This day was marked entirely for sight-seeing. No official meetings had been setup for the clients. I just had a quick meeting with my team and then checked-out of the Guest House. By the time we finally got on the road outside our office, we were delayed by at least 45 minutes.
However, the place where we planned to go first had an even later opening time. The place called Shilparamam is basically a market where artisans and craftsman peddle their wares that ranged from stone carved dolls to jute bags to woodwork to clothing materials.
The makers have been given a place to stay within the campus and can sell their wares at designated shops that have been opened up for them. This in effect eliminates the various middlemen and so the cost of the product doesn’t bite our wallets.
The clients had a really great time buying stuff especially at the shop where woodwork was being sold. Each of them bought stuff for more than Rs.1500.
We then had lunch at some restaurant and then headed out to the Salar Jung Museum. By the time we reached that place, it was almost 2.30 PM. Since we were getting a little hard-pressed for time, we wanted to finish up visiting this museum quickly. Luckily, the Program Manager who was with us had a great contact inside the museum. His brother-in-law was thick friends with the Chief Security Officer of this museum.
In typical Sarkari Babu style, the Program Manager started showing his weight around to those on guard asking for the Chief Security Officer by his first name and then referring to his post. This did get us a lot of attention and we were soon escorted by a Policeman on duty. He started showing us around the museum. Within 5 minutes, another person who looked like the typical museum guide also came along. Turned out that he too was a cop, but one who was in street clothes. We told him our time constraint and since it was also nearing 3 PM, we had to watch that famous cuckoo clock at work. He assured that he would take us there in time and showed us around a few other rooms.
The museum is quite a big one and the collections inside are fantastic. My first thoughts before entering the museum was that only the things used by the Nizam dynasty would be on display. Only after entering a couple of the rooms did I realize that this was basically an exhibition of all things that the Nizams collected over the centuries. There were great stone idols of Hindu deities and exquisitely carved Hindu deities in wood. There was a really huge wood statue of Garuda made in Rosewood and there was also a very big (almost 6 feet by 6 feet) painting of the famous Geethopadhesham scene in the Kurukshetra battle.
Anyways, it was nearing 3 PM and so our guide hurried us in one direction. It was a small atrium sort of place inside the museum. There were a lot of iron chairs set in line, like what you’d find in the Railways Reservation Counter. There was a small corridor at one end of this atrium and this was actually at a higher level (or if you prefer, the atrium was at a lower level). There was a small 2 feet by 2 feet contraption placed on a table there and there were two projector screens on either side of it. This contraption was actually the famous cuckoo clock. I had expected a large grandfather type of clock, so it was a let-down.
The atrium must have been around 25 feet by 25 feet with this clock at one end. There was a gap of around 10 feet between this clock and the first row of chairs. When we reached this place, we wanted to settle into the chairs at the end that were empty. However, our guide asked us to come forward and there we saw 2 special chairs placed some 4 feet ahead of the regular chairs. We thought that they did something for the clients. But the guide asked the 2 of us as well to come to the front. Since it was getting very close to 3 PM, the crowd started murmuring and some even raised their voices asking us to sit down. The policeman brought 2 more chairs from somewhere and in effect the 4 of us were now given privileged seating very close to the clock.
It was then 3 ‘O clock and a small doll popped out from a door at one end of the clock, hit a gong-like thing thrice and then went back inside the door. Very honestly speaking, the whole thing was a big let-down for me. First of all, I expected a bigger clock based on all the descriptions I had heard before. So seeing a small clock was a little upsetting. And blaming myself, I assumed that there would be some elaborate show at the top of the hour like a bunch of soldiers marching out etc. I guess I went in with very high expectations and got let down.
Anyways, after the clock had made itself useless for another one hour, we were joined by 2 more policemen. These guys were also in “mufti” but they had the unmistakable air of a policeman and carried walkie-talkies with them. They took us to the room with the marble collection and showed us an amazing sculpture called the Veiled Rebecca. This is a white marble statue of a woman and is probably around 6 feet in height. From a distance of say even 3 feet, it looks like the statue has been draped in a piece of transparent cloth – like a veil. But get closer and you will realize that there is no such cloth. The sculptor has carved it in such a manner that the marble itself looks like a veil. This is a truly wonderful exhibit and a definite “Do not miss” category topper.
They then took us to various other sections of the museum and I was impressed by the ivory collection. They had chess sets made of ivory and were of different sizes. There were even variations in the form of Indian style, Japanese style, Burmese style etc. Special mention must also be made of the chinaware and the glassware on display. There were so many Gold rimmed cutlery and all these were marked as ones used for daily use!
All along, we had these policemen escorting us around. The only thing missing was a policeman with a rifle and that would have completed the “VIP” picture! Since it was getting late, we wrapped up the visit and thanked all the guides profusely. What really impressed me was that these policemen were well aware of the significance of each of these exhibits and were able to come out with a lot of information related to it.
We then had an even more hurried visit to the Chowmahalla Palace. This is quite a run-down palace and is actually not very impressive. We took all our mandatory pictures and then headed off to the airport.
At the airport, the clients and the Program Manager were on the same flight but I was on one scheduled to leave an hour later. My airline’s counter hadn’t even opened and so we spent some time chatting in the area before the Security checks happen. But the others had to leave and I was then waiting for the counter to open. This was when I realized how much I miss my phone. At such occasions, I’d either be forwarding messages, or playing some game on my mobile. But now, I was sitting in the waiting area quite literally twiddling my thumbs!
Finally the counter opened and I got my gate pass. After I crossed the Security check point, I ate some of the “cheap” airport food and then went to my gate. But due to the bad weather at Chennai, my flight and quite a lot of the others too, was delayed. There was no formal announcement and I learnt it by looking at the TV screen.
I was flying by Paramount Airlines which has earned a name for its “All Business Class” seats. I expected their service at the ground also to be that good, but it was far from that. Finally the flight took off an hour behind schedule. Amongst the many passengers in the flight was the irreplaceable S.P.Balasubramaniam. There was also the small time actor Raja (appeared in movies like Pudhu Vasantham, Karuthamma etc.).
I finally reached Chennai after a not so pleasant flight – there was some turbulence and I was not really happy with the Airlines’ claim of “All Business Class”. There was more legroom, but the rest of the seat was as cramped as an economy seat in any airline.
I reached home only by 11 and went to bed early since I had to pick up the clients at their hotel the next morning. But this travelogue ends now. If you have read this, Thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment