drive to Chilkuru Visa Balaji - a Hundi-less temple in Hyderabad

Chilkuru is a welcoming village located South west of Hyderabad about 29kms from the city center.
The day we visited the temple, It was a pleasant weather, being closer to seasonal shift from Hot summer to Rains.
As soon as we had the darsanam, it started raining, & we were lucky to enjoy the first rains at this holy place.
It is being believed if any task is undone & with dedication when performing 11 rounds (called pradakshinas) of Lord Balaji creates a positive flow & make the wish come true. Enjoying the fulfilled wish, people comes in thousands to perform another 108 rounds of Lord Balaji's temple.

Driving directions from Center of City via O.R.R (outer ring road)

1. After passing Mahedipatname when going towards Madhapur, enter the ORR starting point
2. After about 11 kms of drive take Exit 18 towards Vikarabad Road
3. At roundabout - take 2nd Exit towards Himayat Sagar Road (pass by Masjid-e-Qamar)
4. Another 11 kms and reach the chilkuru balaji temple.

Link to Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/np0n 

Things to remember: 
temple timings : everyday 6am - 8pm
aarti timings: 7am and 7pm
rush days: Fri, Sat & Sun

nice article: http://chilkurbalajitemple.blogspot.in/

Mom's 12 month Achaar Prep

This fine Sunday on 10th, mom decided to make her delicacy "Aam ka Achaar" - ( its a traditional preparation of Indian Mango pickle which stays good for more than 12 months)

As it was raining the day before (the first rain of the season), mom said this is the best time to prepare Achaar as it stays better for longer duration when made during the first rain. So, we went shopping for Raw mangoes at about 7am, being a Sunday it was very busy at weekly Market (Gunj sabji mandi). I was enjoying the ambiance, as this was the same place I was born & grew in my teens. Embarked all memories we shopped for about 3Kgs of Mangoes to prepare about 5Kgs of Pickle.


As a picture speaks thousand words, (a memory through pictures) :

1. Gunj Mata Temple (Durga Temple) right opposite to our ancestors home built by our grand-father. Still remember P.O box no 12.

2. Sorting the pieces to remove any seed, as this will spoil the pickle & drying up the mango pieces

3. The Spices & Oil mix

4. Final turnover & ready to be mixed 

5. ACHAAR 

Evolution of Indian Roads - Outer Ring Road is the beginning

Finally, I got a chance today to take a quick drive on ORR. On my return from Rajiv Gandhi Airport, Hyderabad, I checkout a V turn one towards Hyderabad & the other for Bangalore. I remembered ORR to be just adjacent to the airport road. I swiftly took an exit to check out the future road-structure of India with 8 lanes for about 158km (about 100 miles). I assume the Infrastructure & base construction standards are taken from European standards of France.

Goodies:

1. Naming Conventions for Type of Roads, Exit info etc

2. Tolls on exit, no traffic slowing up as in European roads

3. Exit are simple U turns, easier for less literate Truck Drivers to follow

Further Improvements:

1. Naming convention to be English, Hindi, Native Language, its presently named as English, Telugu, Hindi. this will impose for every state in India to follow the same naming conventions.

2. Need to distribute safety measures or more info. on ORR printed with toll receipts to educate Truck drivers & other naive commuters.

Toll-rates:

Pictures:

An hour spent with Auto-rickshaw pollution to accommodate Indian political activity - Hyderabad Metro is long awaited

A two-wheeler has proven to be the best way to beat traffic in Urban cities of India. While commuting from Ameerpet to Himayatanagar in Hyderabad, I usually prefer driving a two-wheeler & taking Raj Bhavan road for its natural & beautiful ambiance. 

Today, I assume due to some political event at Raj Bhavan (an official residence of Governor of Andhra-Pradesh), acted as a curse for hefty traffic jams at Punjagutta Road, Raj Bhavan Road & Greenland's Road during peak morning weekday commute hours of the city. This made the usual 15 minute commute at morning times to more than an hour making an exhausting start to the bright sunny day.

Being stuck in traffic (without wearing a helmet) & finding my way ahead forward I have to inhale dense smokes due to burning of carbon fuel in Auto-rickshaws & RTA buses (an Auto-ricksaw in India is usually meant as three wheeled cabin motor-cycle as a vehicle for hire).

And this made the usual 1/4 hour commute to about an hour. 
I wonder, an additional 3/4 hour was worth spending to accommodate Indian political activity ?

More about Auto-rickshaw bans around the developing countries:

In July 1998, the Supreme Court of India ordered the Delhi government to implement CNG or LPG (Autogas) fuel for all autos and for the entire bus fleet in and around the city.^{[citation needed]} Delhi's air quality has improved with the switch to CNG. Initially, auto rickshaw drivers in Delhi had to wait in long queues for CNG refueling, but the situation has improved with the increase of CNG stations. Certain local governments are pushing for four-stroke engines instead of the current two-stroke versions. Typical mileage for an Indian-made auto rickshaw is around 35 kilometers per liter of petrol (about 2.9 L per 100 km, or 82 miles per gallon [United States (wet measure), 100 miles per gallon Imperial (United Kingdom, Canada)]. Pakistan has passed a similar law prohibiting auto rickshaws in certain areas. CNG auto rickshaws have started to appear in huge numbers in many Pakistani cities.

In January 2007 the Sri Lankan government also banned two-stroke trishaws to reduce air pollution. In the Philippines^[18] there are projects to convert carburated two-stroke engines to direct-injected via Envirofit technology. Research has shown LPG or CNG gas direct-injection to be retrofit-able to existing engines in similar fashion to the Envirofit system.^[19] In Vigan City majority of tricycles-for-hire as of 2008 are powered by motorcycles with four-stroke engines, as tricycles with two-stroke motorcycles are prevented from receiving operating permits. Direct injection is standard equipment on new machines in India.^[20][21]

In March 2009 an international consortium coordinated by the International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies initiated a two-year public-private partnership of local and international stakeholders aiming at operating a fleet of 15 hydrogen-fueled three-wheeled vehicles in New Delhi's Pragati Maidan complex.^[22] As of January 2011, the project was upon completion.

Refer: 

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_rickshaw#Fuel_efficiency_and_pollution

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyderabad_Metro
 http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2001-12-27/hyderabad/27219830_1_main-problems-private-hospitals-traffic

Collection of coins from Countries traveled

Traffic near Indira Gandhi Statue Junction at Prasad's IMAX, Hyderabad

I'm sure pretty much everyone who lives in Hyderabad must have experience the hefty traffic delay at Indira Gandhi Statue junction at the intersection of Prasad's IMAX road & Necklace road.
Specially at peak times during mornings & evenings of weekdays it becomes a pain crossing this intersection. Even traffic police are helpless at times.
The GHMC may have future plans for a Flyover connecting the bridge from Khairtabad junction to road for NTR gardens, this is both expensive & time-consuming outcome.
A simple, quick & cost-effective solution should be lifting the Indira Gandhi's statue 20-25 feets of the ground & completely removing the huge round circle (with grass grown garden), & installing intersection traffic control lights. The time consuming round circle, with messed up vehicles can be avoided & a regulated flow of traffic will be arranged.