Map In My Pocket

Tag: Photography Project

Gandipet Lake. Where is it?!

20 Kilometers off the city, on the outskirts, is the Osman Sagar Lake/Reservoir. Generally referred to as Gandipet, this lake used to be the preferred haunt of youngsters. Though I am not sure if it still is the place where kids sneak off to from their school or college, it sure has turned out to be a popular spot for those same kids who have now grown up to hold software jobs in this IT Hub that is Hyderabad.

Well it isn’t so much ‘outskirts’ either now, with its connectivity to Gachibowli-Hitech City and all the urbanisation that is happening in and around it.

But, this makes it one of the most popular destination for cycling enthusiasts in the city today.

& that leaves us with “Where is The Lake?”

We get there and we see nothing. Yes, nothing but the heavy fencing, barricades and cops. So I walk up to the fence for a closer look hoping to find something that I can photograph, document.

and??

Well, inspite of there being only a trace of the lake that once was, the walk leading up to it is so beautiful and tranquil, specially so on a rainy morning that, that in itself makes for a pleasant way to slow things down right here in the city.

So, a curious case of Afforestation and Urbanisation then?!

Discover other Lakes in Hyderabad:

The Lost Pump House: Fox Sagar
The Flamingo Story: Ameenpur
A Lake in Resort Land: Shamirpet

July 31, 2016
Bidar: The City of Whispering Tombs

Of the 61 listed Monuments of Bidar, 30 are tombs. Little wonder then that Bidar is known as The City of Whispering Tombs!

135 Kms from Hyderabad, just across the state border in Karnataka is Bidar. If you love visiting places of historic significance and can’t get enough of architecture, this is one road trip that you must make from the city.

The most prominent landmark of this city – which dates back to the third century BC – is the Bidar Fort. It was built by the first sultan of the Bahamani Dynasty, Ala Ud Din Bahaman Shah when he set up his capital and 4Kms from here is the final resting place of the Bahamani Sultans. No visit to Bidar is complete without a trip to these majestic structures located in Ashtur, The Bahamani Tombs. Some of them are in a state of disrepair today, but even these crumbling mausoleums stand a beautiful testament to the art of an era gone by.

En route to Ashtur just before you get to the Tombs, on to the left is yet another idyllic setting to rest for eternity, the expansive and peaceful resting place of Hazrat Khalil Ullah, a popular religious preceptor of the time. Known as the Chaukhandi, this octagonal structure is beautiful in its simplicity and clean lines.

July 15, 2016
Artisan Villages of Telangana: Nirmal
Second in the series, ‘Artisan Villages of Telangana’, comes the village of Nirmal in Adilabad district. A two hour drive from Hyderabad brings you to this town where all the village artists have got together to create a co-operative society, recognise themselves and setup a store to sustain this dying art form.

Practised by the Naqash artists of the 14^th century, The Nirmal Art Form is an ancient tradition that has today, translated into making of toys and paintings from the locally available variety of softwood, known as ‘Poniki Chekka’. Though slowly fading out with each passing generation of the artisans losing interest; it originally flourished in the area, as the then rulers were great patrons of this art.

Made from tender wood, put together with a mixture of saw dust in tamarind seed paste (chinta lappam) and finished with a coat of brilliant paint, typical also of the Nirmal Paintings, these handmade toys are very light.

Artists of both these Telangana villages, Nirmal and Cheriyal use the same indigenous raw material to create such varied art. While the Cheriyal Artists use the chinta lappam to sculpt their masks, these artists use it to glue on the limbs and wings to their animal and bird figures and as a base to smoothen and bring shape to the toy.

All the artists are registered with the village cooperative society and work within its framework. Every artist is given a single toy to make, which he makes in number and takes around 20 days to a month to complete and so does not have to adhere to a stringent daily work routine but can pace it out as long as he delivers on schedule.

You can tell a Nirmal Painting from its characteristic streaks of gold, always against a black background. & also, from the human form that is graceful in its expression and is eloquent in its influence of the Mughal Miniaturist Art and the Ajanta and Kangra styles of painting.

A Nirmal Painting of the Basara Gnana Saraswati Devi, the Hindu Goddess of Learning at Basara, an important pilgrimage destination in the district.

Explorers Guide

Getting There: Take the NH44 straight from Kompally. A smooth drive of 210 Kms should get you to Nirmal.
Remember: There are quite a few tollgates along the way, so make sure to account for a little extra while budgeting for this road trip.

Places of Interest: Add one or more of these to your itinerary to complete your day trip.
- Shamgarh Fort – Right at the entrance to the town, make a quick stop here for a view of the whole town from the ruins.
- Pochampadu Dam – Only 3 Kms off the highway, you don’t really need to make extra time for this one. Also known as the Sri Ramasagar Dam, probably owing to the popular Ram Mandir located here, not only is this one of the biggest dams in the area irrigating 5 districts of both Telangana and Andhra but it was also one of spots for the Godavari Pushkaralu last year.
- Kuntala & Pochera Falls -Roughly around 50 Kms further ahead of Nirmal, both of these are in the same direction. Kuntala Falls are touted to be the highest waterfalls in Telangana.
- Basara Sarawasti Devi Temple – If religious detours are more your style, this is a must visit. Every day, thousands of Children begin their intellectual journey here with the South Indian Hindu ceremony, Aksharaabhasyam. This rite marks the start of a child’s formal education.
Read Next: Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Uppada

Read More on Artisan Villages of India:

Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Sri Kalahasti
Artisan Villages of Andhra Pradesh: Karipakam
Artisan Villages of Telangana: Cheriyal
May 27, 2016
Into The Jungle: Tada Falls

Ubbalamadugu in Andhra Pradesh is a popular trekking and road trip destination from Chennai. Located in Tada, deep in the jungle of Satyavedu just north of the Sri City SEZ, these waterfalls are more commonly known as Tada Falls.

A short walk through the trail gets you to the Jungle Pools and this is a lush green shady oasis where the water from the falls travels downhill to form clear cool pools. Which also gives this place its name, derived from the the telugu words Ubbari Madugu meaning spring pool. A further trek of 10 kms through the hilly terrain brings you to the actual waterfalls. But this is where you should stop, for though the trek is quite scenic it isn’t really a great trek for girls and a definite no-no if you are not with a group.

In fact, halfway along the trail, once we a caught a glimpse of the distant falls, we turned back because of that unmistakable feeling of unease to go ahead, heightened only by the isolated feel of the place and the groups of youngsters looking to break free! Even the monkeys don’t venture too far out here and like to stick around in the spots where they are sure to find leftover chips and coke.

It is nevertheless a beautiful place, so depending on the size of the group you are travelling with and the time of the day, you could pace your exploration.

April 30, 2016
Ameenpur Lake: The Flamingo Story

Flamingoes, vibrantly hued and long-legged have always been popular in pop art and now with so many designers borrowing from art to add quirkiness to everything from accessories to home decor, you see these pink birds everywhere!

For all the beautiful colours of its plumage, these birds are not as popular in India as say a peacock, so they become “exotic” when found in India. After the disastrous trip this year to the Flamingo Festival at Pulicat, when I actually discovered them here, right in the city, you can imagine my joy. :)

& now I am more than excited and content about the photographs I got to click of them. Though I wager I might still go back to Ameenpur Lake to get better shots!

Not quite common knowledge, the Ameenpur Lake in Hyderabad is an expansive lake of over 100 acres, right in the backyard of one of the Industrial Areas in the city. Though more than half of it has dried up – the lake bed is chock full with shells, clearly once part of the lake itself – it still holds its ground as an important wetland area and a safe haven for migratory and local birds alike. This lake was recently adopted by the Telangana State Special Protection Force and the State Government is working towards declaring it a Heritage Biodiversity Park and has granted funds towards restoring it.

Explorers Guide

Getting There: It is just off the IDA Bollarum Road, between Miyapur & Bachupally. Use Google Maps to guide you there, besides on a weekend you can always follow the trail of vehicles heading in that direction once you are on that road.
Remember: Be there at the lake early in the morning. The locals say the flamingoes leave by around 10 in the morning and are back only in the evening. I am yet to go there later in the day though, so I am not too sure about this.

Read Next: Its a small, small world.

April 22, 2016
Poetry in Pink

Spread over a 1300 acre sprawling campus and peopled with elegant old buildings is the Osmania University in Hyderabad. The seventh oldest university in the country was brought into existence by the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918.

This beautifully green campus is so vast that its roads have long come to become regular thoroughfares in the city. So much so that, one does not even know just how many buildings are scattered around here and does not even spare more than a glance. That too when the names on the buildings get you thinking as to all the obscure possible disciplines of formal education and research available!

So it wasn’t till I actually stood under the Arts College Building one Sunday morning after I had decided to photograph it, did I realise just how smartly and tastefully this graceful old building has been designed.

Born from a farman (Royal Charter) by Nawab Osman Ali Khan, this university’s buildings were planned by Mr. Jasper, a Belgian architect, who was “found” by an expert panel of architects and engineers who had toured through Europe, America, Japan, Egypt and Turkey in the quest.

It is of little surprise then that the centre piece of this spread, the Arts College is but Poetry in Pink.

This Heritage Building of Pink Granite, which took 5 years to construct, was officially inaugurated in 1939.

Read Next: The Lost Pump House

April 16, 2016
The Age of Colonialism

This is my first post yet from the city where my parents grew up. :)

To me, Visakhapatnam has always only been a ‘colonial town’. So, when we were there for a day visiting my grandmother I did not want to let an opportunity go by, however small, of exploring, discovering and documenting at least a little of this beautiful, laid back city.

& as we strolled along the winding walkways of Waltair Club, I could almost picture an older, more settled me spending many a pleasant, relaxed evening here. (day dreaming!)

The fact that the club was the first to introduce electricity to Vizag, house it’s first dispensary and boast of the only telephone in town stands testimony to it’s ‘colonialism’.

Whatever it’s history may be, it still is a cool oasis of serenity in the hot and humid Vizag.

The colonial style bungalows, those grey stone walls, the clean meandering roads and the lush greenery of even the old old trees only add to the still and calm of this club established by the British way back in 1883.

March 27, 2016
Save The Sunday!

Sunday before last, I was in the Indian School of Business for their Digital Summit 2016. The “workshop” was barely more than a platform for the internet and social media giants to come and ‘perform’ their sales pitch!

So, in a bid to Save The Sunday, I walked around the campus looking to photograph anything that caught my eye. Luckily I loved photographing the wonderful symmetries, à la Jantar Mantar.

Bill wasn’t unkind or rude by nature, but now he struck. ‘I appreciate your kind invitation’, he said, ‘but I never go to the Yatch Club. I’ve never been inside it.’

Mr.Smithers looked alarmed. ‘Why not, Mr.Wainwright? Surely it’s a fine club.’

‘It isn’t that. Only you see I have a good many Indian friends – some of them very distinguished – and as you know, they are not allowed to enter the club. So I don’t go either… it seems to me rather odd considering that India is their country.

-Louis Bromfield, Night in Bombay, 1940

Atleast, they did not need a debate to decide if they were indeed an Indian Institution.

Read Next: Poetry in Pink

March 26, 2016
Shamirpet: A Lake in Resort Land

Popular amongst the lakes of Hyderabad is the Shamirpet Lake. It is expansive, beautiful, not too crowded and peaceful.

Small wonder then that the majority of the resorts in town are located here. There is a deer park too in the vicinity, making it the ideal weekend getaway.

Do not fancy the cacophony of a run of the mill resort? The tourism department’s Haritha Lake View Resort is a quiet and scenic option too.

Though the water in the lake once touched both the Deer Park & the Resort, with the monsoons doing a no show last year, most of the lake is now dried up. Nonetheless it still is picturesque enough to spend a pleasant evening.

March 8, 2016
Standing Still: Moazzam Jahi Market

Named after Moazzam Jah Bahadur, son of the seventh and last Nizam of Hyderabad, The Moazzam Jahi Market is built entirely in stone.

Modelled after the ‘Universal Stores’ of the West, construction of this popular landmark began in 1933 by the City Improvement Board, whose President was Prince Moazzam Jah. Besides being a centrally located traders centre, it was supposed to have housed the fruit market that sent fruit to the Nizam living in the Falaknuma Palace then.

On the completion of the market in 1935, a clock was installed on the Minar facing the main street crossing. Today, this Clock Tower is iconic in the Old City of Hyderabad.

The architecture of this triangular granite structure is striking in its antiquity. Which is what probably prompted Nikon to conduct a photowalk here, the first Sunday of February. It is also on the HMDA’s Heritage Buildings List.

With remarkable archways, spiral staircases, colourful doors, flocks of pigeons and a flurry of activity from the 100+ shopkeepers setting up shop and scattering grain for the birds to feed on, the courtyard is the most integral part of this building.

81 years and this market has stood still. Not much has changed but the generations of shopkeepers and the kids that stop to binge on the “famous” handmade fruit icecream.

March 5, 2016
Heart of Hyderabad: Old City

Now that I am working on the 52 Photowalks Project, I am constantly on the lookout for heritage walks and photo walks happening in the city. Seek Sherpa’s Galliyon Ke Raja was my first such.

It was great fun. Like walking around the Streets of Old City looking for subjects was not enough of an out-of-my-comfort-zone moment, there was this whole ‘Street Photography’ tag attached to it too! But, luckily for me, it was a great first. I even got to learn quite a bit on controlling the camera and understanding lenses better from the very helpful and nice ‘sherpa’ conducting the micro-tour (as they call it).

Now, no more words. I believe and hope that this time around, just the pictures are enough to tell a tale.

February 27, 2016
Golconda Fort: Through The Ages

The Golconda Fort is a testament to the history of Hyderabad and this region.

Originally a fort of the Kakatiyas, it went through the Bahamanis to the Qutub Shahi Kings, who made it their capital. From the earlier peacock and griffin carvings to the later fort walls with its numerous bastions and battlements bear evidence to this fact.

Anyone who has lived in Hyderabad long enough will tell you how important this confluence of Hindu and Muslim cultures has been in shaping not just the city but even its distinctive language! Hyderabadi as it is called (a mixture of Urdu & Hindi) even extends its influence to the local Telangana dialect of Telugu giving it it’s distinctive twist.

Built on a hillock 400 feet high, The Golconda Fort derives its name from the Telugu word ‘Golla Konda’ meaning Shepherd’s Hill. Legend has it that a shepherd found an idol here and the reigning Kakatiya King built a mud fort around it.

Surrounded by a deep moat, an outer wall and an inner double wall, this Fort was neigh impregnable. Made even more daunting by the cannons mounted on its 87 bastions, Golconda was the strongest amongst the forts of Deccan. It was Aurangazeb who finally managed to infringe the fort in 1687 and it is said that even this was made possible only because of a traitor on the inside.

Meandering up the hill, within these fortifications, is yet another stone wall made from the boulders already there. So, this once-unconquerable-now-in-ruins fort is still striking in its architecture.

But the truly remarkable samples of the ingenious design and planning that went into the construction of this fort remain the Persian wheel water Supply and the acoustic signalling mechanism.

Relying purely on gravity, water was collected from, stored and supplied at different levels of this massive citadel!

Every building and wall is positioned in a way that allows sound from the entryway to be carried up to the hilltop. Believed to be a communication mechanism for the guards, one can still experience this by clapping at the threshold and hearing the echo travel.

The third feat of engineering in Golconda that has stood the test of time are the archways built in a way to allow cool breeze to circulate through the various palaces and halls, a definite breather from the summer heat of Hyderabad.

Other interesting must-sees in this fort complex are the still intact Aslah Khana (3 storeyed armoury), Ramadas Bandikhana (where the legendary devotee of Lord Rama, Bhakta Ramadasu was jailed by the last ruler of Qutub Shahi Dynasty, Tana Shah for surreptitiously ‘borrowing’ money from the royal treasury to restore the Bhadrachalam Temple), Baradari (pavilion on the hilltop), Ibrahim Masjid, Mortuary Baths (in today’s context just beautiful archways built in Persian+Turkish style), Taramati Mosque, Nagina Bagh (once a thriving diamond trade centre as attested by none other than Marco Polo, today, a garden).

It is believed that even the Kohinoor was mined here!

Things To Do: Get a guide who will take you up the hillock and regale you along the way with intrigues of the court from an era gone by.

or

Watch the Light & Sound Show conducted by the State Department of Tourism, where every evening, the history and romance of this beautiful place is recreated through music and story telling.

or go early in the evening and do both. :)

Read Next: Standing Still: Moazzam Jahi Market

February 26, 2016
Of Sunny Days & Brisk Breezes

Hyderabad’s International Kite Festival found its way to a larger venue this year – away from the hustle and bustle of Necklace Road – the Aga Khan Academy near the airport.

Makara Sankranti is an important Indian Harvest Festival celebrated across the country. This day marks the return of the sun after the cold winter and is a harbinger of the coming harvest season for farmers.

Also known as Pongal in some states of the South, it gets its name from the dish that is made this day. Rice from the first harvest of the year is cooked in milk that has come to a ‘pongu’, meaning boil and sweetened with jaggery or sugar.

In Gujarat, where the biggest Kite Festival of the country takes place, it is Uttarayan. How ever many be the names that this festival is called by, the one common thread that weaves through it is the ‘flying of kites’.

India is of many religions and this is one of the celebrations that brings together, them all. For, it is believed that the custom of flying kites was brought to India by the Persian muslims!

Yes it does not make up for the nostalgia of that simple childhood joy. Of stringing up your kite with manja (thread coated with the tiniest shards of glass), running around with your spool on the terrace as you try to ‘cut’ as many kites as you can and then counting your loot at the end of it all.

But, this 2 day Kite Festival does bring to you an array of different kinds of kites from across the globe.

It is usually right after the sun rises and before the sun sets that one flies kites while it is still pleasant and the sun isn’t too sharp, but it is still breezy enough for the kites to take to the sky.

& with the setting sun, out goes the light and the International Kite Festival 2016 of Hyderabad draws to a close.

February 5, 2016
Go Flamingo, Go!

The Flamingo Festival in Andhra Pradesh is an annual affair by the State Government to increase awareness about the conservation of Flamingos, which make the Pulicat Lake their winter home. As far as I know, this 3 day festival has been happening since 2012, in January every year at the Pulicat & Nelapattu Bird Sanctuaries of Andhra Pradesh.

Only this year, there was not a Flamingo in sight.

The Pulicat Lake, which is the second largest salt-water lagoon in India, is the winter home to numerous Birds from Central Asia (of which Flamingos and Pelicans number the most). These birds come from as far as Siberia to as near as Ladakh, to mate and nest. Looking to escape the chill, they fly across continents, traversing thousands of miles of ocean.

Read: The Flamingo Story

and, what do they find when they finally reach here, their winter home?

Desolation.

Pulicat Lake, January 2015.

To get here you take the road to Sri Hari Kota, an Island off the coast of Bay of Bengal that houses the Satellite Launching Station of ISRO. This is a stretch of around 15km of road with the Pulicat Lake on either side, for as far as you can see.

When I had gone here last year, I had never seen anything like it before. The horizon was pink with flamingos and this ‘Road Through The Lake’ was like no other.

Sorry, no clear shots of the flamingos. :( This was all that I could get on my phone camera.

Pulicat Lake, NOW. January 2016.

Today the Pulicat Lake is totally choked up with sand, thanks to the roads being laid across it cutting off its water inflow from the ocean and making it unsustainable for marine life. 30,000 fishermen once depended on this lake for their livelihood.

Words fail me, as I try to describe the deliberate devastation brought to this place.

The experience of driving on that road-through the lake-to the Island, went from one end of the spectrum to the other, just like that!

No water, no marine life, no flamingos. NADA.

I have been writing this post in my head for 15 days now, but every time I add a photo or a word to the actual draft I can only feel that I am not able to do justice to the situation with my words or photographs. So here is a 15sec video from last year, which I hope paints a more accurate picture of the now no longer existent tranquil life of the Birds of Pulicat Lake.

One can only hope that measures are taken to reverse the damage and the Flamingos come back some day!

Read Next: Into The Jungle

January 27, 2016
The Lost Pump House

I was born in Hyderabad, and I have lived here most of my life. But, it wasn’t until a year ago, when a friend mentioned Fox Sagar Lake, did I even become aware of its existence. He hadn’t heard of it either, till his work for a magazine helped us discover this Lake.

& This lake is beautiful. Period.

Hyderabad is known for its Hussain Sagar and The Buddha Statue there. The Hussain Sagar has an iconic status that it shares with Charminar and now, Hitec City. But, in reality, it is an extremely polluted lake that stinks up the air! Inspite of this, being the only water body in an otherwise hot and crowded city, it draws in crowds by the hundreds and even thousands on holidays. I, like everyone else, have been drawn to it too.

On the other hand, is The Fox Sagar Lake. In the city, but wide, expansive and cheerful. You can still see buildings, but at a distance.

Though not so popular with the locals, it definitely is a hit with the birds! I wasn’t really expecting to see so many birds of such varied species. Truth be told, I did not even know what to expect. All we did was follow the route traced out on Google Maps!!

But, what adds to the charm of this Lake and makes it so special is the antiquated Pump House built on it.

Nearly 120 years old, the lake and pump house were apparently built by the Nizam of Hyderabad as part of his program for bringing in water to the city. There is even an 1897 inscribed on its dome! :D

You reach the pump house by a stretch of narrow elevated road, which is more of a dirt trail sloping off on either side with thorny shrubs as barricades. So, the only way to reach it is by foot or by a bike. When we had gone there do a recce of this place, we were driving as suggested by google maps and we were already on this road with no where else to go but ahead! Some careful manoeuvering did get us there, but I wouldn’t suggest this.

Walking is more fun anyway, for then you notice more.

The Pump House is a beautiful structure which also creates gorgeous, intricate shadow patterns with the sun’s rays. You would not be able to resist clicking pictures of it!

Waiting – literally – just around the corner is a view just as picturesque if not more. You can go around the ledge for a beautiful view of the lake and the breathtaking quality of it is enhanced not only by the absolute vertical drop from there, but the cool breeze blowing in your face.

Well, finding not just water but in a place that is relatively un-intruded upon by man, plus the bonus of a cool tranquil breeze is a very rare occurrence here, so, I am sorry if I go a little overboard with my adjectives!!

PS: This fellow here, gets a special mention for just being so cute! He led us to the lake after ascertaining the ‘goodness’ of each of us.

January 2, 2016