It's amazing how much connect and pride the metro is evoking for a lot of Hyderabadis... us included.
My story with the metro is going to be long. We've after all watched it grow right before our eyes for the last four plus years. Construction has been going on, on just about every main road possible.....so it just became part of life...... part of curiosity, part of wonder, part of hope, part of traffic woes, part of road disorientation, part of changed landscape.......it was just everywhere.
In addition, my dad could see the Ameerpet station right from his house, and there's many a time he has pondered "wonder if it will come up in my lifetime".
Since trial runs began last month, he's been watching even through binoculars, almost tracking each days progress minutely. He has such an innate love for trains, that for many a year he'd wanted a house overlooking a railway track. Somewhere along, the universe listened.....the track came up next to his house :)
In one of his interviews, when I'd asked what he wanted to be in his next life, he'd said "actually I love trains...since a locomotive driver does not have that sense of dignity, I'd say a pilot". He's changed that...he now says..."nothing else matters, a locomotive driver is what I want to be".
All this excitement and enthusiasm fully permeated our visit to the metro yesterday. What would have been a two hour outing became four, his bad knees not withstanding.
A ride became an experience.
His presence and sense of wonder altered the very fabric of the visit. Spending time at the station looking at the maps, talking to the staff at the stations, trying the vending machines, understanding how the pillars and cantilevers worked, thinking of how the architects and engineers might have worked on the blueprint, how construction happened without disrupting traffic, the height of the pillars....and on and on.
After a couple hours I got hungry, but he didn't. In fact at one point he said, "I'm actually enjoying being hungry". Took me a while to figure that his joy was so deep, that it was turning everything in vicinity into a positive.
Well, the metro itself. We did the blue line ( There are three lines that will cover the stretch of Hyderabad, part of the blue and the red are now functional). We did Ameerpet to Nagole and back, a full forty minutes each way.
It not only lived up to expectation, it went beyond....... it's so beautifully done, it's after all the latest in technology and feel. It made us proud and happy to belong.
In one of his interviews, when I'd asked what he wanted to be in his next life, he'd said "actually I love trains...since a locomotive driver does not have that sense of dignity, I'd say a pilot". He's changed that...he now says..."nothing else matters, a locomotive driver is what I want to be".
All this excitement and enthusiasm fully permeated our visit to the metro yesterday. What would have been a two hour outing became four, his bad knees not withstanding.
A ride became an experience.
His presence and sense of wonder altered the very fabric of the visit. Spending time at the station looking at the maps, talking to the staff at the stations, trying the vending machines, understanding how the pillars and cantilevers worked, thinking of how the architects and engineers might have worked on the blueprint, how construction happened without disrupting traffic, the height of the pillars....and on and on.
After a couple hours I got hungry, but he didn't. In fact at one point he said, "I'm actually enjoying being hungry". Took me a while to figure that his joy was so deep, that it was turning everything in vicinity into a positive.
Well, the metro itself. We did the blue line ( There are three lines that will cover the stretch of Hyderabad, part of the blue and the red are now functional). We did Ameerpet to Nagole and back, a full forty minutes each way.
It not only lived up to expectation, it went beyond....... it's so beautifully done, it's after all the latest in technology and feel. It made us proud and happy to belong.
That apart, it gave us a whole different perspective of Hyderabad. The pillars and lines in places are so high up that's it wonderful to watch Hyderabad from that vantage. Then the the route map, the three lines gave me my clearest to date geographical perspective of Hyderabad.
Even people....everyones so happy with it, it's like it's bringing out their best sides...almost like, okay, now we have something to behave real nice for, and this seems to go for people working there, passengers, joy riders et al.
Rest in pictures:
Dad at the elevator at the entrance at Ameerpet. (they have stairs and escalators and elevators)
View from Ameerpet station. We actually spotted our house :)
Dad keenly looking for our house
A view of the road from the coach
A cricket match on at Parade grounds
HPS (Hyderabad public school)
Inside the metro. It was packed to capacity till Secunderabad, and then gradually the crowd dropped.
A view of Mahindra Hills
The green cover distinctly increases as we get from Hyderabad to Secunderabad, and way more as we get to Nagole.
LFS (Little flower Junior College). This was where Praveen studied, years and years back. He couldn't get over how it now looked. Mala and me are telling him to take a picture and he's so open mouthed...he's like "we used to have fields and cows grazing around here" !!!
Parade Grounds (there are so many cricket pitches that it would make a lovely view on a weekend)
At Nagole, our train coming in
Dad and Mala in the train (mala, notice, notice...that woman still can't take her eyes off you :)
The Uppal stadium
The green line yet under construction
Near Secunderabad station, a train in the background and a graveyard in foreground
A metro coming in from the opposite direction. It takes a beautiful S curve near Begumpet that enables this view
I loved the old time looking clock they have in all the stations. So aesthetic and far removed from the digital ones that are commonly used today.
The guys in green shirts all have the 'May I help You' boldly written behind, and they are all so positive and friendly. Was lovely to see.
Ameerpet
View from Nagole station
The route map
End of visit, dad dropping off his coin. The May I Help You guys were simply brilliant. Seeing dad with a walking stick and knee braces, at so many points they would proactively come and offer to help. In fact took him to front of queue, reserved a seat for him, offered him a wheelchair...it was really impressive. I also got exception to take pictures, thanks to him :)
Mom couldn't make it this time, and when we're discussing going next month, dad's all set to join again !!
Even people....everyones so happy with it, it's like it's bringing out their best sides...almost like, okay, now we have something to behave real nice for, and this seems to go for people working there, passengers, joy riders et al.
Rest in pictures:
Dad at the elevator at the entrance at Ameerpet. (they have stairs and escalators and elevators)
Dad keenly looking for our house
A view of the road from the coach
A cricket match on at Parade grounds
HPS (Hyderabad public school)
Inside the metro. It was packed to capacity till Secunderabad, and then gradually the crowd dropped.
A view of Mahindra Hills
The green cover distinctly increases as we get from Hyderabad to Secunderabad, and way more as we get to Nagole.
LFS (Little flower Junior College). This was where Praveen studied, years and years back. He couldn't get over how it now looked. Mala and me are telling him to take a picture and he's so open mouthed...he's like "we used to have fields and cows grazing around here" !!!
Parade Grounds (there are so many cricket pitches that it would make a lovely view on a weekend)
At Nagole, our train coming in
Dad and Mala in the train (mala, notice, notice...that woman still can't take her eyes off you :)
The Uppal stadium
The green line yet under construction
Near Secunderabad station, a train in the background and a graveyard in foreground
Praveen, dad and me :)
A metro coming in from the opposite direction. It takes a beautiful S curve near Begumpet that enables this view
I loved the old time looking clock they have in all the stations. So aesthetic and far removed from the digital ones that are commonly used today.
The guys in green shirts all have the 'May I help You' boldly written behind, and they are all so positive and friendly. Was lovely to see.
Ameerpet
View from Nagole station
The route map
End of visit, dad dropping off his coin. The May I Help You guys were simply brilliant. Seeing dad with a walking stick and knee braces, at so many points they would proactively come and offer to help. In fact took him to front of queue, reserved a seat for him, offered him a wheelchair...it was really impressive. I also got exception to take pictures, thanks to him :)
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