Hyderabad Weekend Getaway: Medak

Medak is approximately 100 KM away from Hyderabad and it roughly takes about 2:30 hours to reach there. My initial research about the city revealed that, there isn’t much to see except for a beautiful church and some ruins of a fort. The only reason I decided to visit Medak was because I wanted to visit it.

We started at around 8:00 AM in the morning… had breakfast at the outskirts of Hyderabad and reach Medak by around 11:00 AM.

It was a Sunday morning and Medak Church was jam packed. Spend an hour observing people in the Church… most of them had no clue about Christianity but were there because they had problems and someone had told them to visit this Church. Post the sermon, people gathered in a queue to take the blessings of the father. Unlike they show in movies, where there is separate chamber for discussing stuff with father, here, it was all in open. Will describe what I heard in some other post.

After lunch, I visited the fort. There isn’t much left in the fort, although government is renovating the fort. One can visit the fort, which is situated on top of a hill to get a good view of the Medak town.

Started the journey back from Medak around 5 PM in the evening and reached Hyderabad by 7:30 PM.

View of Medak town from the top of the Medak fort:

Hyderabad Weekend Getaway: Gooty Fort

About 300 KM away from Hyderabad towards Bangalore, Gooty is a small town that will be one day famous as the town where a Nobel Prize winner was born. For the time being, Gooty is known for a historic fort. About 10 Km away from Gooty, archeologists have discovered a stone on which constitution belonging to Ashoka is written. This means, that this area was inhibited by civilized people since 2000 years. The fort of Gooty is an amalgamation of Hindu-Islamic architecture. The most hurting aspect is that, Archeological department of India and Andhra Pradesh Tourism has done nothing to protect/preserve this beautiful fort.

Trip Details:

Gooty was earlier situated on NH7 but now NH7 bypasses the town. It’s approx. 300 KM away from Hyderabad and the distance can be covered within 3.5 – 4 hours. We started around 6:00 AM in the morning and reached Gooty by 10:00 AM in the afternoon. We were told that, best time to visit the fort is on any festival day… as lot of locals would be visiting fort and it would be lot secure.

It takes approximately 2 hours to climb the fort. If you are photography enthusiast, then you would be spending well-over 4 hours to climb the fort as there’s lots of stuff to be photographed. There are no restaurants/food carts on top of the fort… you need to carry the food along with you.

 

 

Who is my God?

My God has no partners. He is The One. He is Unique.

My God is the Owner of what is inside and outside this Universe. My God is the Creator of what is inside and outside of this Universe. My God existed before the creation of this universe and He would continue to exist after the end of this universe. My God is The First and The Last. He is Ever-Existent, Ever-Lasting and Ever-Surviving.

My God is the Originator and Expander of this Universe. My God is the Fashioner of this Universe. My God is the Owner of Time. My God is the Best Supporter of this Universe. My God has the complete knowledge of every activity that is happening inside and outside of this universe, i.e. He is All-Knower.

My God is the Giver of life and the Bringer of Death. My God can bring the living out of dead and dead out of living. My God is Sustainer of life. My God is the Best of Providers for the survival of the every living being in this Universe.

My God is Most High yet He is nearest to me. When I am in danger, my God is the Granter of Security. When I am lost in darkness, my God is the Guide to the Right Path. When I seek refuge with Him, my God is the Best Protector among all protectors. When I am facing difficulties and worries, my God is the Remover of all troubles and sorrows. When I pray for wealth and happiness, my God is Most Generous in accepting my prayers. When I pray for forgiveness for my sins, my God is the Greatest Forgiver. When I commit the mistakes again and again, my God is Repeatedly Forgiving. And when I repent about my mistakes, my God is the Best Acceptor of repentance. My God is Giver of Peace. My God is the Most Loving.

Submitting to the will of my God is the best way to lead the life. For those who deny the signs of my God, He is swift in calling to account. My God is Guardian of faith. My God is Preserver of truth. My God is Exalted in Might. My God is Knower of the Unseen. My God is observing every action that is taking place in the Universe. He is Best of Observers.

For those who plot against my God, He is Lord of Retribution. For those who spread evil in the universe, my God is the Best Avenger. My God is the Enforcer of His Will. My God is above all comprehension, yet He is acquainted with all things. My God is the Restorer of Peace. My God is the Slayer of oppressors and the Best Accepter of repentance.

My God never fails to keep His promises. My God is Supreme in Greatness. My God is the Doer of what He wills. My God is Master of His concern. My God is the Most Honorable and He is the Giver of Honor to the people. My God is the Best Helper among all helpers. My God is the Most Gracious among all the gracious ones. My God is the Kindest among all the kind. My God is Greatest Forgiver among all forgivers. My God is the Best Protectors among all protectors.

He has no defects. My God is Wisest. My God is Strongest among Strong and Wisest among wise. My God is the Greatest King among all Kings. My God is the Greatest Emperor among all Emperors. My God is the Best Ruler among all the rulers. My God is the Best Judge among all judges. My God is the Best Planner among all the planners. My God is the Best of Narrators among all narrators. My God is the Best Listeners among all Listeners.

My God is the Knower of future. My God is the Ultimate Decider. My God is Complete, All-Sufficient, Most Merciful and Most Beneficent. None deserves more praise than my God. None is Worthy to be worshipped other than my God.

Need for Geology Museums in India

An year back, I was at a small Swiss city called Lausanne for a business visit. Adjacent to Lake Geneva and on the back ground of snow mountains, Lausanne is blessed with natural beauty. At Lausanne railway station, I found a large banner displaying the places of tourist interest within the city. I was surprised to find that a Geological Museum was among the list. Instantly, I decided to give a visit to this Geological Museum. Believe it or not, I spent nearly six hours in the geological museum, absolutely blown away looking at the colors and shapes of different minerals on display. The museum had collection of minerals found from all parts of the world, including from different states of India. Imagine, watching the rocks of India on display in Switzerland! I asked myself, what’s the purpose of this Museum? Just when I was thinking this, I was distracted by a little girl, who asked her mother pointing towards a white rock with blue spots, about what those blue spots are. The mother explained her that, its Cavansite, a calcium vanadium silicate, a mineral found at Maharashtra, India. I got the answer to my question.

In India, we often complain that, everyone either wants to be either engineer or doctor. What about explorers, physicists, chemists, botanists and GEOLOGISTS? I think, the part of problem lies with the attitude of the people. How can we expect students to take up studies in earth sciences passionately when they can find no inspiration around? How inspiring it would be for Indian school students to visit a Geological Museum, where they can see thousand different minerals and understand where they were found? There is so much of beauty in the minerals of earth… Unfortunately, Indian student gets to know about that beauty only when they reach the level of graduation. There are less than 10 public geological museums in India. Some Indian Geologists, especially the geology professors might argue saying, our geological department has museum, I ask them, how many visitors, especially school students, they had in last one year?