The fortnight that was

My last week began in Mumbai, where I had some work in my ad agency which exposed me to how tough travelling in Mumbai could be. I was stuck for hours in traffic, which basically meant reaching home at a time too late to even interact with my parents or meet my nephew.

I finally headed out to Kolkata on the mid morning flight thanks to lack of flights. It was also the day my uncle (my mother's brother) expired. Holiday period meant that we barely got two tickets for my Sis, Mom and nephew to head out to Trivandrum. I then reached office to work on a pile of work which extended to night when my boss told me that I had to head out to Bangalore the next morning.

I'm really not the world's best traveller and I reached Bangalore on a hopping flight which had me reach in time for a meeting which kept me late. Bangalore has loads of friends so I met Pari and Chintu. Pari is incidentally getting married today. Something Chintu and I had planned to attend but could not thanks to our work schedules. It's times like this which make me really guilty.

Anyway I went back to my hotel early and tried to catch up on sleep. Reached Kol again and worked late into the night when I was told that I had to be in Hyderabad the next morning.
Hyderabad, the land of the Nizams was the location for an activity with Trisha, the south Indian superstar.

In my simple mind, courtesy all the Hindi movies I've watched, a superstar was one who throws a lot of tantrums, makes you wait for ages and in general would be a little dificult to handle. So I was pleasantly shocked to meet this very down to earth, super punctual lady who was most easy to work with.

I've heard about the crazy fans down south and got a chance to see it first hand. All the security we provided, seemed too less when faced with the quantum of die-hard fans. Lesser mortals would've been hassled but Trisha most gracefully handled all of this (guess she has loads of practice). It was with a very tired body and a happy mind that I hit my bed at the Kakatiya. Tired was an understatement. I delayed my flight to the night which meant I was accomodation less from afternoon for a night flight.

It was my driver's suggestion which had me at the Salar Jung museum, which I must say is a must visit place. Ok, the organisation is more topical than chronological which is what would appeal to me. But then there are some interesting sights like the two faced sculpture and this clock which is the most popular tourist attraction.

The one artefact which captured my imagination though was the veiled Rebecca. A sculpture by the Italian artist Benzoni depicts the biblical character Rebecca drawing a veil across her face. What meets your eye is a sculpture with a cloth veil on the entire body or so I thought. Closer observation shows you why this is one of the most beautiful sculptures ever made. The veil as the rest of the sculpture is made of stone. Each fold of the veil, each ripple of fabric is created out of marble and it immitates cloth. No picture can actually do justice to the beauty of the sculpture.

I then headed to the Charminar, which was close by. The Charminar is quite beautiful and a sight to behold. Climbing up and down these spiral stair cases I had a peek at life in old Hyderabad which seems a lot like Old Delhi, chaotic yet beautiful. Then I bought a Pearl set for mom and headed to the airport with 2 hours more to kill.

Hyderabad airport would be classified a tourist destination itself. It is the ideal place to kill time. But I really was not interested in walking any more. My KF flight had me watching the same movie 'Race' for the third day in a row. KF really could do better for frequent fliers. Their in - flight seems to have lost the edge.

Anyway a week in office ended with a friday meeting in Mumbai which had me home for the weekend. A Saturday night party would've been a topping on a hectic week when my body just gave way. Feeling distinctly sick, I decided to stay home and spent some quality time with dad watching Big Boss. Yes my parents watch it. Mom and sis are in Kerala with my nephew, so dad and I had a dinner of Smoking Joe's finest. The opportunity to intrude into the lives of the rich, famous and jobless was not appreciated but enjoyed none the less. Do these guys even know they are on national TV?

I woke up this morning. Posted what I had wanted to be a poem like no other and which ended up being another almost there piece of work. Now I am busy watching reruns of Seinfeld and generally recuperating. Monday will bring another morning flight, another day of work which will lead to a holiday tuesday. One I intend to spend asleep on a bed and not in a flight seat or a car seat.

Life's hectic, yet fun and I'm savouring each moment.

- Pranay