Somewhere in Space

I guess it was cute in the beginning. Quaint I suppose. And added flavour and colour to our yet to be developed streets.

“Amazing, how you have to make way for the cows” remarked the average American visitor. “Mein Herr, zhere waz a temple in zhe middle of zhe highway and we all had to go around it”, said the German Tourist.

City planners had a ball designing roads that went around these man made obstructions. And some of these small little bumps went on to become huge hills. Temples first built roofs, then walls, then expanded…and the dargahs did the same. The Government passed laws about cattle in the city but who paid heed anyway?

Before you knew it someone was praying at that spot. Someone else was paying floral tributes. And then came the paint job. Green perhaps…or maybe the orange and white stripes.

And these man made centre pieces became something we protect better and more aggressively than our heritage.

I believe that the time for cuteness is over. We need to get real. We need to do something about a society that doesn’t think twice before blasting a rock out of existence but fights like a Tiger if someone even suggests moving the Road Block.

How long will we hang on to our graveyards in the middle of town and prevent road widening. For heaven’s sake, can’t you see that we are now being seen as a country where people obstruct development whether they’re dead or alive?

I think it’s time we as a country grew up…came of age. Let’s stop fighting for our history books even as we are undoing history.

 

 

What happened to Dramanon Hyderabad tonight?

Was it the return of the prodigal that did it? Was it Rahul Premchander’s intense mane or Saurabh’s clean shaven innocence that did the trick?

Or was it Harika? The much mellowed, matured bottle of wine Vedula.

It was as if RK had spent the last couple of years getting Harika and himself ready for Rahul and Saurabh.

And the two, Rahul and Saurabh, back on stage after a sabbatical, were primed into excellence. And the effort showed.

Right from the Punjabi garnish in the ‘Rules is Rules’ play. To the virginality in ‘Seeing the Thing’.

Harika came disguised as a Bullet in her first playlet and then slipped into something blind for her next. The switch required reaching deep into oneself and Harika managed that effortlessly.

It was a delight to see an indulgent RK Shenoy holding his horses, allowing the others to shine…with just a cheeky clenching of the jaw once in a while to show them who’s boss.

Having seen earlier versions of these playlets I couldn’t help but compare. And I must confess that tonight was several notches above. I now look forward to the next month when Dramanon promises to bring forth more such delicious evenings.

Thanks to my Dad, I’ve been Road Tripping from birth and have driven through every state in the country except Kashmir. This habit of just getting into the car and driving off in some direction or the other is an inherited one, and one I think I’ve have passed on to my children.

For a few years though, my adventurous instincts have had to be curbed due to serious health issues. But now that I am recovering, thanks to God, and to many of my friends and family using their influence with him to give me a new lease of life, I’ve started taking to the road once again.

A few weeks back I managed a half trip to Hampii (with some significant help from my daughter). Yesterday, to celebrate my birthday, I decided that I was going to be attempting a small independent Road Trip.

I told my wife not to get into her usual picnic basket mode. I just wanted to fill in gas and drive off towards destinations unknown and eat off the street wherever and whenever possible…of course she didn’t take me seriously and smuggled in a few biscuits, some lime juice and 6 or 7 bottles of water…and we were off.

Lazy birthday breakfasts meant a late start and it was noon by the time we left. I wanted to head anywhere where the ORR could be part of my itinerary. I so love to speed on that stretch. But as I was reaching Madhapur, demands were made to be specific about what was on the cards. And where were we planning to lunch.

So I called a couple of friends and got a couple of suggestions. Ideas ranged from Nagpur to Yadgirigutta to Medchal, but then we froze on Vikarabad and Anantagiri Hills.

And then, as a result of sheer idiocy, we landed up on the service/slip roads of the ORR, but decided to ‘Bash on Regardless’. The 54 Infantry Div’s motto that I’d grown up admiring at the Secunderabad Club.

The drive was nice. Pee stops few. And I had the luxury of choosing ‘pee’kcheresque spots for answering nature’s not so frequent calls.

The landscape was a bit depressing at times, especially when we passed several scenes of mass tree cutting.

But then I guess that was inevitable. And we allowed the beautiful day to drive away morbid thoughts.

By this time we were discovering the benefits of Google Maps whose driving instructions meant we had to shut off the music. But that was alright…how else would we have known that there were places like ChayVela and WhyCarAbad?

A recent convert, I was so impressed with the accuracy of the maps that I wondered why they did not feature speed breakers on them…

By this time we were hungry and looked around for a dhaba kind of place. Unfortunately there were none and fortunately we saw a board pointing us to a Telangana Tourism place. But when we reached it, the place had been locked down.

Or so I thought.

The wife insisted that she check it out and of course found out that the lock on the door was a false flag operation. The restaurant was indeed open for business and served us a decent buffet.

And the parking lot was cute enough to allow us destination selfies.

And just before the car objected to being left out of the picture I managed to click one of hers

Lunched. And rested, we decided that some sight seeing was in order. (Okay, okay I resisted…but lost the argument 2:1).

Take a look at a small video clip and you’ll see that I refused to get down and walk around but I did enjoy the view.

https://youtu.be/57jGcHSt_7I

On our way back towards civilisation we stumbled onto a wide open space of just red earth. And I saw the opportunity to do some good old hee-haw kind of driving and kick up some serious dust. I do have a video clip you can watch but I must tell you that inside the car, it seemed we were going much faster. And behind us there was only a curtain of dust.

https://youtu.be/ZiKPq_QKs_0

The drive down from Anantagiri is a straight drop. Not as steep as the Darjeeling-Bagdogra stretch that I had done in a Maruti Van many years ago…but still good for a cheap thrill or two.

https://youtu.be/1LlginvfgZg

Lessons learnt from the drive…put a family into a car, and crazy conversations will happen.

A small paper cup of tea from a roadside vendor is enough to drench a whole dress.

What’sApp, G-Mail, Facebook and SMS notifications can be irritating, especially on a birthday when you are flooded with wishes and greetings. The sound I mean…not the sentiment.

If you’re coming home, cold and tired, there’s nothing as gracious as a Mother in Law who cooks you up a Vangi Bhath meal…

It was a fun day indeed.

Oh yes, another lesson taught by my friend Murphy. 3G, 4G, wi-fi signals always work when you don’t need them….couldn’t speak to my older daughter who’s in Australia for a visit.

No connectivity.

All else is fine.

Ok. Six hours or so of driving. Felt good. I can see that I’m far away from my Hyderabad-Bangalore-Hyderabad 18 hour nonstop driving days…just as I am far away from ‘can’t drive at all’ period.

Conversations without purpose. Laughter without reason. Love and Affection without respite.

Not a bad recipe at all.

Did I have fun? Absolutely. Loved every moment of it.

Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas claimed to have invented the hamburger. According to oral histories, in the 1880s he opened a lunch counter in Athens and served a 'burger' of fried ground beef patties with mustard and Bermuda onion between two slices of bread, with a pickle on the side.

I have no idea when the first Burger came to Hyderabad and who brought it there. I have no idea if the Vada Pav was inspired by the Burger…or was it the other way around. But my first memory of a Burger was deeply connected to Universal Bakery in Secunderabad.

Well, in all fairness, the Burger made an innocuous entry into my life when I was just a teenager. Why it did not appear before and why it did not delay its arrival I have no idea, and I must confess that I am more of a broadsword chronicler than a precise chronological one.

So let’s give Universal Bakery pride of place in the history of the Hyderabadi Burger…at least in my books.

Very soon after my Universal discovery, every bakery and its Uncle started serving Burger variants. And there were many. Some had more meat, some had less. Some featured ‘patties’ and some used a sliced or shredded meat. Some faked it with chips on the side. Some served the very real fries. But the shredded meat, mayonnaise and coleslaw OoozaBurger was definitely Universal’s contribution to the city of the Nizam.

Burgers and hot dogs were familiar menu choices for many years, but I think it would be honest to confess that Hyderabad per se, had no clue about what the real Burger was all about.

Some fancy restaurants began serving what they called Open Burgers, but even as a kid I realised that the best part of approaching a Burger was lost if you had to knife-fork it.

No. Burgers were meant to be hand eaten. Something had to drip out of a juicy burger. The lips had to be smeared with some sauce or the other. And the bun and meat combo had to be a filling snack.

Burgers you see, are typically Meals on the Go. And in a country where many of the next generation were conniving to go to the US, the Burgers soon became evidence of where you had gone and eaten.

You ordered a Burger (yeah so what if you still called it a Berjer) and the Cafe would serve you a concoction. Perhaps you knew that what you were eating did not  even remotely resemble the Texas Burger. But life was a simple song in those days. And you acted world traveller gourmet and chomped on sweet bread buns and picked meat pieces from your teeth with a matchstick.

In the meanwhile American Symbolism had become quite a religion. Levi’s Jeans with their Indigoed Denims. Big Macs and Cokes, the Red M and the Red C.

Sure there was the Chinese (or Japanese) invasion and noodle strings were drawn. But there was no direct conflict between the Chinkies and the Yanks. Strangely enough, we who were a part of the British Empire, did not quite get into the fish ‘n chips or a bangers ‘n mash kind of thing.

While we woke up soon enough to a Coke vs. Pepsi kind of standoff, the Thums Up brand was a local challenger and he street fought his way into the mindshare.

At this time something happened that renewed my faith in God. The Americans who went to town thinking that they were the victors in World War II, soon found competition in every sphere. And in an ironic twist, the Germans and Japanese who had surrendered to the Yanks in WWII brought the Americans to their knees on the highways. Mercs, BMWs, Audis, Porsches, Hondas, Toyotas, Hyundais and Kias soon displaced American Legends like Ford and Chevvy.

But in Hamburger land, the Americans remained unchallenged. And the Big Mac became a symbol of Americanness. Undisputed.

But wait…MacDonald’s who began to get complacent with their Maharajah Status suddenly walked into the Burger King.

Admittedly this confrontation was slow and thinly spread simply because the Big M had proliferated around the world and got what is known as the early mover advantage.

But that was in the past. Burger King has now arrived on Indian shores. And the Big Whopper is all set to give Big Mac a run for the juice.

Having had the good fortune of trying and falling in love with the Burger King servings abroad, and having tried Hungry Jack’s their Australian franchise, I was elated when I heard that BK was opening up in Hyderabad.

So when invited for a preview at the BK outlet at Forum Sujana Mall, I went there with pleasure. I am normally a bit choosy about how far I am ready to travel for a meal, so this Kukatpally trip was a bit of an adventure…but so worth it.

What strikes you first is the fact that the burgers here look like they’ve been cooked just now and just for you. There’s a freshness in the veggies and the meat is a succulent piece. And the way they’ve indianised their offering is amazing.

Imagine. The fries could be had with a mustard topping…or even a Minced Meat (Kheema) topping. Just a portion of these turbo charged Fries was good enough to satiate.

Of all the standard burgers I tried, I liked the Kheema Burger which mixed up the crunchy and juicy feels to deliciousness.

The Burger King Whopper is legendary. And you can get it made to order. I tried both Mutton and Chicken. Mutton gave me the 100% Burger Eating feel. The chicken left me disappointed. But the insides…from the lettuce to the mayo to the tomatoes and onions…and the sesame seed buns…were all chompions. And no, that is not a spelling mistake.

They have a variety of sodas and shakes. The Mango Tango is recommendable. And if you have a sweet tooth, asked for 180…the ice cream in a cup that refuses to fall out of an upside down cup…it’s so thick.

By December they tell me there are going to be four Burger King outlets. I know they’re opening up in GVK One..and I am looking forward to that.