A WEEKEND TRIP
have travelled to Guntur and further to a village called Kakumanu, for a ceremony. Travelling by road for me is like a chocolate to a small child and I remain in a constantly excited state till my return.
I wanted to take the Nalgonda road to reach Guntur, but good old vahan chalak Raju, in all his wisdom did not trust my directions, nor Google Maps, so we ended up on the same boring Vijayawada road. Then he would not stop near a tea shop. Was miffed with him for sometime.
The mighty Krishna has totally dried up and there is no whiff of rains. And the flyover from the start of Vijayawada to almost Benz Circle showed vast expanses of sand and the beautifully coloured temple entrance and the Gopuram of the Durgamma temple. Then once again vast expanses of sand as we took the road to Guntur.
Our drinking water is from Krishna, I thought. And with no rains in Maharashtra this poor perennial river is dry. The Musi is dry. Farmers are in trouble. Prices will go up.... Same old, same old....
Anyways we reached Guntur during daylight so finding house of friend was easy. And there was raja ubajaram (royal treatment) and we had the house to ourselves. And mosquitoes. Normally a little Odomos and I am a happy trooper, but here since the house was unoccupied for some time, these flying insects were all over. And luckily, because of my weight, they couldn't carry me away.
Drove 30 odd kms to reach the village, on a road which was spondylosis inducing, back breaking and pathetic. With a majority of the monies being given off as dole, obviously roads are not in the priority list, for the state of AP, of which I have some fabulous memories. Though if you remember, there used to be little boards everywhere and one of them said 'Roads indicate the culture of the nation.' Irony.
Are people happy? Well they are going about their job, in their day-to-day routine and as per Google, Guntur has also it's own micro brewery. We did not go, but I was curious to know if it was allowed to function at all. Or might have to call their product with a conducive name, keeping permission givers happy.
As a friend mentioned, entertaining friends in AP is heavy on the pocket and this is without getting your favourite tipple. Are they happy? Depends on who you are asking. As happens anywhere. Eating out in Hyderabad in the famous IT corridor is criminally expensive.
The return journey was livelier through Chilakaluripeta. Small, slim roads and busy with business made my day. This road is also nostalgic for the many trips with various colleagues. Pidugurala was where we would stop for snacks and tea. Good roads and a railway line on my side of the window, with a train passing by. I waved.
We had hot bajjis and then lost our way on the ramp of the ORR. Unbelievable, and we had to take the LB Nagar road, busy as ever and full of detours.
A very good trip is all I can say.
I wanted to take the Nalgonda road to reach Guntur, but good old vahan chalak Raju, in all his wisdom did not trust my directions, nor Google Maps, so we ended up on the same boring Vijayawada road. Then he would not stop near a tea shop. Was miffed with him for sometime.
The mighty Krishna has totally dried up and there is no whiff of rains. And the flyover from the start of Vijayawada to almost Benz Circle showed vast expanses of sand and the beautifully coloured temple entrance and the Gopuram of the Durgamma temple. Then once again vast expanses of sand as we took the road to Guntur.
Our drinking water is from Krishna, I thought. And with no rains in Maharashtra this poor perennial river is dry. The Musi is dry. Farmers are in trouble. Prices will go up.... Same old, same old....
Anyways we reached Guntur during daylight so finding house of friend was easy. And there was raja ubajaram (royal treatment) and we had the house to ourselves. And mosquitoes. Normally a little Odomos and I am a happy trooper, but here since the house was unoccupied for some time, these flying insects were all over. And luckily, because of my weight, they couldn't carry me away.
Drove 30 odd kms to reach the village, on a road which was spondylosis inducing, back breaking and pathetic. With a majority of the monies being given off as dole, obviously roads are not in the priority list, for the state of AP, of which I have some fabulous memories. Though if you remember, there used to be little boards everywhere and one of them said 'Roads indicate the culture of the nation.' Irony.
Are people happy? Well they are going about their job, in their day-to-day routine and as per Google, Guntur has also it's own micro brewery. We did not go, but I was curious to know if it was allowed to function at all. Or might have to call their product with a conducive name, keeping permission givers happy.
As a friend mentioned, entertaining friends in AP is heavy on the pocket and this is without getting your favourite tipple. Are they happy? Depends on who you are asking. As happens anywhere. Eating out in Hyderabad in the famous IT corridor is criminally expensive.
The return journey was livelier through Chilakaluripeta. Small, slim roads and busy with business made my day. This road is also nostalgic for the many trips with various colleagues. Pidugurala was where we would stop for snacks and tea. Good roads and a railway line on my side of the window, with a train passing by. I waved.
We had hot bajjis and then lost our way on the ramp of the ORR. Unbelievable, and we had to take the LB Nagar road, busy as ever and full of detours.
A very good trip is all I can say.
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