The Hyderabad Zoo - One of the Best in Asia !!

Friday, September 19, 2008 Vishaal 3 Comments

Swathi and I visited Hyderabad last month to attend the wedding of a cousin. Swathi was travelling with me for the first time and was wide eyed , staring at all the things Hyderabad had to offer. Since I grew up in this city, I had a good idea about the effect it would have on any first time visitor. Hyderabad to me is the king of all tourist places in India, and , offers a wide range of activities to all kinds of tourists.

Since we were short of time, we did not get to spend much time touring the city, but I managed to take her around a few hotspots, including the Charminar, Golconda and the Hyderabad Zoo. This post will be about the Hyderabad zoo. There is much more than these places to visit in Hyderabad, and I have promised Swathi, another trip at a more leisurely pace.Hyderabad Zoo

The entrance to Hyderabad zoo (From: http://www.hyderabadzoo.org/)

My camera was not working, so could not get good pictures. But have managed a small collection of pictures to post here. The entry to the zoo is not as huge as the rest of the zoo. In fact one might be tempted to skip the visit. But once inside, you get a feeling of being in a vast forest, surrounded by all the beautiful animals. At the entrance, you are searched for plastic items , which are promptly confiscated or you can pay a 5 rupee deposit and collect the same when you return with plastic item. This is to prevent littering of the zoo campus. You have to pay a 20 rupee entrance fee if you are an Indian. People from outside India are asked to cough up 100 bucks. Camera and videography charges are extra.



Toy Train at Hyderabad Zoo


Well Swathi was all for a ride on the toy train inside the zoo. The toy train takes us around a small part of the zoo at a speed of about 20 kilometers per hour. You get to see a few animals, but otherwise is not so useful. Walking around the Zoo is a better way to see it. We took the toy train though and swathi had a great time, taking pictures and making a lot of noise.



Deer From The Train

The Nehru Zoological Park, that is the official name, has a huge collection of Deer. The Nehru Zoological Park, has bred some notable exotic and indigenous animals and birds, like the Indian Rhino, Asiatic Lion, Tiger, Panther, Gaur, Orangutan, Crocodile, Python etc., not to speak of number of Deer, Antelopes and Birds. Several animals bred in the Zoo were rehabilitated in various Deer Parks and Sanctuaries to restock the depleted natural population.

Will post again later.

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Punctured !!!

Friday, September 19, 2008 Vishaal 1 Comments

The roads in Manipal and Udupi are in such a bad state, that , it is very risky to travel on them. Add to that, the increasing traffic on this route and you are sure to witness an accident or two every day. Yesterday it was almost my turn. I had gone to the railway station at Indrali, and while returning with Swathi after booking the tickets, the rear tyre got a huge puncture. I almost skidded onto an oncoming truck. Luckily for me, the vehicle was coming at a slow pace (owing to the horrible, potholed roads) and I managed to drive us to safety.

I wonder does the District Collector require a huge office that's coming up near the End Point, when the same amount could be spent on repairing these roads to hell??

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Jodhaa Akbar and a broken door!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 Vishaal 0 Comments

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

10:08:55 AM

A New book shelf and a grand table arrived from Karkala yesterday afternoon. I was quite happy to receive the same and was overwhelmed by the grand book shelf my will be in-laws have sent. I never in my dreams contemplated that it would be so solid and good looking. Arranged my books and CD’s in the shelf last night.

Last evening was fun. Swathi and I went to watch the movie Jodhaa Akbar at Movie Dome. The movie hall is a tiny DVD theatre as is the only other one at Manipal called the Movie Galaxy. Mostly cheap pirated versions of the newly released movies are shown at Manipal. Occasionally though we do get to watch a good quality screening.

This screening was of quite good quality, though not as good as the original print, I suppose. The movie though was very slow paced and too lengthy for my liking. The actors were not that well recognized except for the lead pair and some of the cast from Lagaan. Ashutosh Gowarikar the producer has done a good job with the costumes, though the sets leave a lot to be done. Computer graphics are not yet up to the mark when compared to the Hollywood movies that are freely available in the market. The scenes between the lead characters are filmed very beautifully and are the only captivating moments of the film. The songs are beautifully rendered though occasionally they carry on forever and could have been cut short. And I do not see any reason why the Governments are banning the movie. There is no way this movie will incite any communal incidents. In fact this movie shows why the various communities do need to get together. On the whole I would rate this movie a 2 ½ stars out of 5. Mainly it is so due to the length as well as the weak star cast.

Well that’s about the movie. We then went to have dinner at one of the small eateries here at Manipal. This one, called, ‘Hot and spicy’ is located on the end point road and they promise 24 hour delivery service to the residents of Manipal. We did not order a delivery but decided to Dine in. The food here is quite good, and we enjoyed it. Swathi though had consumed a lot of Peanuts and had lost her appetite at the movie.

The Mushroom soup we ordered was just about right for my taste buds and Swathi liked it too (which is quite a miracle in itself as she doesn’t like anything other than Sweet corn soups). Since Swathi did not want to have a heavy dinner, I ordered Ghee rice and Paneer Tikka Masala. The quantity supplied was quite huge and we couldn’t eat all of it. Taste wise hmmm… Let’s see… It was average stuff. The rice was good, but the Paneer was not as good. The bill was quite reasonable and at the end, I think I could give it a few more visits. Since I am a veggie, can’t say any thing about the other items.

As we were leaving the restaurant, Swathi tugged at the glass door at the entrance and the door of glass broke into two, right in the centre. She was shocked and so was I. Apparently the guys had not installed a door stopper or the stuff installed at the top which automatically slows down the door from violent movement. Swathi was very much worried that we would have to foot the bill for the door. Before she could say something, I paid the bill and gently shepherded her out the main door. She started bawling that she had only gently tugged at the door; I couldn’t help but laugh all the way back to her hostel. She was saying that she was Jodhaa (as strong as her) after the movie and so She was stuck with that name the rest of the way back from dinner.

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