Who says water has no flavor? It tastes different in Chennai hotels, it tastes a lot different in every village in East and West Godavari districts. But for the Byrraju foundation(not-for-profit wing of Satyam computers). A foundation that “adopts” a village and provides drinking water in barrels for cheap, a physician and access to a school if necessary in every village they have adopted. Awesome work.
108 is our 911.
Their footprint can also be found in the “108 service” all across the city. Emergency Response service (ERS). The ambulance reads Medical.Police.Fire, with a display of Rajiv Gandhi’s picture and Satyam’s logo as a technology sponsor. I’ve seen a good number of 108 ambulances on my way to the heart of the city and out, with sirens blazing as they cut through the traffic as best as they can, and add a little chaos as they wade through and go about on their mission, handling emergencies. Right now only Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat can handle 108 calls. With the change in the government, some names have changed, e-seva is now Rajiv citizen services, I wonder if we deserve to honor Rajiv Gandhi so much, because there have been real national heroes who haven’t been honored enough. But as long as Congress is in the state, everything that hasn’t been named NTR will be named a version of Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi. Change.
Necklace road stinks. But enough of Hyderabad anyway.
Airdeccan flight from Hyderabad to Chennai is a little bigger than a Cessna aircraft, the airport is full of people and is not a luxury mode of transport, there are very few things that distinguish an airport from the Imlibun bus stand, the bright displays and more security personnel. Air Deccan passengers get their baggage screened only at the Air Deccan security screening, similar for Jet Airways. Funny, that airlines have their own baggage screening protocol, equipment and staff.
My stay at woodlands hotel was uneventful though upon reflection I figured out I had never stayed alone in a hotel before. Speaking of habits, I put my hands beneath the tap in the restroom expecting a sensor by default, the elevator doesn’t go bling when it arrives on your floor and you look like a fool, when you keep pressing the elevator call button wile it is still at the same floor an you don’t notice it beyond the grilled gates that are not automatic. Worse, you tell the cab driver on the phone you are at the elevator and he doesn’t understand you because, an elevator is actually called a lift, just like before.
People. I met a surgical oncologist on my flight to Chennai, and she offered me a ride in her chauffeur driven car just because I asked her where Hotel New Woodlands is located. Another guy travelling with my cousin paid a 200 rs for a train related bribe for me and wouldn’t take them back from me. Because I was alone in Bhimavaram, with none of my cousins around for a day, my Aunt’s neighbor paid a 40 rupee movie ticket, a 20 rupee soft drink, 10 rupee samosas from his money, and wouldn’t take it back. I’ll most probably never meet these people again and yet they spend money on me out of courtesy.
Draksharam is one of the holiest places in south India, a paltry 12 km away from my Dad’s native village. The temple itself is centuries old. The travel time is 25-30 minutes on an isolated road that is full of potholes. A car full of people travelling along the road and when you see a pothole, the car slows down, one half of the car stays on the road, while one half slowly enters the pothole, nudging the travellers and their potbellies a slight left here or a slight right there, while their bums are firmly on the car seat and they continue their conversation after a momentary silece as if paying homage to the pothole on the road. The next pothole is a few feet away.
The 14 feet sivalinga is the tallest I’ve ever seen, and there are two lvels in the templ, a priest acts as a guide and tells us a lot of things. Why is 108 important, apart from the emergency response service I mentioned earlier, there are 27 stars of importance (Nakshatra), each having four limbs that carry them. Four times 27 is 108, the priest tells me. At the end of the tour he requests that each of us pay 116 Rs/- for his services, I can’t figure out where this number came from, four times 27 is fine,but isn’t 116, four times 29? Did he include two more stars from somewhere? Some look towards the lone NRI in the group and I shell out the money, hoping it really goes out to the one who needs it.
Yanam, we go to a river side bar with cousins twice my age some of whom insist I’m a drunkard just trying to be polite, there are 4 tables full of Europeans who are possibly working for Reliance petroleum in the Godavari delta, we are the only ones on the fifth table - natives. Locals.
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