Chowmahalla Palace

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat (4 Palaces), was a palace belonging to the Nizams of Hyderabad state. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Nizam. In Urdu, Chow means four and Mahalat (plural of Mahel) means palaces, hence the name Chowmahallat/four palaces. All ceremonial functions including the accession of the Nizams and receptions for the Governor-General were held at this palace. While Salabat Jung initiated its construction in 1750, it was completed by the period of Afzal ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V, the V Nizam ensured its completion between 1857 and 1869. It is believed to be modelled on Shah of Iran's palace in Tehran. The palace is unique for its style and elegance. Building of the palace began in the late 18th century and over the decades a synthesis of many architectural styles and influences emerged. This palace consists of two courtyards, southern courtyard and northern courtyard. They have elegant palaces, the grand Khilwat (the Durbar Hall), fountains and gardens. The palace originally covered 45 acres (180,000 m2), but only 14 acres (57,000 m2) remain today.

Chowmahalla Palace - I Spent a Week There One Day

Chowmahalla Palace - A Little MMA Action

Chowmahalla Palace - The Wrath of Seliah Khana and The Posse

Take a look at what I'm wearing, people. You think anybody wants a roundhouse kick to the face while I'm wearing these bad boys? Forget about it.

Chowmahalla Palace - Throne Room

Hey look, no man-purse this time.

Chowmahalla Palace - Courtyards

Next Stop Chowmahalla Palace

But first some more traffic and family vehicles. I just can't get enough of the traffic here or the multiple rider motorcycles.

Charminar "Mosque of the Four Minarets"

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charminar (Telugu: చార్ మినార్, Hindi: चार मीनार, Urdu: چار مینار,) meaning "Mosque of the Four Minarets" and "Four Towers" is the most famous mosque and monument in the city of Hyderabad, capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the 5th ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty built Charminar in 1591 shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what is now known as Hyderabad. He built this famous structure to commemorate the elimination of a plague epidemic from this city. He is said to have prayed for the end of a plague that was ravaging his city and vowed to build a masjid (Islamic mosque) at the very place where he was praying. In 1591 while laying the foundation of Charminar, Quli Qutb shah prayed: "Oh Allah, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity. Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fish in the water." Charminar was given to a contractor by the name of Sanamvenkata Balaya to construct it and today one can see the city as evidence of the prayer being answered. The Mosque became popularly known as Charminar because of its four (Persian/Hindi char = four) minarets (Minar (Arabic manara) = spire/tower).

The structure is made of granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. Initially the monument with its four arches was so proportionately planned that when the fort was opened one could catch a glimpse of the bustling Hyderabad city as these Charminar arches were facing the most active royal ancestral streets. There is also a legend of an underground tunnel connecting the palace at Golkonda to Charminar, possibly intended as an escape route for the Qutub Shahi rulers in case of a siege, though the exact location of the tunnel is unknown.

I thought the above background was very interesting. If you disagree, kindly get off my blog, you sick twisted freak!

Down the Spiral Staircase

This guy going to kick my @#% if I don't hustle!

Sweet Vistas From the Top of Chaminar

Mosque, Mosque, Mosque, Mosquito, High Court Building.

Charminar Files From the Huh? Department of Investigations ("HDI")

Here are my partners in crime. Jeff Williams (Phoenix) and Kunaal Patel (San Jose). While both of Kunaal's parents are Indian, he was born and raised in San Jose.

Entry fee to Charminar for me and Jeff Rs. 100

Entry fee for Kunaal Rs. 5

Want to take pictures, that will be another Rs. 25 each

HUH?

Why am I carrying a man-purse?

Seriously, who takes pictures this bad?

On the street this "locals only pricing" as Kunaal calls it continues . I call it B.S.

Fresh coconut milk for me - Rs. 35. Fresh coconut milk for Kunaal - Rs. 5. Huh?

Charminar Fountain

Here is a lovely fountain at the bottom of Charminar. According to our guide, the secret tunnel to the Golconda Fort is under this thing.

On second look, this fountain is HOSED!

I Unleash Sai on My Lost Luggage

After a few frustrating days without my luggage (and beef jerky), inspiration hits. I need a local to bird-dog this luggage situation and light a fire under those cub scouts at the airport. When I get back to the hotel at around 1:30 AM I ask the girl at the front desk if anyone here can help me chase down my lost luggage. "I can't even make a phone call here for crying out loud", I say. She introduces me to Sai.

I have no idea what Sai's title or job description is, but this guy scares me a little. He's not a big man, but I quickly get the impression that he's got a quick mind and quick hands. I'd say Sai is in his late 30s, 5'9" and 160lbs or so. He has an aura about him that makes me think he has spent that last 20 years in the special forces. This guy is dead serious about solving problems.

Sai escorts me to my room and takes detailed notes on my bags, airline, date of arrival, etc. He seems pleased, but not at all amused that I have pictures of my luggage on my iPhone. He adds a few more things to his notes and then demands that I give him the canary copy of my baggage claim form. I hesitated for a second, since this is my only copy, but I don't want any trouble with this guy so I hand it over.

Twenty-nine hours later, at 6:30 AM on Thursday, March 17th, Sai knocks on my door with both my bags. I thank him, hand him 500Rs, and pray that this is not insulting. For the first time he smiles, nodes and curtly says, "Thank you, sir" before walking away. I don't want to know what this guy did to get my bags.

I look for Sai as I come and go from the hotel, but have not seem him since. I'm sure he is busy "solving problems."

Cool, a Drinking Fountain for While You're Going to the Bathroom!

The first thing my daughter wanted to see in India was my bathroom in the Novotel Hotel. I thought some of my readers may also want a peak inside the throne room, but may be to embarrassed to ask. So here you go:

Shhh...listen. Do you smell something?

On Friday, March 18th, Deloitte let these clowns come into the compound to help us kick-off the Holi weekend celebrations. The food was very good. Plus cooking while sitting down, what a great concept.

However, cooking with no shoes on was a bit much for me to stomach. Especially when your feet are that close to my food. There one big reason I wouldn't walk barefoot anywhere in this city. Men pee wherever they want to. According to my driver, women are not allowed this convenience. Just yesterday on the way to work I saw a guy taking a leak not three feet from the "Do Not Urinate Here" sign!

Work is work, what can I say. The office here is like any other office in the world with the two key exceptions.

1. The widows shades are never open. So unless you go outside you never see the light of day. Zero natural light, which drives me nuts. Plus the fluorescent lights here seem to be exceedingly bright and harsh. I may start wearing sunglasses in the office.

2. At the start of the day the office smells like the high school wrestling room after an intense conditioning work out. It goes down hill from there as more people come in. "Don't worry Clegg, you won't die, you'll pass out first!" Inspired words from my high school wrestling coach.

I’m Officially Declared a Foreigner

I told you I haven't been allow to take a picture since 1996

My first real adventure in India starts like this:

Hello,

Please be informed that you will be required to visit the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office) at 02:00 PM on Thursday, March 17, 2011 for your foreigner’s registration process. You will need to carry your original passport to the FRRO office. Please expect to be there at the FRRO for about 3 hours, therefore, it is advisable to carry water, snacks and laptop/book to keep you company. It is recommended that you dress formally. Documents required to be carried during the FRRO registration in Hyderabad:

• One (1) Original valid signed Passport.

• Six (6) Indian Passport size photographs (identical, front view), (35mm x 45mm) • One (1) Copy of your Employment visa page. (in our possession)

• One (1) Original Accommodation Confirmation Letter from the Hotel. (issued by the Hotel on request – you may contact your HR to send the email to the hotel and have the hotel issue the Accommodation letter for you confirming the duration, room no: etc.)

• One (1) Copy of the Passport page with the India Entry Stamp.

Soujanya will meet you at the D Block lobby at 01:00 PM and accompany you to the FRRO. Soujanya can be reached on 9052443883 in case you need anything in the meanwhile.

The address of the FRRO office is: The FRRO Begumpet Old Airport (Domestic Terminal) Hyderabad - 500016 Landmark: Lane adjacent to Hotel Fortune Select Manohar Please let us know if you require any further information.

Swarna: Can you please arrange for 1 Innova and 1 accent to pick us up at 01:00 PM at the D Block on March 17, 2011.

Regards U.S. India Expatriate Support

Key Points from the Message Above:

· Wow – three hours and I thought the Utah DMV was bad.

· Six passport photos – what could the possibly need six of my photos for? I better not see any of these circulating around the internet.

· Swarna is heading up automobile logistics for this operation – this is the same person who gave me a pre-paid cell phone with no minutes…

· Check out the street address again. Something is missing here?

Like all good things at Deloitte we have a meeting before the meeting to make plans. At the pre-meeting, Soujanya (who looks a lot like Jasmine in the Disney Aladdin movie) discloses three additional key facts: 1. The FRRO is about 45 minutes away (this little field trip is now scheduled to take at least 4 ½ hours, if all goes well). 2. The FRRO has no A/C so bring plenty of water. 3. The FRRO has no sanitary bathrooms, so drink your water sparingly. Huh?

As scheduled, our team piles into one van and one car at 1:00 PM. I take the front seat in the van so I can document the action as we go. Driving here still feels like a ride in an amusement park, so the front seat is the best place for me to keep an eye on the action.

Here’s one of our no-nonsense guards. Don’t worry – he will get out of the way.

A little traffic here, notice we are merging onto a 6-lane road, not a traffic light in sight. The little flower pot on the dash will keep us safe.

No room on the road, just use the shoulder. No such thing as traffic lanes either. Yes – she really is riding side saddle on a motor cycle and holding onto her head scarf while going about 45 MPH!

I finally see my first traffic light with a sign at the right. The sign has some sage advice for the savvy driver: Don’t Jump Signal. On Red – Stop, Look & Go.

Who needs an SUV?

The waiting room at the FRRO is packed when we get there at 1:45 PM. In fact, there is shortage of white patio chairs (the same kind I have in my basement) and zero movement amongst the foreigners. We find our group is short one chair so I try to convince a coworker to pull the chair out from under a 45-year old Asian man whose rear-end is halfway to the seat. I haven’t seen a successful chair pull since the 7th grade and this seems like a perfect solution. Complete stranger tumbles to the ground, we all get a good laugh and the chair we need. Unfortunately cooler heads prevail.

Like I said before, Soujanya looks a lot like Jasmine and it doesn’t take long at the FRRO to figure out why she is the perfect person for this job. The FRRO agents appear to be exceptionally skilled in ignoring everyone, but Soujanya. She is quite pretty, very assertive and they can’t ignore her.

As soon as we are seated, Soujanya marches over to the head agent with all of our paper work, a big smile on her face and then just lays into this guy. Heads are bobbing, fingers are wagging in faces and the Hindi is flying out of Soujanya's mouth like an angry swarm of bees. Something tells me she is using language that would make a seasoned Indian sailor blush. After a couple of minutes of this, this guy has had enough. He sits down hard in his chair. Soujanya saunters over and in a soft kind voice asks three of us to join her at the agent’s desk for some questions.

The agent shuffles through the applications for a couple of minutes and then looks at Tom and says, “Th-o-mas (with a heavy emphasis on the "th" sound), what is salary?” Okay, kind of an awkward question to ask in front of a bunch of coworkers you just met, but Tom answers without hesitation. I’m glad he didn’t ask me that question. I can never remember, and the first thing that came to my mind was “not enough.” Lucky for me, this guys English stinks and he doesn’t ask any more questions before he approves our forms.

However, after being approved by one agent the forms then go to another and then another. Each time Soujanya stays with the paper work and berates the agents until we are asked to come up and sign again and again. Yep, I’m starting see why this is going to take 3 hours. After 2 ½ hours at the FRRO, I have had too much water and my morbid curiosity gets the best of me. I have to check out the “unsanitary bathrooms.”

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

I felt a little guilty as we walked out of the FRRO because many of the people who were there before us (including the 45-year Asian man), are still waiting around. Later, I learned that before Soujanya took over, this registration process would sometimes take two or three days.

The fruits of Soujanya’s harsh language

With these papers in hand I feel like I can get away with doing anything I want now. Get caught robbing a mobile coconut stand, no problem, I’ll just show the authorities my registration papers and say, “Hey I’m a foreigner, I don’t understand your strange Indian ways.” If that doesn’t work, it’s back to Steve Martin, “Well EXCUSE ME!”

On the drive home I see my first of many water buffalo-inspired traffic jams.