It’s been almost 2 months since I moved back home, oddly
enough I haven’t been able to get myself to call it home, haven’t been able to
reconcile with the glass and concrete monstrosities that have sprung up all
around. It feels nothing like the Hyderabad that I grew up in and know so well.
Even allowing for the fact, that I might be romanticising the
past and needlessly glorifying my memory of the city, the drastic
transformation that the city has undergone in the 6 years that I was away from
it, is far too much for me to handle and surprisingly it all went unnoticed on
my short visits home during this time.
I know it is naïve to hope that things don’t change or only
change the way you want it to, but I’m not amused by the change of character of
the city. I can deal with new structures in place of old landmarks, new roads,
new avenues but my grouse is neglecting or letting go of the local flavour, the
uniqueness a city has , something that sets it apart from every major city over
run with big retail chains and coffee shops. My local Irani café can never be
replaced by all the Starbucks of the world.
Ever since I got back home, it has been eating me up, I feel
alien in my own town. This coupled with the fact that most of my friends aren’t
in town anymore and the few that are, are busy with their jobs, spouses, kids
and their lives in general, has led to a festering disenchantment.
It has only been compounded by my uncertain work schedule(I’ve
spent more time out on the highways than I have spent on the city roads), the
heavy rainfall and general lethargy has meant that I haven’t been out as often
as I would like to.
Amongst all this is the Telangana issue which has now been
diluted and reduced to merely a question of safeguarding investments in
Hyderabad and the real estate market. As if the city means nothing more than
bags of money to the warring parties.
I’ve turned into a grumpy old fart.
All this until, I watched The Lunchbox a few days earlier.
Two lines from the movie have stayed with me.
First, Irfann’s character, Saajan Fernandes shares how he
treated himself to an auto-ride and finds that quite a lot has changed, his
school, his hangouts are no longer where they used to be, yet quite a lot hasn’t
changed.
I know it’s only a work of fiction, but if a character
nearing retirement can come to terms with change, then why am I being so
difficult?
The second line, from the same character is more universal; He says, “ Sometimes we
forget, when we have no one to talk to”.
So here I am, sharing my thoughts and my memories of the
city, expect a few more posts on the city in the days to come.
As soon as I was more open to the new Hyderabad, something
interesting happened. Bholakpur.
Bholakpur is a few a hundred meters from my place, it’s literally
across the road from my colony. I don’t recollect ever stepping in to that area
in my lifetime.
Bholkapur was home to a large tanning industry, to plastic
and scrap recycling industries. The stench from the tanneries was a good enough reason
for a kid to avoid going there and if I am not wrong there was a great fire when
I was about 6 or 7. The tanneries have long since been shut down, though it
still is home to a large recycling industry. Maybe it was the fear of the fire
or may be it was because I assumed it was a slum, but I never even looked in it’s
direction in all these years.
On a whim, I decided to take a walk through Bholakpur and I am glad that I did. I wish I had been
there much earlier.
Before you think I discovered a hidden gem, let me tell you
that I didn’t. Bholakpur is virtually a ghetto and has all the associated
problems. But let’s discuss that some other time. What intrigued me was the
subculture that exists there, brightly lit store fronts, shops that remain open
much later than other areas in the city, it even has a chor-bazaar, the ‘Bangladesh
market’. More importantly from a foodie
perspective, lot of restaurants, some eateries here even serve beef :D, I’m so
glad that I can practically walk down to a good meal and I don’t need to go to
a fancy place when I have a beef craving.
I realised that I may now have to redefine my relation with
the city, re-acquaint myself with it, look at it in a new light as one might an
old friend or an old flame even.
To my old friends, whenever you come down, lets adda maro,
do the chai, sutta, beer, biryani routine, revisit some of the places that we
grew up in.
To my new friends, my friends from out of town, do visit me,
let me show you around,give me another reason to walk around my city.
