Saturday, August 29, 2009
Kotha Pentaiah & Bodla Ramachandraiah Banaras & Gadwal Silk Palace.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Magnificent shopping scenario! During Ramzan.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Haleem Chacha!!!
The holy month of Ramzan commenced at Hyderabad on 23rd August
this year. This is one of the most auspicious months of the Islamic calendar, a
month of prayers and fasting.
Many cafés and restaurants in the twin cities of Hyderabad and
Secunderabad sell ‘Haleem’ – a very nutritious refreshment, in the evenings,
after the dawn to dusk fasting ends. Over the years, more and more people have
taken a liking to this delicacy. Today we can find a Haleem outlet in every
nook and corner of the city, with huge crowds flocking to the most popular
ones.
Haleem is a very soft porridge of chicken or mutton cooked with
wheat, lentils, onions, oil, ghee, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, curd,
mint leaves, pepper, cloves, lemons and coriander leaves. I first tasted it in
1974 at my brother’s Dental Clinic. Since then I have never missed having it many
times every Ramzan, by ordering it from the best of the outlets in the city.
In 1995 I learnt to make excellent Haleem at home with mutton or
chicken. Since then I prepare Haleem any time of the year to entertain family
and friends. The above photographs are of Haleem, which I prepared yesterday
morning with of course much assistance from my wife. I prepared this especially
for my brother’s family who left the city yesterday evening on a week’s
pilgrimage. We had Haleem for lunch and then we packed some for their journey.
We also served it to some guests who visited us in the evening and we had it once
again with our dinner. Everyone liked it and said that it is much better than
what is available commercially.
We normally have Haleem on the first day of Ramzan but this year
it was not possible as Vinayaka Chavithi festival was also observed on 23rd August.
And on this festival day, we do not have non-veg. food. The next day, 24th
August, my brother was leaving on pilgrimage and would not taste Haleem for a
week so I decided to prepare Haleem for their lunch at home and dinner during their
journey. When my brother’s sons were studying at AIIMS, New Delhi and I was
flying there frequently on official work I used to carry ‘Paradise-Biryani’ and
a few other eatables to them. Three times I prepared Haleem and took it to my
nephews and their friends, and their friends gave me a nickname: ‘Haleem
Chacha’, meaning Haleem-uncle!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Vinayaka Chavithi - 2009.
Koti Surya Samaprabha,
Nirvighnam Kuru mey Deva,
Sarva karyesshu sarvadha.
God who has a broken tusk,
God who shines like millions of Suns,
Remove all my problems,
From all that I do and at all times.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda – ancient Buddhist places of interest.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Unique rocky landscape of Hyderabad and environs.
As
you enter the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad by road or rail you
would not miss the breathtaking rock formations and rocky hillocks along the
way. You can see rocks of different shapes and sizes spread all over the
landscape and mostly doing balancing acts. Unfortunately, you would also see
large-scale quarrying that has already destroyed and continues to annihilate
this landscape forever.
These
rocks that can be found in and around Hyderabad and also in some neighbouring
districts are said to be 2.5 billion years old. These rocks are amongst the
oldest rocks in the world. And all the interesting and intricate shapes one
sees are a result of centuries of ageing. As the earth started forming about
4.6 billion years ago its upper crust began to have a variety of rocks by the
action of volcanism, metamorphism, weathering and sedimentation. The rocks
around Hyderabad are grey granite and the hardest rock formations in the world.
Barbara Cartland was so fascinated with these rock formations that she
mentioned them in her novel ‘Love on the Wind’ in 1982. She says that looking
at these formations she has a feeling that in ancient times Giants were playing
games here with rocks and have arranged them in these intricate heaps and
shapes.
The above collection of photographs is just a minuscule sampling of the rock formations in and around Hyderabad. These rocky hills and rocks are being mercilessly broken down to use them in the construction of buildings and sometimes to level ground. These rocks are lifeless but have lived for millions of years supporting the life… of fauna and flora that take shelter under them and their crevices, and by generating waterfalls, springs, streams, lakes and recharging groundwater. We cannot foresee the consequences of this destruction, the destruction of animals, trees, hills, rocks, water bodies and even air that we breathe. This is not wisdom. May the authorities give due attention to the remnant beautiful environment around us and protect it. Only strict laws can protect the environment.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Papikondalu Cruise on Independence Day - 2009!
Friday, August 14, 2009
To combat Swine flu – stay safe and protected.
The swine flu virus that entered India about three months ago has now spread into various parts of the country and has begun taking away some lives. It seems to be spreading very easily and very fast among the young and the old. The world Health Organization has raised an Alert of the highest level which is 6, to alert all nations and prevent further spread of this virus and stop this from blowing into an epidemic. Fortunately it is curable if detected and can also be prevented.
As I was about to write another ‘Personal photo blog’ today, I thought, I should instead write a beneficial blog on this virus. I felt that I should propagate the appeal of the Government and the Doctors to benefit the readers of my blogs. Almost everyone is scared of the virus now and might be aware of the precautions and treatment I am about to list, but another friendly caution will certainly help friends and relatives following my blogs and several others who reach my blogs through their ‘key search words’.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, recently issued the following advertisement in all leading newspapers of Hyderabad. I am reproducing only a part of the advertisement here.
“H1N1 FLU IS TREATABLE.
THE TREATMENT FOR H1N1 FLU IS AVAILABLE AT DESIGNATED HOSPITALS.
A person with H1N1 flu symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, running nose and difficulty in breathing, should go to a designated hospital for a check-up and testing. Only suspected cases with severe conditions will be admitted to the hospital. If the patient is detected with H1N1 flu, but shows mild symptoms, he/she would be given the option of being treated at home. The patient needs to provide complete details of all social and family contacts for preventive treatment.
Patients opting for home care will be given a detailed checklist of safety measures that needs to be strictly followed by the patient, the caretaker and the entire household to ensure that infection doesn’t spread to others in the family.
The advertisement designated the following hospitals in Hyderabad for treatment: AP Government and Chest Hospital-Erragadda, Kondapur Area Hospital-Kondapur, Vanastalipuram Area Hospital and King Koti General Hospital.”
While that is the information I wish to share from the Government advertisement, there is some more I picked up from general conversations:
Everyone should maintain personal Hygiene. Hands should be washed often. One should avoid touching eyes, mouth and nose. Tissue paper should be used when one coughs or sneezes.
One should avoid travelling and going to crowded places especially airports, railway stations, bus terminals, theatres etc. And if it becomes compulsory to travel or go to crowded places then one should use a doctor prescribed nose mask. One extremely cautious person said …. “To escape the virus and as a measure of cost reduction during these times of recession avoid travelling and resort to video conferencing and other Internet facilities to communicate.”
In conclusion, I quote Gautama Buddha: “Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
About today’s earthquake and the ones I remember well.
At about 1:25 A.M. (IST) today, few people who were awake along the coastal towns of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Machilipatnam and many other East coast towns up to Chennai experienced a mild tremor for about 3 seconds. Two earthquakes occurred around this time, one affecting South Asia and the other East Asia. The one that caused mild tremors in coastal Andhra had its epicenter in the Indian Ocean, 275 Kms. north of Port Blair at a depth of 33 Kms. Though the magnitude of the earthquake is 7.8 it has fortunately not caused any damage to the close by Andaman Islands, coastal Andhra which is over 1100 Kms. away or to many other surrounding countries. A tsunami watch was called for initially but within a short time this was negated.
As I got up in the morning all Telugu TV channels were filled with news of the earthquake. Even as scientists and Government officials were calming down agitated public since early morning, ruling out the possibility of a tsunami and higher intensity aftershocks the TV channels created a lot of confusion. TV channels interviewed agitated persons along the entire east coast who felt the mild tremor of 2~3 seconds and those along the seashore who thought the sea has receded or the sea has advanced and are seeing never before high waves and created enormous confusion. Once I went out of the house I found people normal and happy and least concerned with these false alarms and stories as no damage whatsoever has occurred anywhere due to this Indian Ocean earthquake – thank God.
In the past I witnessed three earthquakes in Hyderabad. I found the doors vibrating or a little tremor – a sort of mild shake and in one case a brief roaring sound but realized it is due to an earthquake only much later. Of these three the one that occurred on the night of 14th April 1969 was the most intense one. This earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred close to Parnashala near Bhadrachalam, which is about 375 Kms. by road from Secunderabad. First the power supply failed and almost simultaneously I heard a door vibrating for quite some time and thought that it was caused by our dog - Munna. But little later as people began to call and talk, I realized that it was an earthquake. However my parents and sister who were at Kothagudem just about 75 Kms. from the epicenter of the earthquake had witnessed a much higher impact. As lights went off and the intense tremors occurred my father realized that it is an earthquake and rushed everyone out of the house. At the same time there was heavy noise from hundreds of birds flying out of the trees in our house. Though this earthquake had caused damage to some houses in villages and towns around the epicenter it did not cause any harm to human or animal life. The other two earthquakes I felt were in 1982 and 1983. The 1982 earthquake of 3.2 magnitude had occurred at Gandipet in Hyderabad and the one of 1983 with a magnitude of 4.0 had occurred at Medchal, close to Hyderabad. Being of low intensity, mild tremors were felt but no damage was done to people or their properties. Latur-earthquake that occurred at about 4:00 A.M. on the night of 30th Sep. 1993 was experienced by many people in Hyderabad. Fast asleep I had no idea of this earthquake. Only in the morning I heard of this 6.3-high magnitude earthquake that killed over 7500 people and destroyed 30,000 houses in towns and villages situated around Latur which is just 230 Kms. from Hyderabad.
Hyderabad is classified as a Zone 2 seismic activity prone zone. This means that earthquakes up to 5.0 on the Richter scale can occur here. However the neighboring Bhadrachalam area is in Zone 3 where earth quakes of magnitude 5.7 may occur. Normally earthquakes of magnitude less than 6.0 are considered to be less dangerous and may mostly affect areas within about 20 Kms. As earthquakes are happening around the world all the time and the possibilities of it are there in Hyderabad all necessary precautions have to be taken. Especially the high rise buildings, the flyovers and the bridges have to be constructed to withstand such a calamity. And one day when our scientists are in a position to predict an earthquake well in advance; lives can be protected.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Entertainment at Hussain Sagar, is close at hand!
We’ve enjoyed watching over 100 K-Dramas!
Delighted by the experience, my wife and I have indulged in over 100 South Korean television dramas. Our journey began amidst the nationwi...