a trip to Srisailam

The drive through the forests of Nallamala Hills was breathtakingly beautiful.

The afternoon was mild and we decided to take a walk through these festive streets. The air was forest-fresh and the critters and creatures, so very serene.

I was most enchanted with the thatched huts which lined the steps to the Krishna river.

Each of them was so sweetly decorated with vivid colors and pretty motifs.

I remember visiting my Aunt’s house in Tenali, every summer. Though theirs was not a mud house; they had a small hut in the backyard for the cows to keep cool from the hot sun.

And through out the day, it used to be the hub of all our activities… be it, tending to the cows or making dung cakes for the fuel or simply running round and round while my grandma was busy cooking on an open stove.

At the time, most of our relatives and friends were still living in mud huts with thatched roofs and I spent many an evening sitting cross legged on the cool floors, playing with my cousins or reading a favorite story book.

Seeing these little huts brought back a rush of memories which are indescribably delightful…

…if ever I have a dream home, this would be It! ^_^

Hyderabad Flattened

Trip to India this time was unique in that I passed through three new airports - new terminals at Heathrow and Delhi and finally disembarked at the spanking new Hyderabad International Airport.
Surprisingly, these three new structures looked similar in design though not in scale.
I was very impressed with Hyderabad's new international airport and a 6 lane highway that connects the city. I was proud of this new addition to my beloved city.

However, I ended up little depressed by the time I reached home. The outer ring road was constructed after razing through several of the famed rock formations unique only to the Deccan plateau in India. More and more of these rock formations are being destroyed in the name of infrastructure and development. I wondered why cannot highways be built while preserving these at the same time? It is our constant demand for better infrastructure and better services that spurs this so called development. It looks like an inevitable thing to happen with more and more of us emigrating and pouring money in to Indian economy. At the end, I felt guilty.

~ Kalyan