The place where I hail from has this laid back culture which affords a distinct quality of laziness, unseen or unheard of elsewhere. Yahan pe sab kuch chalta hai. Sab kuch dhere chalta hai. Sab ke paas chai peene ke liye samai hai. Tension kyon lete ho yaaron, main hoon naa. This is the quintessential nature of a Hyderabadi. Good natured, lazy, Tom Sawyer like attitude to life. No qualms about wasting hours over a cup of tea, in the company of friends :).
Well I may be a wee-bit idealizing here. I have some really great memories of this place. Of the times I have bunked classes in school, only to climb a hillock, lie down and watch the airplane's land and take off from the adjoining Begumpet airport. Jobless. Yes, that is Tom Sawyer for you. I remember the zillion occasions I have had pani-puri in the worst possible places knowing all too well the impending bout of fever and cold it was going to cause. I reminisce of those summer mornings when before the scorching Sun rose up high in the sky, a lineup of gully cricketers displayed their wares to the rest of the street. I think of those clashes with grouchy neighbours, ever complaining about our favorite pastimes being a nuisance to their serene existence.
I remember pedaling up and down the Begumpet flyover for years, on my cycle. I remember going late to school each day, and being made to stand in the line for laggards. I remember imagining my hardy competitors in school to be aliens bent upon not allowing me to do better than them in exams. Weird, yeah i know.
Whenever I think of the land South of the Vindhya's, I am reminded of the plateau of the Deccan.
Well I may be a wee-bit idealizing here. I have some really great memories of this place. Of the times I have bunked classes in school, only to climb a hillock, lie down and watch the airplane's land and take off from the adjoining Begumpet airport. Jobless. Yes, that is Tom Sawyer for you. I remember the zillion occasions I have had pani-puri in the worst possible places knowing all too well the impending bout of fever and cold it was going to cause. I reminisce of those summer mornings when before the scorching Sun rose up high in the sky, a lineup of gully cricketers displayed their wares to the rest of the street. I think of those clashes with grouchy neighbours, ever complaining about our favorite pastimes being a nuisance to their serene existence.
I remember pedaling up and down the Begumpet flyover for years, on my cycle. I remember going late to school each day, and being made to stand in the line for laggards. I remember imagining my hardy competitors in school to be aliens bent upon not allowing me to do better than them in exams. Weird, yeah i know.
Whenever I think of the land South of the Vindhya's, I am reminded of the plateau of the Deccan.
Nostalgia can be so amazing. And so can Hyderabad! The hyderabadi hindi, the food, the lame movies, over whose tickets people fight for, and other small things that make the city so strangely awesome. And I totally agree that if you are a Hyderabadi, you are born lazy! The best part is, we are all proud to be lazy;)
ReplyDeleteyea, it is one of those traits others will not understand :)
ReplyDeletedont think being proud to be lazy is a hyd trait.. i believe its indian.. coz tho i'v never even been to hyd, i fall under that catagory too!! :P
ReplyDeletenice read!
@ AV
ReplyDeleteif indian's are proud of being lazy, hyd ppl are proud of being lazy, lazy :P