Thursday 14th February -Mince & Peas

Breakfast at the ManSingh is two choices from a list of pure veg dishes, no eggs. We both have wadas, a sort of fried lentil donut, served with a spicy sauce and a coconut one. We then share Aloo Parathas and butter toast followed by black tea. The option of fruit or juice would be nice but they don't seem to run to this sort of luxury. The sky is flawless blue and the temperatures rising as we set out for Chowmahalla Palace, one of the spots S recommended that we visit.

There is a false start when the auto that we booked through Ola (an Indian Uber) fails to arrive and R point blank refuses to go by motorbike even though there is a deal on this week. We find a regular auto and he takes us to the front door. D has to stand his ground when the ticket man tries to refuse access to his camera on the grounds that it is professional equipment. We enter a haven of tranquility amidst the noise and dust of Hyderabad.

The palace was built by the Nizams of Hyderabad who effectively ruled this part of India with minimal interference before and during the Raj. They had hoped to continue like this after Indian Independence but the Indian state thought otherwise. It was the official seat of government of the Nizams' dynasty and is still owned by their descendants, one of whom turned it into a museum in the early 2000s. 

The buildings are generally well preserved, although pigeons are a bit of a problem. We are particularly impressed by the Durbar Hall with its huge chandeliers. The assembled collection is eclectic and the signage is a bit hit and miss. We learn from one set of photos that a previous Lord and Lady Linlithgow visited the city in 1938. There is a feature on each of the Nizams and the good work that they did. An almost perfect score for the PR company except that they forgot to remove the picture of one of them, rifle in hand, posing with two dead tigers. If the information we read is correct the Nizams were big on women's education and health, secularism, electricity and building railways. The perfect ticket.

We meet an Indian, now living in Canada, who complains about the poor maintenance but we think that in the main it is a well kept and run museum. We spend three hours there so it can't be that bad. On the way out we stop at the shop and R finds a cookbook called the Jewels of Nizam, written by a lady involved in setting up the restaurant where we had lunch yesterday. When we pay for it the chap tells us that we must try the Jewel of Nizam restaurant. He is a bit deflated when we told him we were there yesterday.

After another Ola failure we take a regular auto to the nearest Metro station for a ride in the sky. The stations and trains are pretty slick and the services quite busy, given the prices which are about three times as much as the Kolkata Metro. As far as we could see the entire system is elevated which makes for quite a structure at Ameerpet, where two lines intersect, and the platforms for one are immediately above the other, which is above the booking hall, which is way above street level. One welcome innovation is a section of coach reserved for Senior Citizens. This got us a seat on the way back. As we exited Gandhi Bhavan Station D was delighted to find a Photography Prohibited notice to add to his collection. Nobody had batted an eyelid on three stations or two trains as he merrily snapped away.

We ride up to Ameerpet and back to Gandhi Bhavan, the nearest station to base. On the trains the AC keeps things comfortable but outside it is getting a bit hot for us, supposedly 34°C at the peak. We had planned to walk back to the hotel but in the heat we look for an auto. Everybody on the street decides to try and help with this and it is a relief for both us and the driver to actually get the trip under way. We sit out the heat for an hour or so in our room.

We have been quite abstemious (by our standards) on this trip but sunshine and dust really do demand beer. D heads out through the shady backstreets to the neighborhood off licence. They certainly know how to chill a beer in Hyderabad and the price is Rs 40 per bottle cheaper than Kolkata. Back at base we indulge in cold beer and namkeen.

With an hour or so of daylight left we set out to visit the Charminar. We find an auto without problem and he drops us at the western end of the pedestrian area. This structure is the emblem of the city as well as a brand of Indian cigarette. It is basically a high level mosque, built on top of a square of arched walls. At one corner somebody has added a small Hindu shrine. It was built in the 16th century, before the rule of the Nizams, but they were active in maintaining the structure. The streets around have been pedestrianised unless you have a really flash motor.

We wander around watching the crowds, posing for other people's selfies and exchanging banter with the traders. Our eatery of choice this evening is Shabadh, north of Charminar and on the way home. It is R's turn to pick the meal so we have mince* and peas with lemon rice and onion raita. As usual it tasted great but there was too much for us. We even found our way home without getting lost.

* Kheema - spicy minced goat or other