In 2009 my family members planned to visit me in Hyderabad. I was staying at the Malaysian township, Kukatpally with other bachelors so was concerned about where they would stay. I didn’t want them to stay at a hotel away from the homely environment. Fortunately, we had a cousin staying nearby so my parents and siblings stayed with them till they were here. Initially, we just spent some time together since I had been away for a long time and they wanted to see me physically.
We booked a cab and went to Necklace Road the following day. There we visited the very famous Lumbini Park, I had my DSLR camera so it was fun clicking everybody. Amidst nature, I clicked many photos, but can’t remember anything unusual happening during that time although my siblings were around :P. After spending some time in this garden, we went to the NTR garden. Don’t remember clearly but it must have been evening by then since we decided to go for a boat ride on Hussain Sagar Lake. The boat took us all the way to the Buddha Statue. Spending time in the middle of the lake with calm and serene surroundings was mesmerizing.
The next day we visited the Safdarjung Museum. I don’t remember clicking pics from the museum as possibly it was not permitted, all I remember is seeing a big diamond in there. Later, we went to Charminar which was a few km away from the museum. The heavily crowded Charminar in the old city gave a different vibe. We purchased some pearl jewellery on which I got a corporate discount. Later, we came to the City Centre Mall in Banjara Hills (Where we are currently staying!) where my siblings created a ruckus on the road. It was though embarrassing but also fun to get attention from passersby.
I think my folks were in Hyderabad for 4 – 5 nights only. On the third day, we visited the Ramoji Film City (RFC). Ramoji Film City (RFC) has an artificial airplane that was part of the Shahrukh Khan movie “Baadshah” including many others. I have been to RFC multiple times and remember the guide always saying that “a superstar is currently staying in that hotel”. There is a lot to see at RFC and when Bahubali was launched a few years back prior to Covid-19, its main city model was showcased for a few months at RFC.