Two Trips and a Third in the Offing

Trip One .

After a long time I made two trips out of Hyderabad. One was an official trip which was short and the second trip was a personal one and longer. I made both trips in the previous week and felt better for having left Hyderabad for those few days. I hadn’t been out of Hyderabad for quite a while and was actually yearning to go somewhere. Unexpectedly I got a chance to go to Delhi even if it was for a day to attend a meeting on Monday.

On Sunday last I flew out to Delhi in the afternoon so I could spend some time with my brother’s family. Since it was a Sunday and having all the time in the world I decided to take the AeroExpress to the airport in Shamshabad instead of a cab. It was very hot and I couldn’t sit inside the Aero Express shelter near the Secretariat. The bus arrived on time and though it had AC that worked the large TV screen did not. Anyway, I reached the airport in about forty minutes at one third of the cost of a cab.

Every time I go to some place I seem to find changes, minor and major. At the RGI Airport in Shamshabad I noticed that there was a new bookstore- WH Smith Books. However I did not find anything worth buying there. I saw a Karachi Bakery store and picked up half a kilo of Osmania Biscuits for my brother. Later I checked in and to my dismay I got a middle seat sandwiched between two people. The guy at the window dozed off missing some terrific scenes outside of the fluffy white clouds and the sight of a lake and the river leading to it. From up above it appeared like a piece of golden jewellery in the rays of the setting sun. I wish I had my camera but the image stuck in my mind.

At Delhi I was at home all Sunday evening and Monday morning doing practically nothing except catching up on my reading. It wasn’t so hot at Delhi as it usually is in April. By some strange coincidence I seem to be making all my trips to Delhi either in April or November. I had been assigned this trip as a last minute replacement for one of my bosses who was a member of a Committee. I had no idea what to expect in the meeting in the afternoon with a senior IPS officer heading a para-military force. I needn’t have worried much because it was a formal meeting that did not last more than half hour. After the short meeting I went shopping in Sarojini Nagar market and picked up cotton shorts and tees in the hour and half that I spent there.

At the airport in Delhi I noticed that the bookstores that I had seen earlier in Terminal 1 have now closed down. When I landed on Sunday evening it was at the amazing and colossal Terminal 3 which was truly world class. Anyway, I noticed William Penn now have an outlet at the Delhi airport. I had my first glimpse of the famed Moleskines that I have only read about so far. They are far too expensive (from Rs 999 to Rs 1345) for a government babu like me to write in. I had a relatively uneventful flight but got a window seat this time. The brightly lit cities and towns from the plane looked like sparkling diamonds scattered in the darkness below. The vegetable biryani that I had ordered was not only expensive but awful tasting. I wished I hadn’t ordered it but I had no choice since I’d reach home late in the night. It was half past ten when I emerged out of the airport only to find it pleasant outside because of rain.

Trip Two.

A day after I returned from Delhi I went on my second and personal trip which was a pilgrimage of sorts. The second trip was to Tirupati on a package tour. IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) organises everything- the train tickets, food, darshan, local transportation which makes a visit to Tirupati free of all hassles. I had earlier been on a similar package and since it was very convenient I opted for the same package this time too. I went with my family on a two day package that included visits to Srikalahasti and Kaanipakam.

On the first day we were taken to Kaanipakam and while at Srinivasa Mangapuram I learnt something new. All along I had the impression that there was only one route up the Seven Hills from Alipiri if one wanted to go on foot. It is a 11 km climb and takes about four hours. But the guide accompanying us told us about a second route from Srivari Mettu which was only three kilometres and took only about two hours. I made a sudden decision to go up on this route and had to convince the family to agree.

We started at noon and soon discovered that it isn’t the right thing to go up the stairs wearing footwear. Everyone looked at our feet disapprovingly so we took our chappals off. This route isn’t very popular and I do not know the reason. The steps are very steep and though there was overhead cover there weren’t many people climbing up the steps. One has to rest every five or ten minutes because it is very exhausting to climb the steep steps. There are exactly 2400 steps to climb and at the 1200th step we got the Divyadarsanam token. At the 2150th step the cop stamped on this token. I expected to have darshan in about three or four hours and return down afterwards. But it did not go that way.

We reached Tirumala just before two in the afternoon. After lunch we learnt that it would take more than seven hours to have darshan. Since we would be anyway having a darshan the next day we came down to Tirumala where we were put up in the Srinivasam guesthouse. I got my head tonsured which gave me a new look. I had vowed I would climb up the steps and also get my head tonsured.

The next day morning we left at seven in the morning and reached Tirumala just before eight. We had darshan in just two hours which was a minor miracle. We had breakfast at the numerous stalls that dot Tirumala. Afterwards we came down and went to Srikalahasti in the hot sun. Later we had lunch at an APTDC hotel called Haritha at Srikalahasti. After a couple of hours rest we were taken to the railway station. In the train we were given our dinner packs and drinking water bottles. I was glad we had a smooth and uneventful trip.

Trip in the Offing: To Chennai

Next week I will be in Chennai to attend a training program at an institute somewhere at a place called Pallikarnai. I will be holed up in the institute till Friday and might check out Chennai on Saturday. So there will no post next week. Of course, this Friday I will post on the terrific book haul I had on Sunday.