Rock On

Published in JETWINGS INTERNATIONAL FEB 2009
For the geologist, it is a mass of molten magma. For the real estate tycoon, it is the last boulder on the way to his next high-rise. But for the true Hyderabadi, the rock is part of his drawing room furniture. Alongside the couch and the beanbag sits a boulder with attitude. It is as much as citizen as him, with a name of its own. Obelisk, Toadstool, Cliff Rock and Bear’s Nose are not just rocks but landmarks as well. It is like him, ageing and roughening up life, but all the while standing tall - to narrate tales with twists.
The jetsetter sights the first rock a few minutes before the aircraft swoops down the tarmac at the Hyderabad airport. Aah, the humongous boulders that stand tall, short, fat, tubby, flat, angled, skewed, precarious… Those who alight the train at Begumpet in Hyderabad can pay homage to the Ganesha rock bang in the premise of the railway station. Don’t be surprised to see a few stray coins, shards of coconut shells and few damp flowers right there as you smell incense. The Ganesha rock, a sign of things to come, receives a puja from the locals everyday.
It is a rocky feast for those who vroom into the city via the NH-7 Mumbai National Highway. The 5-km stretch between Patancheru and Gachibowli is a rocky terrain dotted with rocks. One rock looks like a fat, sloth bear about to lie prone; one looks like a delectable hamburger looking for someone to fill it up with some lettuce; another looks like a intriguing Rubik’s cube waiting for the mystery to be cracked… … Like clouds, rocks allow free interpretations. If you missed the landscape of Hyderabad by touching the city in a midnight international flight, don’t be surprised to see a rock saying a ‘hello, there’ to you from the other side of the glass window from the CEO’s cabin on the fifth floor. The rocks of Hyderabad are like the unsung monuments of the city.
The twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad are on the Deccan Plateau are replete with primordial granite ridges that are as old as 2,500 million years. Hyderabad alone boasts of at least 45 zones with rocks that stand tall amidst the built environment. About 15 rocks sites in the city have been declared as heritage precincts by the government, the rocks continue to be quarried, wrenched, hauled, hammered, chipped and powdered.
The best way to go rock sighting in Hyderabad is to take a rock trail from Jubilee Hills to Kondapur and touch upon Gachibowli. Most of the rocks are pretty accessible from the city’s arterial roads and often take a short walk into the bushes. Interestingly, some of the best rocks are conveniently situated in the tourist spots such as Golconda Fort, Falaknuma Palace and Shilparamam crafts village and Hitech City.
If the Tortoise back rock that houses the Mahakali temple in Golconda looks like the handiwork of the Goddess herself what with the rock appearing like the bobbing head of a hesitant tortoise, the Hamburger Rock near Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli, reminds you of the seven stones game we played as children. One hit and it would all come tumbling down. Mushroom Rock Formation in the campus of Central University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, looks like nature’s own designer furniture that reminds us of the new age ergonomics. Rocks have spawned an array of addresses as well. Rockview Inn, Rock Castle, Hotel Rock On etc.
Even as Hyderabad’s rocky assets frequently fall prey to the real estate developers, some of these have been lucky enough to be the chosen ones by the INTACH and earmarked as Heritage Precincts. The rock garden at Shilpakalavedika at Madhapur and the rock garden at Durgam Cheruvu are both weekend spots that have managed to stay intact. However, it is rocks like the Toadstool on Road No 35 of the Jubilee Hills, adjacent to Blue Cross, that rise abruptly amidst sprawling bungalows and gleaming four wheelers that actually take your breath away. Almost like silent sentinels, these rocks have seen the city grow from rubble to what it is today.
True blue Hyderabadis, however, rarely visit these landmarks. They find their own little big rocky nooks in their zones. While those in East Hyderabad frequent the flat rocks that are as big as the Queen’s bed at Velugugutta adjacent to the International Cricket Stadium at Uppal to watch the city light up by twilight, those in Central Hyderabad near Marredpally would rather spend a few hours on a full moon night perched on the Addagutta, next to the Water Works office. Those in and around upmarket Banjara and Jubilee Hills are lucky enough to have a rock right in their backyard where the grandson probably slides through it during playtime.
As hoardings about ‘gated communities” announce the attack of the rapid real estate tsars in the city, rock lovers of the city can foresee more and more boulders getting pulverized to gravel. As more gleaming towers come up, more sturdy rocks will have to become rubble. For the quarry, the next rock could just be another thing off its To-Do list for the day, but for the Hyderabadi, it is another slice of history turning into a mass of debris. Different rocks, sorry strokes for different folks!
Must-visit rock sites in Hyderabad
Hillocks around Durgam Cheruvu lake situated between Jubilee Hills and Hitecity
Bear's Nose behind Cyber Tower, Hitech City
Mushroom Rock at Central University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli
Cliff Rock in Road No. 46, Jubilee Hills
Monster Rock in Road No. 71, Jubilee Hills
Tortoise Rock in Nandi Hills Colony, near Durgam Cheruvu
Toadstool in Road No. 35, Jubilee Hills
Obelisk in Road No. 66, Jubilee Hill
Skull Rock, HiTech City Phase II
Hamburger Rock, near Telecom Nagar, Gachibowli
United-We-Stand Rock Gachibowli
Pathar Dil Rock, Gachibowli
Reach the nearest landmark (mentioned beside the name of the rock) and enquire locally. Most of the time, the rocks are visible from a distance.
Interested in joining a movement for rocks? Call 040- 23552923 or visit www.saverocks.org
-ends

Adhurs movie review by Manju Latha Kalanidhi

NTR fans will love Adhurs. Those who do not, are adhur-wise. In short, if you love two hours of naach-gana, drama and hungama, Adhurs nicely fits the bill. If you are looking for sensible cinema that will intellectually edify your erudite soul and have you thinking, check out the others. Review on http://www.upperstall.com/films/2009/adurs

Namo Venktasa review - Jan 17, 2009

if you've missed Rab Ne Banadi Jodi's beginning and Jab We Met climax, Namo Venkatesa will be a good synthesis of the two. The only hitch: It is neither as heart-touching as the SRK-starrer nor as funny as Jab We Met.

For the review, click on http://www.upperstall.com/films/2010/namo-venkatesa

What say fella?

Go ahead and vent our anger at the multiplex mania in Hyderabad... Put in one line and you can win a prize... It is called Masti Maha Combo.. Buy a Pepsi, note down the batch number on the lid, now multiply it with two and add the chassis number of your vehicle. If it adds up to 4, you are lucky. You can win a free meal with me.. Seriously... Comments and names are necessary. PS: This is not a cheap gimmick to get some clicks.. A genuine concern for my reader and for the larger good of the world... Seriously

Drama In Real Life

Published in Big Hyderabad August 2009
Going for a movie in a multiplex? Be ready to go down half a kilometer at a 60 degree gradient at 25 kmph into a tunnel for eight minutes to reach the parking space. Of course, wait for your turn at the ‘automatic electronic mechanized smart sensor-activated hydraulic gate’, where 27 cars are already honking, asking you to make way.
Movie watching in Hyderabad is as tough as movie making. Both involve a lot of planning, co-ordination, logistics etc. Even a year ago, you could just decide after dinner to catch a movie. You call friends, folks, neighbor’s and even neighbor’s dog to watch a movie. Pile into a car, descend on the ticket counterwalah and then watch the movie. Simple.
Now, it is a four hour ordeal, almost like flying from one place to the other. First, you can’t just walk into a theatre like that. Either tickets are booked by some corporate for his employees, or have been booked by fans. If it is a good movie, the blackmarketeers have bought the tickets. Moral of the story: Plan in advance.
Now, you have to go down half a kilometer at a 60 degree gradient at 25 kmph speed into a tunnel for eight minutes to reach the parking space. There, by the time you await the ‘automatic electronic mechanized smart sensor-activated hydraulic gate’, about 27 cars are already honking, asking you to make way while the automatic electronic… thingy takes its own sweet time to give you the parking ticket. Now, you need to walk up 900 metres, wait for the lift for seven minutes, ride up six floors for four minutes to reach your multiplex floor. No, we haven’t gotten half-way through.
Now, you are the 12th person in the line for the security check. Sorry, now you are the 4th person in the women’s line. But wait, now you will be ushered into a dingy 1x1 feet make-shift room where the stern and indifferent woman will feel you up with her gloved hands. Thank God. I am a safe human being to the mall.
Now, you are the 12th person in the line for the security check. Sorry, now you are the 4th person in the women’s line. No, I am not repeating myself. The previous security check was for the mall. Now, you are undergoing a second round of scans for the multiplex. You are let in after being declared safe.
Finally, when you settle down to watch the movie, you will listen to ‘Too hi To Jannat Meri ring tones four times, Bommaalee two times and a tinny version of unreleased Josh title song one time. After the ringtones of the one sitting four seats to the right of you and the one in the second row ahead of you, the movie begins.
After the movie, the ride is no less thrilling. Two escalators, two lifts, four minutes of waiting for the lift; walking through the basement for seven minutes while hearing 80 cars honk at you for going slow and obstructing the traffic… Finally, when you do get on to the main road after that thrilling uphill drive while honking maniacally, the movie experience is over. This is what is called movie drama in real life!

Movie review of Anjaneyulu

The one liners are spicy and heady – like Martini shots. The wise just enjoy his dialogues and walk out. The ones who sit through and complain are otherwise. For more look up
http://www.upperstall.com/films/2009/anjaneyulu

Magadheera movie review

It was almost a pressure cooker like situation for Ramcharan. First, the title sounded deceptively like his Dad Chiranjeevi’s movie Magadheerudu. Next, they inserted a super duper hit song from the Megastar’s super hit movie remixed to check his dancing prowess. Then, they even got Dad in a cameo to add to the weight. But to his credit, Ramcharan breaks out of the steam and the weight to come out with a movie that deserves a whistle. Magadheera is a must watch and a mast watch! More at http://www.upperstall.com/films/2009/magadheera