HyderaBAAT

A commentary on the Hyderabad Scenario on the occasion of Ganesh Nimmajan with Hyderabad on the threshold of an important decision.

Ganesh never had it so good.  To be in the news for the right as well as the wrong reasons.  To be or not to be was no longer the question.  The Kiranesian Dilemma cannot wait.  This is the time for action.

 The swank, newly built, GNR (Ganesh Nimmajan Rendezvous) underwater terminus at the Hussain Sagar..nay… Vinayak Sagar was all agog with excitement as the Nimmajan arrangements for 2013 began. 

Every year the Ganeshas from various parts of the city are immersed into the lake and as they enter the placid lake waters they have a dialogue with the venerable Buddha who stands tall, all wisdom & peace personified amidst the pandemonium. Further as the idols enter the HCIP – Hussain Sagar Catchment Area Improvement Project, (JICA aided) waters, they report on the situation of the city in the year gone-by to their predecessors underwater.

But the year 2013 was a momentous year on many counts.  The denizens of Hyderabad would not in recent times experienced such a Hyderabad. Last time around it was the “Dirty Picture” & a different “Kahani”. This year as the administrative machinery had come virtually to a standstill with Geography attempting to redefine History the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Committee changed tack and gave a new meaning to governance.  It thundered Ganesh Mandaps had only to inform & not wait for approval regarding installation etc.  Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai!! said over One lakh mandaps in the city !! as the City administration watched helplessly.

Amongst the first lot were those from Begum Bazar.  It was actually difficult to recognize the “Ilaichi ganesh”, “Kapda Ganesh”, “Masala Ganesh”, as their size had shrunk considerably.  Recession is truly in; they all nodded in unison, but what is this 7-8% annual growth!!!! Alas Ganeshas too like the “Aam Aadmi” do not understand the policies made for the Aam admi. The figures the economists profess do not seem to reflect on the health of Begum Bazar. They all agreed that you could still get a meal for Rs 22/- in the gullies of Begum Bazar.  Maybe Montek Singh et al had their surveys done in this part of the country. But with Petrol rates closing in on a century & the plummeting Rupee, Begum Bazar Ganesh had very little to be happy about.

In came the venerable Vegetable Ganesh.  In normal circumstances he brought tears to everyone’s eyes, but this time no tears…..you guessed right, no Onions. Vegetable Ganesh explained how Onions were being imported (actually after exporting what we had) and how the common citizens were getting used to an onion less diet.

The Cantonment Ganesh, usually on time, explained his delay on account of the poor road conditions and how year after year it was the same low lying areas, same roads and maybe same contractors who had perfected the art of taking the Ganeshas & citizens for a ride. Cantonment Ganesh was enraged by the civic apathy which snuffed out the life of a young girl near Marredpally due to bad roads. While GHMC and Roads & Buildings squabbled over jurisdictions, Ganesha opined it was time Hyderabad had responsible civic chiefs.

While on responsibility, the HMDA supported-Clay Ganeshas from RWAs (Resident Welfare Associations) explained that it took the High court, in the wake of a PIL (Personal Interest Litigation) to direct the Chief Secretary to convene a meeting on “How to reduce the Pollution in Hussain Sagar Lake On account Of Ganesh Immersion?” In a well attended meet the moot point remained unanswered that is it not the Industrial effluents that pollute (right under the APPCB nose at Sanathnagar) rather than the Ganesh? As the CS & other seats squirmed in their seats, Ganesh had scored yet again.  The Lord brought many departments, Community groups & NGOs together to bring focus to Hussainsagar. A new development this time around, the little Ganeshas in some areas were immersed in a decentralized manner rather than create more issues of traffic & lake pollution.

In trooped Telangana Ganesh, all & sundry took to him with not exactly religious fervour. He said “How can you do this? How many more Committees will you have? He expressed the hope that the Next Ganesh Utsav will be in Telangana.  Jai Bolo Telangana Ganesh Ki !!!

The Budhha was taken in by the new look laddu in Khairatabad Ganesha’s hand which symbolized a spirit of togetherness as it was prepared by a famous sweet shop from coastal Andhra. Will Hyderabad be a UT / Separate State / Joint Capital ?  The citizens wish Ganesha knew the answers.

The wise Buddha only said “Can we have another Bal Gangadhar Tilak to help us rid of the modern day manipulators?” Buddham saranam gacchami (I go to the Buddha for refuge)Dhammam saranam gacchami (I go to the Dhamma for refuge)

Sangham saranam gacchami (I go to the Sangha for refuge)

It’s official….. it’s the chilliest time in history of Hyderabad…..brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…Hyderabad is freezing at 8 degree Celsius, the lowest temperatures in many years.  In keeping with the chilling weather, the whole mood in Hyderabad also seems to be freezing.  There is a freeze on all government activity (that is surely not new !!!), freeze on all developmental activity.  The only things that are going up, up & away seem to be the inflation and prices of essential commodities.  This inversely  proportional trend is confounding all contemporary Economics professionals, of whom thanks to a liberal PM we have one too many.  When reports last came in the BPL rekha had also gone up from Rs 26/- a day to Rs 32/-. One should actually be consulting the politicians, as they seem to have the magic mantra of ensuring that their fortunes are always on the rise, irrespective of the state of the state . And you bet Switzerland sure is chilling.

 Just chill.  That seems to be the in thing.  KCR & TRS also seem to subscribe to the trend. Congress in any case is in the cold due to the Maya wave and has consigned Telangana to the deep freezer in Andhra Pradesh. With Telangana so cold heartedly put away to 2014, Hyderabad city can breathe a little easy while missing the impromptu mini vacations.    Advanis Yatra drew a cold response and cadre very easily attributed it to the winter. However they seem to be oblivious to the Modi-heat in Gujarat.

There is one agency that is sending a real Chill up the spines of many a bureaucrat, politico i.e, Chill….Central Bureau of Investigation. That is why all of them from Mine bureaucrats like Sri Lakshmi to Rajgopal to Politicos of Bellary fame are feeling the heat even though they are experiencing chilling experiences of another kind. They certainly warrant some warm feelings from their brothers in arms. We are told that the Jails are unfailingly cold & unforgiving.  

There was a time when Hyderabad never had a chill, no sweaters, no ceiling fans, it was always blessed with natural AC weather. But now chill is haute.  The pavement Nepali sellers have given way to many a “Winter Collection” ensembles. The page -3 regulars generally are a chilled out genre without relevance to the weather. The vagaries of the weather are for the Aam Aadmi.    

Talking of cold ….. the CM & PCC chief seem to revel in a cold vibe environment especially when they come back from an audience in Delhi.  The Telugu Desam does not seem to have an idea of the weather, they should follow Jr B’s advice and get some “Ideas”. The other parties have been knocked out “Cold” and are looking for warmer pastures.

To top it all guess the name of the film that won the best feature film made for children this year---CHILLar Party. Have fun “Just Chill”.

There is nothing romantic about this one.  But then to the 4.5 cr Telanagana, the tryst with independence will be a mixed feeling.  A feeling of being there and not done that.  September and Hyderabad have had explainable linkages.  If in 1948 the tryanny of the razakkara ended... its about time the Andhra's gave way.

The saddest part of the struggle of september of 2011 is that thousands of Telangana employees taking part in the 'Sakala Janula Samme" will go without salaries.  Not done.  Our hearts go out to them.  RTC employees, Secretariat employees, advocates, JACs, NGOs, Kodandarams, Vimalakkas, Gadars, KCRs, KTRs, Kavithas, Harish raos, Struggling for Telangana, taking to the streets and people like me sitting in the quiet comfort of our middle class homes, blogging.  Is there anything else I can do ??  Sincerely wish there was more I could do.  I am sure there are many more who believe in the cause of Telangana. Lets do what we can.

I earnestly request the State Government to pay the salaries of all the employees who have taken up the cause of Telangana.

Jal Vihar to Jantar Mantar

Maj Shiva Kiran

Jal Vihar on the Necklace road was the start point of therally organized supporting Anna Hazare in his quest for Jan Lok pal bill.  Even though the sms / facebook alert hadmentioned  7am as the start time, peoplewere trickling in as early as 645 am. They landed up in cars, scoters, bikes and a motley crowd of 100 odd hadgathered by 7 am.  Very few knew eachother and were trying to look for familiar faces. Thoughts were around Anna’sfast, Sonia Gandhi’s request for talks. A volunteer distributed a pmapletexplaining the Jan Lok Pal bill. It was a pleasant surprise to see the head ofHMTV walk in and join the group. Dr Mitra, was another known face. In T shirts,kurtas, jeans, running shoes, they were there in all ages.  Hyderabadhad come of  age.  No leader, no coordination.  The spirit of Anna Hazare had brought themtogether.

A few of them walked in with chart papers & pens. Thewriting work began spontaneously. “ Anna Hazare- V R with you”,  “V want Jan Lok Pal” were the favourites.Within no time charts were ready in different languages including English,Hindi, Telugu & Urdu. Digicams aplenty, the shutterbugs were at it.  The media had gathered by then.

News came in that another group had already started a  March from People’s Plaza side.  The Jal Vihar group started off to joinforces.  “Anna Hazare” we are with you,“We want Jan Lok Pal “ rent the air. Bandh karo, bandh karo, Bhrashtachar ko Bandh karo  rent the air. Most of them were new to this form of rallys.  It took some time for some coordinated slogansupport.  An enthusiastic lady came upwith “gali, gali mein shor hain, sare neta chor hain”.  Not all of them agreed on this showing thatmeaningful & responsible politics still has a chance. “V want Clean India”was agreed upon.

Most of the time the march was silent.  Silence, that was eloquent of the message ,Hyderabad Civil Society was sending out to the main movement in JantarMantar.  The frustrated / helplesscitizen has found an icon in Anna Saheb Hazare. Most of us may not understandthe implications of the Jan Lok Pal Bill, but the fact that a 72 year old isfasting to make it happen with support from Social activists like SwamiAgniwesh, Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal has got us all involved. A feeling thatsomething needs to be done to cleanse the system.  A beginning has been made yet again, anopportunity for Civil Society to take part & sustain. 

Are you joining the fast at Indira Park(Dharna Chowk) ? Else do it silently, in your homes, offices, shops.  This silence will be deafening to the ears ofthe powers that be.  The Jan Lok Pal willbring in the revolution the country’s looking for.  Let us all join in.