Back in Action

After all that I planned, my visit to the city of Nawabs (Hyderabad) remained short and not so sweet. To start with it was the 26- odd hour train journey. I did take an air- conditioned coach in the train but the crowd was way too much. I did catch up with Chetan Bhagat’s latest (more on that later) but I still would not say that the train journey was something I would cherish for the rest of my life.

Hyderabad was as dry, dusty and crowded as ever with vehicles plying all over the road throwing caution to the winds and not bothering much about the traffic rules. I felt good remaining indoors though I generally am a totally external person. I had a good time meeting up with Uncle and cousins and also spent time at my cousin’s newly constructed house! The purpose of the visit was to admit my sister in the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL). The college is within the Osmania University campus and has very recently been affiliated to the UGC as a University. Being a Central university, everything comes with a low price tag and hence, everything is taken for granted. While the talent of the teaching staff is unquestionable, what puzzled me throughout my day at the University was how “hopefully” was a distinctive part of their vocabulary. The answer to any query would begin with “hopefully” and end with it making it very clear how commitment- phobic and uncertain people at the University are. If you want to know the bureaucratic attitude of the country that is India this is one place that you should surely visit. That apart, it was a great campus and had a whole lot of inspiring teachers and students around. I wished desperately to go back to my student days and even thought for a few minutes whether I could give it all up and enroll myself for a course at the Univeristy! Thanks to my sister, this is one experience which I will cherish for a long period to come. The journey back home was nothing much to write home about either. The coach was not as crowded and also I could catch up with a very touching story that made me go emotional! (Keep reading to get more of that!). But by the time I landed in Kochi, I was down with a bad, bad cold that kinda lived with me for more than a week! The fact that I realized when I landed in Kochi was that I spent 52 hours in the train to be in Hyderabad for less than 48 hours. Grrrr… All I can say when I look back is that the trip to Hyderabad was short, not-so-sweet and uneventful!!