Adieu to Hyderabad

Its not been even two months for me in Hyderabad and I am preparing to bid farewell to this place. For I am shifting base to my company's head office in Chennai.

These two months (minus a week :)) have been full of ups and down for me. The excitement of my first job, the first salary, the sudden feeling of responsibility, the travails of settling down in a new city, the new friends I have made, have all been experiences worth living through.

I have been lucky to have the best set of colleagues possible. The apprehension of being in the first job, and the anxiety over getting things right was all wiped out by the help and friendliness of the lot. It has been great fun being with the lot and settling into the new job. Have thoroughly enjoyed their company and of course making the mickey out of them :). They have been a great lot of guys and "the..well...".

Another thing that made the first job even more emotional was the retirement of dad. Just the right time to take the mantle, eh! But missed being with my family on the occasion. How I am longing to meet them and my niece Illarika is something only I know.

Its been my first experience staying in South India and I would say it hasn't been a bad experience. Had some issues earlier on but guess once we got over them the stay has been pleasant. Now as I move into another dreaded location I hope my doubts about the city prove to be wrong.

Adieu Hyderabad...even though the stay was short yet the experience was vast


Over & out
Shubham

My first salary

Its been one week since I got my first salary. Always dreamt of this day. Had been postponing buying a lot of things just to ensure that I was able to pay for them from my own pocket. Enough of wasting dad's money....but would say when it actually came down to spending from my own account I had a few goose bumps. Not easy to spend one's own hard earned money, eh! Was lot easier to buy things when you were not directly paying for it :).

Decided that the best thing to do would be to get gifts for the family....helps in washing off the guilt when you get down to your own shopping :). Bought watches for my parents first thing. Was fun to buy for your parents as usually its the other way around. Thought sending it to them as a surprise would be gr8. Had promised lil sis an iPod from my first salary..there goes one item from her evergrowing list...not that I mind...she is such a sweeto!! Guess its the right time to do things that I always wanted for my dear ones.

Di's gift is due and so is one for my just born niece Illarika( i know i know...it sounds more like a name for a witch...have already told Di). Anyways this is just the beginning guys..have to do a lot more for you.

Just been a week into this newly found empowerment but am already feeling why people cherish their first salary. The sense of happiness from buying even small things from your own earned money is immense. And gosh!! suddenly you feel the urge to spend more responsibly.

Anyways Over & Out for now,

Shubham

One month in Hyderabad

Hmmm...its been more than one month for me in Hyderabad. Definitely not a great stretch of time to be able to write about the city but still would like to share my experiences.

When I had been asked to join in Hyderabad for my job I was congratulated from all quarters for getting a location like Hyderabad. And from all what I had heard about the place from my peers this seemed like a great city to live in.

Lets get facts first. Whatever may be the claims to the contrary Hyderabad is not a cosmopolitan city. Atleast not from the one month experience of my friends and myself.

Our travails began right from the time we started looking for a house on rent. Now Hyderabad inspite of being such a developed city does not seem to have many professional real estate agents. Rather we have individuals masquerading as agents and trying to fleece IT guys. It was a real effort to locate a house which is decent & within your budget. Out here you are charged outrageous rents for even the most trashy of houses.

Coming from North India another thing that hit us real hard was the lack of cheap places where you can have north Indian food. Though if you are ready to shell out 100-120 rupees per meal then you have no dearth of choices. But come on!! 100 bucks for dinner?? Had a real hell of a time until we managed to locate a real nice Rajasthani restaurant. It was like an oasis in a desert for us :).

But it would be unfair to say that everything about the city is bad. There are some real good things about the city. The main city area is a great place to visit. Some good malls for shopping and hanging out. The Hussein Sagar lake is an awesome place for an outing. There is good crowd comprising of youngsters and especially girls :) out there. And the food out there is quite good albeit a bit expensive.

The Hussein Sagar Lake: Great place

The weather is a great plus point of the city. A cool breeze nearly all the time keeps the temperature in control. Have really enjoyed the weather to the hilt. And boy the Hyderabadi Biryani is a must have. Would definitely put on hold all your curses on idli, sambhar, rasam, dosa...

I could go on & on....the rubbish traffic, no driving sense in people but then you tend to take that with a pinch of salt........Enjoy the good with the bad!!

Over & Out for now,

Shubham