Thought for Food...

Hyderabad never fails to amaze me!

Just when I had planned on having Hyderabadi Biryani, my first after re-settling here, everything went haywire. Wait till you know why.

Happiness engulfed me this morning when we decided that I had cooked enough for the entire week and, it being Friday, I was indeed entitled a day off. So no more cooking for the day and Hail Hyderabadi Biryani!  Jubilant, I made it a point to go to the World Wide Web and announced it on where else but Facebook…Afterall I had to share my joy with my friends and loved ones following the saying ‘happiness increases when you share it…and blah and blah and blah…’

Quite a few reactions came to my status update. Some people expressed excitement over my good fortune, some were a tad bit jealous of my tryst with delicacy; some were even surprised as they couldn’t fathom the reason for the sudden shower of favor. And one in particular was worried about my much too frail tummy as she is very well acquainted with my laborious digestive system.

Well, riding on my enthusiasm I passed the day and then came evening, the time much awaited by my desperate palate. I was all set to go and claim my reward for being so patient (hardly so…) when suddenly there was a huge rumbling sound. Was it my stomach or was it really the blue umbrella overhead? To quell my fears I went to the balcony. Oh boy! My worst fear had come true. The blue umbrella wasn’t blue anymore, you’ll think that obviously it was black since it was after dusk, but it was white. The heavy downpour had covered everything around me making it look white. Had it been any other time I would have reveled in the snowy beauty but today it reminded me of a shroud as I could see my well laid plans breathing their last.

All this while I was juggling between mutton and chicken, the kind of Biryani I would have, but now mutton and chicken had surrendered to cats and dogs. Dismayed, defeated and resigned I came back to my room and started planning on what to cook for dinner, but not before I had sulked long enough. After much deliberation I zeroed in on rice and veggies boiled together since I didn’t have much choice or desire. Ready with my ingenious preparation I got a call from my darling husband saying that since it wasn’t raining anymore (yes it had stopped raining now but I was too overwhelmed with grief to notice) we should meet at the nearest food joint.

Since Biryani had eluded me so mercilessly I decided to switch my loyalties to the ever faithful pizza, which would have come to me at home, had I decided otherwise. Just when we unlocked our door after a treat of yummy pizza and yummier garlic bread, the sky erupted once again. Though I didn’t bother with the sky or its color anymore, yet it seemed as if amidst all the thunder and lightening the Hyderabadi sky was demanding a vote of thanks from me for giving me the much needed breather in the form of Pizza even if it tastes way different from Biryani. Thank you my dear Hyderabadi blue-black-white umbrella for the shower of…

Hyderabad Hues

“You have a severe case of tonsillitis”, said the doctor.
Never was I so relieved to hear these words. Since everyone around me suspected it to be H1N1, a mere ‘tonsillitis’ coming straight from the doctor’s mouth was like apricots dipped in honey, though it being lodged in my throat wasn’t quite appreciated.
My relationship with Hyderabad has always been quite a roller-coaster ride, just when the sickening feeling in the pit of the stomach subsides and I start enjoying it, it’s time to get off. My first visit to this city of ‘nizams’ was in way back in 2005, a time when Kondapur was full of rocks and unused land. I had come to the city for a final interview at Google and boy was I excited or what! Though I couldn’t make it through the final round, yet the city made it straight through my heart. We stayed at a guest house in Banjara Hills and that part of the city never fails to impress you. That overnight stay in Hyderabad left me wanting for more.
Years passed by and Hyderabad became a distant reality. Then came 2009 and Hyderabad pulled me once again. This time it was after clearing the final interview. My new job was that of a wife to the institution named Soumava Das Gupta. Though he isn’t as big a conglomerate as Google, yet he is an institution in himself. My second stint in the city was a little longer than my first one and lasted for six months. The stay began with chest congestion and running nose and ended with an upset stomach. Not that I didn’t enjoy in the meanwhile. The time without medicines was quite nice actually. Had a brief but enriching stint at Oakridge International School. Fell in love with  the Golconda Fort, Salar Jung Museum, Ramoji Film City, Nagarjuna Sagar and of course Eat Street.
Left Hyderabad for Kolkata Last August and while I was bidding farewell to the city, something within me said ‘Goodbye doesn’t mean forever’. Of course I chose not to listen as I was way too thrilled to go back ‘Home’, as called by the ‘Bongs’ here, where my evening snack wouldn’t be a slim choice between ‘vada’ and ‘mirchi bhaji’ anymore. Where I wouldn’t have to spend the first five minutes of every meal outside home picking out curry leaves. Little did I know that I would come to miss those small little specialties of Hyderabad so soon, not to mention the ‘Hyderabadi Biryani’ and the wide array of ‘kababs’.
Came May, 2011 and with all our bags packed we landed on the Hyderabadi turf hoping to keep them unpacked for much longer this time. As the cliché goes, history did repeat itself and I am here again in front of my laptop with a burning throat, blocked nose and an ever-present taste of strong medicines in my mouth. Yet there’s another thing which overrides all of the above, HOPE !