Paradise vs Paradise

(Not clicked by ME)




One of the weekends Paritosh, Hitesh(both are my cybage frnds) and me planned to do some shopping at Secunderabad. We boarded 10H Secunderabad bus. On reaching Secunderabad market we did some pearl shopping …yes you are right this is first time I was doing ladies shopping. After shopping for an hour or two we were damn hungry. So my friends suggested having lunch at Paradise Hotel. I heard a lot from them about Paradise and the Non-Veg delicacies they server. Before coming to Hyderabad, Hyderabad's synonym for me was just Hyderabadi Biryani. This was my time to taste those hot spices and flesh.
In no time we were standing in front of Paradise hotel. It was 2 or 3 pm, we were perspiring and the place was heavily crowded. We were greeted by brief security check by a hulk (who looked like a disc bouncer). Inside picture was very different, infrastructure looked like Irani hotels. Place was so crowed that if you want to sit and eat…then you will have to hunt for a table. This is not a place where you can go with family. There were already people standing next to each table waiting eagerly for others to finish. Everyone hungry and mad to grab a table. So we decided that each of us will stand next to different table and the one who gets the table first we all will sit there.
Finally we got one table but our plan didn’t work well. Any ways we were sitting side by side rubbing shoulders. The menu was meat heavy, evident of the cuisine’s Hyderabadi influences and leaving very few options for Vegetarians. We didn’t have much idea about the quantity of food will be served in a dish. So we went on the waiter’s recommendations and ordered one Chicken curry, few Rotis and decided to split seductive Chicken Biryani(120/-) dish in two. In 10-15 mins we got our order. It was vibrant, it was alive and it was startling. Biryani was more than what I hoped for. Curry looked thick and spicy. Roties were flakier and much bigger than what we get in Pune. Biryani rice is an inch long and of very good quality. Chicken was juicy, fresh and spongy…hummmmmmmm this is proper fresh chicken echoed in my mind. Well after filling our appetite for Hyderabadi Chicken we returned home.

After few weeks it was the second time I was going to have Chicken. After days work we(Paritosh, Hitesh and I) had a brief walk to Paradise, but this was their branch in Hitech city. It’s a sized two-tier dining area. Ground floor for take way, 1st tier for A/C dinning and terrace for open air dinning. Now this is the place where you can take date or family. We were greeted by handsomely dresses doorman. It is a place that cares about details. No sooner had we taken our seats than our over-enthusiastic waiter was describing each and every chicken dishes in rapid succession. Even this time we had Chicken Biryani, but it’s heavy on pocket cause same Chicken Biryani here costs 175/- and a lil less quantity. However the amazing taste and quality was maintained. A feature of Hyderabadi cuisine is that it is often slow cooked, so perhaps a certain time-honed tenderness comes naturally to the kitchen. Either way, it translates into a cosy, comforting spot for a spectacular evening curry.

The Flight

I would rather state it as an accident that I am here…some of the close friends know the reason. Well it was 15 September 2010 early morning I got cab (Hyundai accent) from Cybage exactly at 4am to my place. . Driver (Vijay) is very good person and driver.
This was my fifth time to fly.I reached airport at 5am, 1 hour early for flight. Lohegaon airport is quite small in size, less busy but good. My plane was Jet airways konnect. It is a small plane which can carry 64 passengers in it. I asked for window seat but sadly got it under wings. Well for those who don’t know problem of that seating …it has engine very close and partly blocks the view from the window.
Soon after some announcements our flight was air bourn and as we reached some altitude I was amazed to see sleeping Pune…small villages, fields, rivers and roads connecting to them forming a network. Soon this was all covered by white blanket of clouds which made the city sleep in peace. It was indeed pleasure to watch clouds muffler mountain ranges in Pune. I was busy guessing which among them was Sinhgad, but failed to do so.
We climbed altitude of around 50,000 feet’s. I saw three layers of clouds one which we see from ground then one which is above it that’s second layer which are also water bearing clouds. We were flying above 2nd layer and there was one more layer above us, its 3rd layer …it was clear sky which we see in other seasons with is scanty clouded. I was very tired and sleepily but was still looking out with red sour eyes begging for sleep. I was hunting for some amazing scene to capture as memories. Well I think the person next to me was under impression of me being first time air bourn as I was holding camera and clicking every huge cloud that passed by. Soon my eyes went heavy and I fell asleep.
When I woke up (in 15mins) it was a sad new for me as the sunrise was on other side of the plane. However when I tried to peep out from other side of plane …It was gorgeous scene. The sky was a mix of so many oranges, blues, purples and pinks that it was impossible to believe that God paints in his spare time when his subjects are sleeping!
Soon there was announcement made that we are going to land in 20min at Rajiv Gandhi international airport of HYD and it is about 60km away from us. Planes started to descend and as the cloudy curtain were unveiled, we were flying over AP. On peeping down, it was lush green carpet with vivid designs lay on mother earth. Designs made by fresh muddy lakes and weird stack of rocks. Surprisingly I see those stack of rocks every where over the city and I guess not man made.
Soon we landed …it was 7:55am. As it’s an International airport its infrastructure is fabulous and clean. When I was walking out of airport there stood a person holding a paper with my name on it. That moment was like a dream come true. Till now I saw in films that some actor walks out of airport and some one is waiting for him with a board of actors name on it. We started towards guesthouse which is 40km from airport. Well again I stunned to see the roads near airport it reminded me of Turkey roads. We were then riding on 30km stretch which is a 6lane road. It’s still under construction and will be an express way I guess. Knowing that I am newbie in HYD driver was also telling me about the things that we saw on the way.
We reached the guest house Phase 2 Bungalow 10 Vasant Valley, Whitefields, Kondapur @ 9:15am. It’s a 5B2HK. I was given a room on ground floor. Next to me is PM’s room from my project. Well that guesthouse also has some guests from other companies.
I got ready for office by 10am and was accompanied by my PM Divya Rakesh. Convergys is 1-2 km from guesthouse. Its neighbors are Mahindra Satyam, Google, HSBC, TCS, Cybage, Wipro, Satyan Oracle, Dell, Congni. and many many more.
To Be Continued...