As I’ve already mentioned weekends can be incredibly boring. With absolutely nothing to do yesterday, I spent the entire day sleeping. So I decided to go somewhere today and explore the city. Charminar was the first thing that popped up into my mind as I’ve learnt about this place during my history lessons back in school. When I asked my roomies 2 of them insisted on staying back as they planned to excruciate themselves with a Danush starrer Tamil movie and one was willing to come out with me.

Leaving them behind with their misery, Ebeneser and I left our hostel around 1:30. We took a bus from Madhapur and got down at Koti. There was some confusion here as there were different bus stops here. It took us some time to get the right bus. We reached Charminar around 3:30 and walked straight to the Mecca Masjid. There was a flock of pigeons flying all around this place and it was spectacular.

We spent some time here as the place was quite peaceful. Then we went to Charminar which is just adjacent to the Masjid. We bought 2 entry tickets 5 bucks each and walked inside. The staircase was very narrow allowing only one person at a time. Crowd management could’ve been better as the chances for a stampede are quite high. Despite certain minor flaws the place was really great. Charminar is such a great blend of Persian and Indian art with some touch ups by the French during their brief stay here. It is really a monument that we can cherish upon for ages but the place has been screwed by vandalism despite warnings issued by the government. Would be great if Archeological Society of India takes some initiative to protect and preserve this Heritage site.

One good thing that I noticed today is that, true to our country’s secularist policy, there was a Ganesh chathurthi procession happening very close to this Muslim dense area without a fuss. In fact both the factions shared their love among them. Though there were a lot of police patrolling in this area as a precautionary measure, this is a positive sign considering 2000 riots.

Charminar’s Night view is even stupendous but unfortunately we missed it. And due to Ramzaan almost the entire Laad Bazaar was closed. There are quite a few places which we missed today as well. So I’m planning to visit these places soon enough with my friends. Invitations are open to everyone. Anyone interested can drop me a line. Meanwhile take a look at my photos

Wish you a happy Eid and a happy Ganesh chathurthi. Take care and be safe. Will see you all soon.