Last year at this time, my family came to visit me in Hyderabad. Coincidentally one of my childhood friends stopped by Hyderabad on his solo trip.
Let’s call him DJ for this story. Although I called him a childhood friend, we never had a chance to talk when we used to go to same tution. Years later, we started talking on FaceBook and became good friends. So oneday he told me, “Hey Cookie, I am planning to go on a solo trip this year.” I don’t exactly remember what all places he visited but Hyderabad would be on his way between home and destination. I insisted him on coming to Hyderabad and bring some sweets from my hometown (I’ve got a sweet tooth 😅). His plan was to meet me after the trip. My schedule was pretty messed up as I didn’t take leave from office and everyday I had to come to the hotel from office to spend some time with my family.
When DJ informed me about his plan, there was no way I could deny him. He also asked me to accomapany him as he didn’t know anyone here. I took a day off and went to meet him. His plan was to visit Golkonda Fort, Qutb Shahi Tomb, Birla Temple, Charminar and some good restaurant.
It was a sunny day of temperature around 32-35 degree Celsius in Hyderabad. Our first destination was Golkonda Fort. It was probably my 4th or 5th visit to Golkonda. The main thing is you have to go to the top of the fort to get a beautiful view of the city. DJ has got a thing about photography. He wanted to have some good shots up there. I couldn’t go up as the heat was sickening. Rather I waited in shades, taking no stress to climb up 300 steps or more(that’s what they told) in the scorching heat. I spent the time watching some school kids who had come for a picnic. DJ might have liked it if I accompanied him to the top but he didn’t force me. Maybe it was selfish of me but I fall sick so easily that I have to be careful all the time. I hope that he understood my problem.
Our second destination was Qutb Shahi Tomb, it was near to Golkonda. It had a lot of trees inside and was not much crowded. As soon as we entered into the place, DJ was ready with his camera. He just running here and there clicking photos. I was walking around and seeing things just like a normal person. No I didn’t take any selfies there. I was hoping for a good photo but I was too shy to ask DJ for it. Finally when DJ was done with his work, he clicked a few photos of mine. I hardly have any photo taken from an actual camera!
Our next destination was Charminar. It was 5 p.m. already and I looked up on the internet- its closing time was 5:30. So we had to make some changes in plan.
After that we headed towards Birla Temple. We couldn’t get any photo as any kind of camera or phone wasn’t allowed inside. It was windy and pleasant. We saw the sunset, the distant view of Hussain Sagar, the Buddha statue, the snake-like streets, the evening sky looking like a dremy painting- everything was perfect about the time. We sat there and talked about life and relaxed. I don’t remember having a good time like this lately.
DJ had to buy something for his girlfriend and he wanted me to help him select those. We hired an auto to go to Charminar (the market). After hearing our conversation our auto-driver interrupted us and said, “Do you really wanna to Charminar? I think the price is too much there. You can go to this market down this road. Come here in the morning, they’ve got really good collections. Have my word and you won’t be disappointed.”
DJ and I were staring at each other, confused. “So… what do you say Cookie?”
” I don’t know. Whatever you want. Be sure that I don’t get late for home. ” My dad was going to think that I hang out with guys a lot which was far from the reality. This was the only time in my life that I went with one friend and spent half of the day outside.
“Ok, please take us to the nearby Paradise.” (People outside Hyderabad, consider this to have the best Hyderabadi Biriyani. According to me, it’s overrated. There are many other restaurants that are cheaper and have really good Biriyani in Hyderabad.)
“Bhaiya, you can go to this restaurant 10 minutes from here. This is even better than Paradise. Trust me.” he insisted.
At this moment, we weren’t sure if he was fooling us as we didn’t know the area very well. But we were not in the mood to ruin our dinner. “Shall we give it a try?” -DJ was so excited.
“Why not?”
We got down at the restaurant, Shahi Dastarkhwan, Lakdikapul. We had Biriyani and Patthar ka Gosht( that was the best mutton/goat preparation I’ve ever had).
DJ gave me the sweets he brought from home. We bade each other good bye and got on our Ubers. I was glad that my family wasn’t really dramatic about it. Plus they enjoyed the Biriyani I brought.
It was a good day indeed.
Here are some random pics of the day taken from my mobile camera.
