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 !