With the boundaries of different muncipalities vanishing and giving way to a greater entity, Hyderabad has transformed into Greater Hyderabad, the second biggest city in India next to New Delhi. One region in this city which deserves maximum bit of attention and praise is none other than Kukatpally, the pride of Greater Hyderabad!! Kukatpally stretches from moosapet, sangeeth nagar, kukatpally village, sumitra nagar, balaji nagar, A.P.H.B, vivekananda nagar, bhagyanagar colony, satavahana nagar, HMT hills, jalavayu vihar, pragathi nagar, vasanth nagar, nizampet, jntu and K.P.H.B(Largest colony in Asia when built). Kukatpally was initially recognised as the educational hub of hyderabad with several schools(??) and junior colleges. The first and most famous school in kukatpally, Rao's school now has two branches (in kukatpally iself!!) with its own three storeyed building. (who wants a playground?? we go to school to study.. dont we??) The junior colleges are found everywhere with Sri Chaitanya junior kalasala claiming the maximum number of buildings, where the younger generation struggle (study I mean) to fulfill the dreams and ambitions of their parents, the dream of getting into IITs and major Engineering colleges and not forgetting the world famous(!?!?!) University and Engineering college in the very heart of this region, JNTU.. The big dreams it all starts in kukatpally!!

It was when kukatpally decided to open up to the world that the investors across the globe started diverting their attention to this region in the form of Reebok, Adidas, Tansihq, Sony and major showrooms like R.S. Brothers, Chandana Brothers, Kalamandir, Kalaniketan, Chermas and more in the pipeline bringing in people across the city, state(!!), country(!!!) to visit these shopping malls but the residents of kukatpally still prefer the well-established brands of our own region such as surya selections, pooja selections (the all-in-one showrooms with dress material ranging from inner wear to the lastest fashioned clothes for men, women, boys and gals). Entertainment wise, Kukatpally hosts a total of 9 cinema theatres and a multiplex in the making.. Kukatpally also attracts tourism with places like 'The Gateway of kukatpally' (similar to the Gateway of India in Delhi). Some(??) even consider this to be the 'Gateway of South India(!!!!!)' and the golden(like) statue of Thandra Papa Rayudu with his sword drawn out and the white fort (famously known in the region as the BJP office, though there isnt any office in the location!!). Every year during Vinayaka Chavithi, kukatpally hosts the most plump of the Ganesh's idols in hyderabad(!!) at the white fort (though khairatabad ganesh idol is claimed to be the tallest, Lord Ganesh is very well known for his plumpness than the height). Kukatpally also has a beautiful lake presently known as the IDPL Lake and soon to be renamed as Kukatpally Sagar (similar to Hussain sagar, why is Hussain sagar called a sagar???) where lots of Ganesh idols are immersed every year making it famous like the Hussain sagar.

Kukatpally is also famous for the sale of marbles and granites. It is rumoured that Shah Jahan imported marbles from kukatpally for making Taj Mahal(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). To share the fame and pride of kukatpally, Hi-Tech city connected itself in the form of a direct road to kukatpally and thus bringing in chunk of traffic and exorbitant land prices. The Highway that connects North and South India runs through the heart of kukatpally, the journey to states like Karnataka, Maharastra, Chattisgarh starts from kukatpally in the giant delux volvo buses. This region has the potential to rise and reach greater heights thereby making Greater Hyderabad gleam with pride!!

P.S: The second part of Trip to God's own country will be delayed as the author is awaiting some photographs of the trip which will arrive soon!!

Greetings!
Just when I was getting vexed with the lacklustre life I was living, the news of my cousin's marriage shone brightly down upon my monotonous life like the summer sun. It was all bright and sunny (though I dint feel the heat then!) and I was all excited as I was on for a trip to kerala, God's own country!! Kerala has always been a wonderful destination for vacations, with beautiful places, greenery all over, beaches and much more, but my visits to kerala was always limited to meeting my close, distant, direct, indirect, known, unknown and soon to be known relatives scattered all over the state. This time I have taken a firm decision to reserve two days of the ten days of my stay for an outing. With that decision in mind I landed in kerala the day before the marriage. I met the groom who was all excited and tensed with the scorching sun shining upon his bald head like a nimbus. Thinning hair, expanding tummies and risk of diabetes are some warning signs of getting married for most men.

The marriage was at a distant location and we had to go there in a private bus. The bus was racing through the very narrow and curvy roads, trees on both sides with overgrown branches that slaps you across your face reminding you of the admonition, "Do not peep out of the window". We also witness road blocks and diversions thanks to the strike happening at that place. A strike because the supreme court was not just to karnataka and karnatake was not just to tamil nadu and both in turn were unjust to kerala, so lets make the life of our own people miserable and show that we are not be sidelined. No wonder a four year engineering course takes fives years to complete in this state. Strike because there is no food, strike because there is no water, strike because.. well there is no strike!! The marriage was simple and quick followed by a delicious 'sadhya' (lunch) served on banana leaves. Now it was time for me to go to my father's hometown which was some 100kms away from this place.

A qualis was arranged for us to get there and I got into the front seat next to the driver all set for another ride. I was astonised to find that a total of 11 members were planning to take a ride along with me in the same vehicle. So I was accompained by two gentlemen in the front seat, who were much beyond the average human size with forearms that of popeye, bluto's pot belly and plump bottom. I was virtually the Olive Oyl in that state with long legs jam packed on either side of the gear box. My left knee was the DJ of the vehicle changing the song at every possible turn or bump on the road. My eyes were fixed on the road looking at every possible road sign. Every road sign had a story of its own. Some of them(green ones) were good to me as it showed.. "Trishur 53 km and then Trishur 51 km", some(yellow ones) were really bad as they read "Thrishur 51 km" and later would change their mind and say, "Thrishur 54 km (hahaha)". Some were even mocking at me "Have a pleasant trip!!" After a while the DJ couldnt take it anymore and put an end to the music. The driver stopped the vehicle and everyone felt that it was a matter of common sense (which unfortunately is not so common these days) that what we intend to do was not humanly possible. Two wise gentlemen then took an excellent initiative of commuting by bus and the rest reached the destination congested but contented.

After a day's stay at my father's place I found myself again in a super fast bus on the narrow roads, greenery everywhere, slapping trees and lovely gals (famously known as kerala kuttys) with long hair well oiled and plaited, sandalwood paste on their forehead. I reached my mom's place where I got a chance to visit the famous (rather infamous) elephant whose long cherished dream to make it to the newspapers was finally met, in a grand way. He is called 'Uma Maheshwaran' and he holds a distinct record for runing non-stop for 3 hours, where he preferred a straight path to the narrow curvy roads, trampling everything that came across his way. He loves to play with humans though he has his own distinct style of playing by swinging the person on his tusks and throwing him as far as he possibly can. I met most of my relatives where all that I do is put up a big broad smile....
Relative: "Deepu, you have changed.. You became fat!!"
Dee: Smile
Relative: " so what are you doing?? "
Dee: "working"
Relative: " Working!!! Where?? Saudi?? "
Dee: "hyderabad"
Most of the job seekers in kerala, with the highest literacy rate and the higest rate of unemployment move to the Arabian peninsula for jobs.
Finally I get some time for myself and then we plan a trip to Munnar......