Dvi Dance Festival - DVI II

 When I saw the invite from Gangadhar to the dance event I was very impressed - the entry pass was priced at 499/- I instantly decided to attend the dance program because there is so much apprehension about pricing dance programs - and we would discuss it in the Arts Management class on pricing strategies, marketing strategies for dance programs. I had to go and buy tickets if nothing else to encourage the idea. (And take another friend along so we could buy more tickets!)

Pritam Das performing 'Marga' 

Dvi is a dance festival conceived and arranged by Sravya, who was Gangadhar's batchmate at the Masters in Performing Arts course, Department of Dance, University of Hyderabad where I taught the Arts Management course. I have been to another of Sravya's events a year or two ago, a workshop by a famous artist and I know Sravya does this job of organising and pricing events well. 

Gangadhar performing 'Lahari'

The second version of Dvi Dance Festival (Dvi II) was on March 2, 2025 at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium, Basheerbagh. I just about made it to the event, bought tickets and seated myself. The hall was pretty full which is a tribute to the marketing skills of the organiser. Sravya anchored the show very well, structured it well, kept it simple and kept the artistes and the audiences ahead. 

Two performers were on stage that evening - Pritam Das and Sai Venkata Gangadhar. 

Pritam and Gangadhar

Pritam Das is a Bharatanatyam exponent, an accomplished artist who has performed in various festivals such as Spirit of Youth Festival, HCL Concert Series, Mid Year Dance Festival etc. He is the recipient of awards such as Gutty Vasu Memorial Prize, MN Subramanian Memorial Prize among others. He trained under Smt Rama Vaidyanathan, is a Doordarshan Grade A artist and is empanelled in Spic Macay.

Sai Venkata Gangadhar trained for 16 years under his Guru Smt Sandhya Raju, performed in many dance festivals such as Nritya Pratibha Festival, Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, in stages across Italy for Diwali last year etc. He has a Masters in Performing Arts degree from the University of Hyderabad. He is much accomplished artist and as Sravya said, one of the most promising artists we have today. His journey is that much more incredible as he overcame a serious illness and came back to give such a robust and rousing performance full of strength, power and grace.   

To begin with, Pritam performed an item called 'Marga' which was about the path to the ultimate, the individual seeking the ultimate truth. Gangadhar then performed an item called 'Lahari' the waves of Kuchipudi, and then they both performed a stunning jugalbandi which deservedly received a standing ovation. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and am looking for many more such.

I met several of my students at the show - Siva, Seenaiah, Chetaniya, Radhika, Lakshmi, Anju and others. Meeting them was such a nice feeling. More importantly seeing the auditorium fill up with almost 200+ people was brilliant. 

Pritam, Sravya and Gangadhar

I am so happy for Sravya for creating these stages for artistes like her and Pritam and Gangadhar and pulling it off in style. Sravya herself is an accomplished Kuchipudi dancer who trained under Smt Sreelatha Prasad, a CCRT scholarship holder, gold medalist at NIFT, Hyderabad, where she studied design, winner of the Nataraja Ramakrishna gold medal at the Master in Performing Arts course and a double JRF scholarship holder among the many achievements of hers. 

I am thrilled to see artists like Sravya creating spaces which are bringing back audiences to watch classical dance and at the same time give artists stages to perform with the right audiences. Sravya managed to bring in a sponsor too and it is wonderful to see how corporate houses are also encouraging arts. Her event management skills are wonderful and she should take up more such events and market them - she is really good at this. Truth is that we do need more such who take it upon themselves to create these spaces instead of depending on others to provide. So big congratulations to you Sravya.     

Here's wishing Dvi Dance Festival many more wonderful programs to come in the future and wishing Sravya, her team, Pritam and Gangadhar all success in their future endeavours. One way to make me attend is to ticket it!   

Manzil - Movie

1979. Amitabh and Moushumi. Basu Chatterjee.

Made intermittently from 1972 to 79. Most popular for the song 'Rim Jhim gire saavan' especially the one shot in real rain with Amitabh and Moushumi, sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Interestingly it was loosely adapted from a 1965 Bengali movie Akash Kusum.

Ajay, a poor man wants to try his hand at business and becoming rich. He tries to project that he is a rich man to the girl he falls in love with and gets caught out. All ends well though. Cute film with a lot of Bombay in the 1970s. Irani cafes, buses, empty roads, stores etc.

Hyderabad by Walk - Raj Bhavan Road

 I waled down the road from the Errum Manzil palace and soon came upon the present Administrative Staff College of India which is a beautiful campus built in 1910 and named by its French Architect as Bella Vista (meaning beautiful sight..a term which can be used well). It was originally built on a 10 acre campus. It was constructed in 1905 by Muslehuddin Mohammed, the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Hyderabad State who passed away in 1914 to plague. In 1916 the family sold it to the Nizam of Hyderabad who bought it and thereafter it became the royal residence of his elder son Prince Azam Jah and his Turkish wife Durrusehvar, daughter of the last Caliph of Turkey. Azam Jah's younger brother Moazzam Jah married Princess Niloufer who was the daughter of the last Ottoman princess. The two Princesses were known for their philanthropic work and for encouraging women to come out and work and play sports etc. The palace was converted into the ASCI in 1956.

Raj Bhavan Road - pic does not do justice

The Bella Vista is beautiful inside and well maintained. I could not gain access thanks to the bull dog watchmen but I had been here to give an interview for the IIM 'B' which I thought went well until I saw the result. Another time I went to attend a talk by a British mountaineer who had climbed many peaks including the Everest. Bella Vista was modelled on something called Henley-on-Thames.

Some menhir like objects

More menhirs

Anyway I circled the ASCI and went walking up the Raj Bhavan road which is a scene out of some 1960s Hindi movie with its wide roads and the median with lovely Ashoka trees and well laid landscape on both sides of the road. Down the road I saw the College of Nursing which is a beautiful structure in itself and now a notified heritage structure (apparently our earlier CM KCR had plans to demolish this building also among the many others and build high rises) This structure was earlier the Hyderabad Civil Services House where it accommodated the top Civil servants of Hyderabad state during the time of the Nizam. In 1950 it was converted into the college of Nursing. My only connection with this was meeting one girl from Andaman who had come to meet Ali in our Engineering college days who studied here - and due to some circumstances it turned out into an evening of singing with both Ali and she singing pretty well and the rest of us applauding.

College of Nursing - now looks abandoned though in good maintenance

A beautiful courtyard

The building itself

Further down the road came Dilkusha Guest House which is also a notified heritage structure to protect it from governments bent on making use of real estate available to them. Before it became the state guest house, it was the official residence of the Prime Minister of Hyderabad state Sir Akbar Hydari.

The Dilkusha Guest House

Further down comes the Raj Bhavan which is the residence of the Governor of Telangana. It was constructed in 1936 apparently and was designed and constructed by Eric Marret and Zain Yar Jung on a 21,50 acre land. The land was acquired from Nawab Shazore Jung and Sayyad Akil Bilgrami and was initially occupied by the PM of the state Sir Akbar Hydari who later moved to Dilkusha. Subsequent PMs of the Nizam's state who lived in the Raj Bhavan were the Nawab of Chattari, Sir Mirza Ismarl, Mehdi Yar Jung and Mir Laik Ali. One building inside the Raj Bhavan called Shah Manzil is a pre-1914 building which is currently used as the Office of the Advisors to the Governor of Telangana. The one time I visited the Raj Bhavan was to launch the Indian version of 'Radical Forgiveness' and 'Radical Manifestation' published by Sailaja, by the Hon Governor of AP then, Shri ND Tiwari. I went there for a couple of visits and met a few stiff collars there.

I turned the corner and sat down at the bus stop and got myself a Uber auto and headed home. Long walk.      

Hyderabad by Walk - Durgam Cheruvu Lake

Now the Durgam Cheruvu lake has a path all around it and it is a pretty walk. You buy tickets for 10 bucks and off you go - its way less crowded and less elitist than the KBR Park. The waters are tranquil, you get to see birds, the suspension bridge, the buildings at the IT Parks and the Inorbit mall. 

Cable bridge from the entrance

The IT area

Sunrise and all things normal

As you go to the other side you pass the little mosque which had now become a big mosque just as the little temple has now become a big temple. On this side there are places to sit and watch the sunrise and do yoga (which a few people were doing), meditate or even play shuttle.

Old mosque

Cable bridge from the tree shade 

Sunrise

Despite all that its still very peaceful if you get there by 630ish. The walk one way was about 3 miles so we walked back to earn our breakfast.  

Hyderabad By Walk - Errum Manzil, Raj Bhavan Road

I got into my walking mode and when I reached Ameerpet decided to go on straight and not turn back as I normally do. Past Punjagutta and further on until I came to Red Rose. 

Hidden from view - can see the old palace behind the trees and the new offices behind it

That's when I got the thought that I should possibly get a glimpse of Irrum Manzil Palace which which later became the Chief Engineer's Office where my Dad worked in the late 1970s and retired from there. I got into the Metro station thinking I will get a good view from there but I could see nothing. I could see a watchman sitting at the entrance to the hill leading up to the palace and for a moment decided against engaging with him.Then something in my mind said - go ahead and try and let's see.

Long and winding road

First glimpse to the left - the heart leaps

View from the side

So I walked in and past the watchman who only looked at me and let me go in without a question. i could see the palace looming to my left as I climbed (they are also building some major temple there in front of the building). I climbed up and turned into the building area. I clearly remember seeing people playing cricket in nets in front of the building, dressed in whites. So when I went there and actually looked at the building I was amazed at the sheer size and scale of it.

As I turned towards the front of the palace

The size gets you - just too big to capture in one frame

From the front - those stairs

Nawab Safdar Jung Musheer-Ud-daula Fakhrul Mulk built this palace just as he built Irrum Numa (later to become the TB Hospital) much closer to my house and where his tomb lies. Built in Indo-European Baroque style with 150 rooms, furnished with Loiuse XVI furniture, a 9 hole golf course, stables, a dairy farm, the palace was built on a hillock to overlook the Hussain Sagar lake.

The left side of the palace

View from the left

The left most part - falling apart

In later years the palace was taken over by the government and used for keeping old records and then the Public Works Department and now the Chief Engineers offices. Dad worked there as the Chief Engineer, National Highways and I remember staying in the guest house behind the palace from where we would go down to Sabon Bakery which was unfortunately shut down in the 90s.

Left to right

A closer look

Right now the palace looks dilapidated, doors are open leading to musty staircases, no part of it is used in the front nor being restored, the place where they played cricket is a dump yard for old unused cars and vehicles. 

A temple

Zoom in to see what's written on the left hand side shed - seized and smuggled goods

I am thinking how wonderful it would be to lease this property out and restore it a bit - make it into a hotel, an outdoor seating place, a tourist attraction. i would happily pay 100 bucks or more to just get a guided tour. 

Old vehicles in front of the palace

A nice old jeep

I paid much more when I went to the Baroda Palace and I can easily see how this can be made into a nice tourist attraction with parks, eateries.

The backside of the palace - looks like it is being used as an office

And the new - the new Chief Engineer's office

Juts glad I decided to walk in and take a look.          

And a Voice to Sing With - Joan Baez

I found this book in Pune, and somehow found it interesting based on the cover and the blurb without really knowing how impressive Joan Baez's life had been. I had never heard her sing, so when i checked out her songs I was wondering at 'We shall overcome' which is the tune on which 'Hum Honge Kamyaab' seems based on. And so many more songs with powerful lyrics demanding justice, equality, peace and all things right. Joan put together 30 albums and was a super star in her own right and in many ways.

Born January 9, 1941 to a Scottish mother and a Mexican father who would be a scientist, Joan and her two sisters travelled around with their parents. She had a penchant for drawing, singing, learned to play the ukelele, fell in love easily (something she continued to do all her life). Impressed by Gandhi's non-violent approach to protest she became a life long advocate for non-violence, followed Martin Luther King and performed at the Civil Rights March on August 28, 1963 at 22. Normally barefoot, bohemian, a guitar strapped to her shoulder, Joan Baez wrote songs, joined protests left right and centre, fell in and out of love. She discovered Bob Dylan and promoted him, fell in love, and describes one moment as the time when she most felt love - a moment when she had a mom like feeling. Anyway Bob grew bigger and left her, treated her badly during a Europe trip and she left him. But both seem to have been the love of each others lives from what I gathered, never getting over each other. 

Joan married an activist David Harris and they had a child Gabriel (Gabe) to whom the book is dedicated and who completely stole he attention. In between all this she protested against the war in Vietnam, tourned Vietnam during the infamous Christmas bombing of Vietnam, composed and released an album 'Where are you my son?' with bits of dialogue and music and sound of bombs. Joan, as someone rightly said was Zelig-like,  being present on so many great events - she performed 14 songs at Woodstock, opened the show at Live Aid's American wing (where she flirted outrageously with Don Johnson and several others and was, along with The Who, Crosby Stills and Nash and Santana, the only survivor from Woodstock to perform at Live Aid), sang at the Civil Rights movement, was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, went to Poland to support Solidarity party. Joan is unapologetic about her choices and loves (including one girlfriend when she was 22 which seemed to have got her into some  trouble. Joan was a big one to seek help from therapy from a young age.

Overall, gutsy, spontaneous, living life with convictions and courage and love, Joan Baez is certainly someone who lived a life I envy.  They don't make people like that anymore and I am so glad I read the book. I listened to a few of her songs and loved them. I cannot help but think that spending five minutes listening to her and her life philosophies would be such a wonderful thing. (One nice thing about these old books is stuff we find in them - I found a passport pic of a smiling man with a mustache - wonder who he was and why his pic was in the book and what he is up to now).         

Hyderabad by Walk - Lake View Park

Bang opposite Prasad's is a small park which we pass every time we cross the Khairatabad flyover and it caught Sunnie's eye. He indicated that we must visit the park one day to check it out and the opportunity presented itself soon. Turns out that the all around Hussain Sagar lake there are so many parks - NTR Gardens, Lake View Park, Lake Front Park, Sanjiviah Park and so on. Apart from the open lawns and greenery that one can access freely.

Sunrise in the Lake View Park 

More sun rise - can see two girls on the bridge

This park is right next to the flyover and I do not remember it being there. It was probably made to prevent encroachment of government land through slums. One can see the dignity housing for the slum dwellers as one turns into the lane. To the right is the gate.

One of the bridges

Khairatabad flyover to the left

It's peaceful, small, well maintained. Walkers, joggers, laughers, cricketers, stretchers were occupying the place. Sunnie and I kept to the left and walked up and around the little pond. There were small bridges built across the pond in several areas. Most of the exercise oriented people stuck to the area near the entrance. The walkers and a few joggers went along the walking path.

The lake with Dr BR Ambedkar in the background

We crisscrossed the two- three bridges, talking about some intense topic. Two girls sat on the bridge discussing worldly affairs. A group of young kids jumped the wall and set up a cricket pitch in the middle of the walk way. When Sunnie asked why they jumped the wall when entry was free (till 8 am or so) they replied as boys do - this is shorter (and jumping walls is way more fun than coming in through the gate dude!)

We walked two or three times since it was a small park. Some old people sat and chatted. One sporty fellow was leading some stretching exercises to a bunch of assorted people. A small laughing club was laughing away. Some yoga practitioners were on their job.

Nice. So there's a park like this for every KBR park - happy!