Being a tourist in my city...

Have you ever been a tourist in your own city? It’s another experience altogether. After many years of planning, my best friend happens to visit my city, Hyderabad. Oh, the plans, the dreams, the schemes, the imaginary itineraries, the salivating foods, what plans we made! The friend who visited me was my roommate in IIT. Stayed together without any trouble for two whole years. Though, initially allotted the same room without choice, we continued to stay together even when given a choice. We both loved reading, introverted, foodies and very perfect for each other. While everyone else (okay, most) around us fought over petty things, we were busy visiting bookstores and restaurants. So imagine my happiness when that day came, when she finally came to my place…

She is from Kerala, God’s own country. She was born and brought up in a beautiful place with backwaters and houseboats. She has a close relationship with nature. Now, how do I impress her showing around a place like Hyderabad with all its potholes and crowded streets? Imagine my distress at planning the perfect itinerary; where she’ll not miss the highlights of the city but doesn’t miss the essence of it either.

For someone who is born and brought up in cities, we fall in love with the memories we made, with the people we met, the nostalgic childhood… We tend to oversee the steadily still traffic, the numerous potholes, the dangling electric wires, and the garbage lying uncollected overflowing from the bins. Instead, we see the wistful memory evoked in the mind when we pass through a particular locale, which immediately brings a smile to the face. So, my biggest problem was, how do I make her see my city with my eyes?

I realised it is a herculean task that I was taking up, so I decided to be the tourist in my own city. See it for what it is, with all its faults and beauty. Maybe, she will eventually fall in love with it like I did. Because, even the moon has spots on it, but a full moon is one of the most beautiful things I have seen (I know, very movie song lyrics-y line). For three days, I donned the hat of a tourist and roamed all the famous places. I gave up sleep and travelled with water bottles in hand.

The first day started off a little late. After a heavy breakfast we went to the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. Now for a little trivia: the both of us have visited every zoo/national park in every city we have visited together. Be it Mumbai, Pune or Hyderabad. We love animals. We have even been on two safaris together, spotted many lions, tigers, leopards, white tigers, bears, elephants (a normal occurrence in Kerala), birds and what not. It was raining slightly; the weather was perfect for the animals too. The white peacock even spread its feathers in happiness. After a quick lunch we went to the Necklace road, my hangout long before I knew about Marine Drive. We went on an evening stroll, saw the sunset over the lake and went to the Buddha Statue by ferry. After a quick dinner at Alex’s kitchen (another hangout filled with lots of memories), we went home and fell asleep soundly almost immediately.

The next day was entirely dedicated to the Ramoji Film city. Holding the Guinness World record for biggest film city sprawling across 1633 acres, Ramoji film city is one of the most frequented destinations for tourists. Latest blockbuster movie garnering praises everywhere, Baahubali (the beginning and conclusion) was shot here for 600 days. Other movies such as Chennai Express, Dilwale, Singham, Sardar Gabbar Singh were also shot here. I even, re-enacted the scene from DDLJ where Raj extends his hand for Simran from the train. It was a fun but tiring day. We returned home finally after 14-15 hours. The twist was that I couldn’t rest yet, my childhood friend was getting married that night and I went to wish her a happy married life ahead.

The third day and the final day, we went to the iconic monuments in Hyderabad. What do you remember first when someone says Hyderabad? Charminar, right? Well, just not yet. We went to the Salar Jung museum, the largest one-man collection in the world. My dad also accompanied us; he was visiting the museum after 39 years!! We saw the magnificent clock, the veiled Rebecca, and the double statue, the most famous destinations in the museum. Guess what, we even had a replica of the Mona Lisa in the museum. It was a beautiful experience, the various artefacts carved with so many kinds of materials. There were separate rooms for walking sticks too! Imagine how wide the collection was! Loved it!! Some of them were so intricately designed more than a hundred years ago, makes you wonder how much technology they had access to. The museum held various collections including the paintings of Raja Ravi Verma, Swords and daggers of Aurangazeb, Shah Jahan, Jehangir, Chinese and Japanese artefacts, Quran texts, clocks… After such an enriching experience, we went finally to Charminar. Built in 1591 to commemorate the victory over the plague, it stands tall and grand in the middle of city. We climbed to the top of Charminar, and the view that awaited us was amazing. It was the month of Ramzan and the streets were filled with energy, colour, people, and life. People from all over the country, of all religions and regions alike, flocked to Charminar during Ramzan, for all night long bazaars and the food. I have heard only wonderful things from my non-vegetarian friends about the food choices available, Haleem, biryani, kebabs... We bought the world- renowned perfume, Ittar/Attar. And then went pearl shopping (For the uninformed, Hyderabad is also known as the City of Pearls.)

After a sumptuous dinner, we dropped her at the bus stop and returned home. I had an early flight the next morning. No later than a few hours later, I was on a flight back to Mumbai, to routine. I was a tourist everywhere else, but for the first time, I was a tourist in my own city. It was another experience altogether, seeing the city through an entirely different kaleidoscope of colours. Thanks to my dear friend, mon cher ami :) Thanks to her for being the perfect guest and to my parents for being the perfect hosts.