Park, the Spice Park, Thrill City, Sphoorthi Sthal, Sanjeevaiah Park and so on. It was nice to see so many people of all ages engaging in all sorts of physical activity - running, walking, cycling etc. One couple where the lady urged the husband who was slacking off to 'go, go' - and he had to go.

Gali Maisamma Temple

Saidanima Tomb

Beyond the Sanjeevaiah Park I noticed that there have been developments since my last walk. Ghats have been built for immersion of idols perhaps with a clear walking path alongside and its a quite welcome development because that stretch was a desolate and would naturally lend itself to some unsavory activities. 

Old structures inside the cemetery

Sailing Club's lonely tree and bench - cannot but click

We passed the Gali Maisamma temple to the left, passed where the Nest restaurant was (which in its time had some fine memories for me), until we got to Nani's. Now this Nani's is some kind of an open food court like place with tiffins, tea and stuff - very popular going by the number of cars and people inside. Twice before I went away intimidated by the crowds but this time we decided to have a go led by the intrepid Vasu. 

The M-47 Patton Tank, one of the 66 tanks captured in the 1971 war and presented to the citizens of the twin cities   

There was a dosa counter which seemed quite popular by the number of people in queue. We went to the chai bandi and got ourselves chai. What surprised me was the huge open air seating area behind, adjacent to the lake, filled with Sunday people. We sipped our chai in khullads and headed out. Past the HYDRAA office to the left, the shabby memorial commemorating 200 years of Secunderabad (1806-2006), the stunning Saidanima tomb, a very cute cafe called Star Cafe adjacent to the Sailing Annexe.

Iconic Fish Stall

On to the Tank Bund and we passed this fabulous Nizam era Police Station which definitely was pre-Independence in construction with those Shahjehani arches. To the left was Royal Fish Fry. Then some new statues to the right of Basaveswara, Swami Vivekananda, while the left has statues of many great personalities of the past, 33 I think, - I am ashamed to say I could not recognise many of them. The tank which was presented to the citizens of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad by Lt Gen WAG Pinto from the Bash on Regardless Bison Division (which was raised in the twin cities in 1966), the Rotary Park behind it which had an aquarium I think, have been there since the 70s. The park looked quite peaceful and I felt bad that very few have the sense of leisure to simply sit in the park. One old man was and I envied him.

Obviously not in use anymore but beautiful to see

The Police Station - can easily be made into a tourist spot if cleaned up

A fading board reveals that the man-made lake was dug in 1562 by Hussain Shah Wali during the reign of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. (Vasu noticed that 'reign' was misspelt as 'region') The pedestal on which there was this open page with a poem by Sarojini Naidu has been written over by many modern day artistes and budding poets and the original poem has now faded away along with the good intentions of whoever came up with it. Of course the practice of cutting birthday cakes and throwing it all around on the pavement still continues despite some kind of a warning by the authorities recently.

The stupa - Srikanth and Vasu in deep conversation

Steps going down into the waters

 Past the Buddhist stupa, sealed and locked. We peered over to see the steps that would go down into the lake and I remember during college times going down once and almost losing my footing on those uneven steps. For someone who can barely float, it was not a good idea I think. 

The Birla Madir atop the Naubat Pahad - a statue of Rajiv Gandhi in the foreground

The Boats Club looked like a very interesting place and there was an opening to the lake on one side which Vasu said was for boats to come into the club side. I would have never guessed. One wonders why this club with such a lovely location, beautiful building and lots of parking has not been able to match the Sailing Club even remotely. Remember going there once. 

Then there is an enclosure for G. Venkataswamy, another for Konda Laxman Bapuji, one for T Anjaiah (his name is smaller than the person who unveiled the statue Dr YSR and for a moment I wondered why YSR was looking different), one huge enclosure with a statue of a warrior which is surprisingly unnamed but which I later found was that of Sarvai Papanna, a Robin Hood of sorts. I somehow got this feeling that the lake has become a place of pride for all prominent people just like the Delhi place. With the statues on and around the lake its just too many now (43 I believe is the latest count) to have any real interest for the average citizen - we have Dr Ambedkar towering over the rest, Buddha in the middle of the lake, the many statues on Tank Bund either side, Rajeev Gandhi opposite the Secretariat, PV Narasimha Rao, Indira Gandhi near the Prasad's Multiplex roundabout, Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule nearby, and I am sure I missed a few. 

Pretty Picture - The Telangana Secretariat

We realised that the stainless steel structure with a flame on top, the Telangana Martyr's Memorial has an entrance that is rather hidden from the main road and walked into it by mistake thinking it to be a short cut. I realised that there is a huge place inside the Telangana Martyrs Memorial and maybe will visit it one day - its apparently the world's largest seamless stainless steel memorial. Lots of largest stuff on the lake - the Buddha statue is one of the world's tallest monilithic statues at 58 feet, the flag near Sanjiviah Park being the third largest Indian flag,  the second tallest Ambedkar statue in the world, the third tallest standing statue in India. There is some nice sitting area in front of the Martyrs Memorial where Vasu and Srikanth sat for a bit before we headed back. The Secretariat looked as imposing and nice as ever - it makes a great picture post card.

All's Quiet - Selfie time 

The B.R. Ambedkar Statue

On the Necklace Road I saw one very interesting sight - a group of 12-15 women bikers, their bikes parked on the road while one of the seniors spoke to them, perhaps their route map for the day. They were engaged in such serious talk that I gave up on the idea of asking them if I could take  a picture - would have been a rare one. 

The Buddha on Gibraltar Rock (wonder why its named Gibraltar Rock)

The NTR Gardens looked brilliant with huge lush green trees that overlooked the road and one wonders how beautiful the road would have been if they had not chopped off some 100 plus trees for the eFormula Racing. Those trees were such brilliant yellow and it would fill the heart to pass by one the road when they were in bloom. Past fully decked up girls who were shooting for reels with their faithful photographer boyfriends (now every girl needs one such guy who will take photos patiently), and one guy who hired two photographers while he posed in front of his car. As we turned the corner to our car, many dog owners who come on weekends to Necklace Road for the dog show were heading off with their dogs on the bikes and scooters.

The Telangana Martyrs Memorial 

Some more development in terms of seating area and playing areas for children to the right of that road. However I would like more see more seating area overlooking the lake all around - there are too few places to sit. Nothing gives people more peace than merely looking out at water bodies and if we give them enough place to just sit and watch over, people would be calmer and more at peace I feel. We ended the walk about 2 hours 15 minutes into it and figured we must put back all the calories we burned asap and headed to Purna Tiffins. 

Good job.