Love@Charminar

The City of Pearls? "How could people wear a stone, a something that came out naturally from the sea?" I thought to myself. The Pearl! What a celestial creation! I was excited about my trip to the city of pearls…nah, its not there down under Sea. It's pretty much on the surface and people call it Hyderabad! The Hussian Sagar Lake! First thought! The Salar Jung museum quickly took over Thought# 1 Oh yeah, Gautam Buddha statue….thought process re-routed to the lake, to Thought#1. Golconda Fort…hmmm…Thought#3….of course, how can I not think of Biriyani?!?! Thought#4. Biriyani@Thought#5. Biriyani@Thought#6. Scratch Scratch…ppssstt! Charminar! My Last thought….and I fell asleep.

I got up next morning and quickly rushed to have a city tour. I rented the first auto rickshaw that I sighted…and asked, "Charminar???" Huh? Why did I say Charminar? Perhaps because it was my last thought of yesterday? I should've probably blurted "The Lake". Never mind, now I didn't want to antagonise the driver. The drivers of auto-rickshaws across any metro in India possess some unique and not-so-much talked about power. Their power of control over your travel could surely limit your freedom and you'd rather want to be in his good books to have a safe and secured travel. Oh my god! The people we have to suck up to….! I did breathe fine, when my charioteer chose to drive by the lake, (It was almost like he read my thoughts about wanting to see the lake…I told you, they had powers!) and soon, it seemed to me that all I did for the last sometime was travel…over bumps and speed crackers…and over traffic signals and flyovers….

As we were wading through the never ending stream of vehicles – Vehicles!!! Oh my god. Their exists here a religion called "Driving" and has various sects namely Four Wheelers (With an obvious dent), Four Wheelers (With no dent), Three Wheelers (The Masters of the Game), Two

Wheelers (The Survivors) and the many many wheelers… I don't understand when and where people learn the tricks of the driving trade. It is purely divine intervention that almost all of the driving population gets back home in one piece. The vehicles take upon themselves the attitudes of the drivers….. What? A revelation! Are vehicles women? Hmmm…on the outset, you have to look glamorous, have a fantastic interior and eventually be carried away or hit upon, all the while depending on the driver and men are totally crazy about them! Yeah yeah…Confirmed. Vehicles are totally SHE!

After close to forty five minutes of wading through a variety of women (Did I say Women? I meant vehicles…), the charioteer..Ooops! The driver abruptly came to a halt and said, "Bole to madam, Charminar aa gaya!" As I got out of the rickshaw, my first view of the Charminar: the sun shone straight into my eyes! The silhouette of the tower was a striking beauty and the sun's

brightness engulfed all possible attention the tower could get. I was awestruck. It certainly was love at first sight.

The tall towers, the striking small sized arena, the vacuum inside, the depth, the inscriptions, the little windows…I don't know which particular feature over powered the other, but in totality – The Charminar was a beauty and I'll leave the gender aside. I saw the sun again, trying to blind my vision. I squinted to see the silhouette image again. The dome shaped towers; I looked at them one by one. I came to understand the vastness of the tower when I had a complete look from top to bottom. I felt peace. The same peace I experienced when I first visited Paris and saw the Eiffel Tower. Its gigantic composition overwhelmed me completely. It is a kind of a universal power I felt that the tower had. I felt humbled. I felt small. I felt really small. And I also felt that my individuality was succumbing to the greater Divinity and We were merged as One! It was Total Consciousness I was experiencing. It was a moment of bliss, a moment of satisfaction. I became oblivious to the surroundings and was totally smitten in peace. Honestly, I was experiencing the same feelings here. I did not stop to analyze the why and what of the situation. I just let go and enjoyed.

As I walked by the Charminar… its imposing beauty always within my purview….I felt I was floating. The numerous hawkers around selling bangles and bangles and more bangles……the small shop owners who were selling pickles, garlands, bags, clothing, religious paraphernalia and more bangles did not seem to distract my attention. That undivided attention that I was giving to the Charminar. What's more! I was mute to the noise the denizens, who outnumbered the hawkers in manifold made. I spent close to four hours walking around the Charminar experiencing all those wonderful ethereal feelings……..completely hypnotised, refusing to step down to reality.

The place is a must see, the feeling is a must experience…..I am thinking, may be I should even move over to Hyderabad. Oh my god! The side effects of love…..!