VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

My article We are 16 going on 17 Times of India: 1 Jan 2017 The weather is perfect; the sky is that intense shade of blue that makes Vizag’s spectacular scenery look even more romantic.  The light at dusk is a warm gold colour, what photographers and cinematographers call the golden hour. You begin to notice that we look better in that light.  Everybody loves the winter months. It is quite extraordinary how our spirits lift during this part of the year. Folks dress better, smile more often and generally more upbeat than any other part of the year. The contraction and expansion of time Last week many of us celebrated Christmas and last night we bid good bye to 2016 and welcomed a brand new 2017. There are different reactions to the New Year. Senior citizens exclaim with trepidation “last year went past so quickly!” They feel that the years roll away and new ones roll in in rapid succession, there is a perception that time has inexorably speeded up. They try har...

Regimental Lines Cemetery, Christian Cemeteries Board, Vizag, India This cemetery has around 367 graves from 1838 to 1946. Heritage lovers want the cemetery to be spruced up. Descendants of those who died and were buried here may want to visit. Any cultured nation must respect the dead. Click the link above to see pictures of the cemetery.

The banyan trees at the recruiting office My article that appeared in The Times of India  on 11 December 2016 Half a century ago, in old Vizag, near the recently restored lighthouse, stood a recruiting office under the shade of large banyan trees. Men for the army, navy and air force were recruited here. The first floor of this building served as the residence of M.K. Unni Menon and his family. He was in-charge of recruitment. Mrs. Menon was a hospitable lady who encouraged children to gather at her home and play in the recruiting office grounds. These “grounds” were not just some open area but an exciting, mysterious, magical world where many children got in touch with the wonders of the nature. Banyan trees The recruiting office ‘grounds’ and surrounding areas had two massive banyan trees ( Ficus benghalensis ). These could be accessed by friends of the Menons. There was another large tree outside the grounds to the East which was in the public domain. These maj...

Dear Friend, From the past two years several representations have been made to our city officials to have this historic heritage school building repaired. Every time the response has been favorable and sympathetic but there has been no forward movement. We all know that our officials are very very busy with  other  matters.  This silly two and half century old building is not a priority for local administration. They have to look after so many important things like visiting and local dignitaries who go around the city with their sirens blaring attending one conference or the other.   Who cares if the historic heritage building falls?  Meanwhile our history is being lost. Now they want to widen the main road to 100 ft from Jagadamba Jn. to Old Post Office. If you remember the historic 1914 King Edward VII Coronation Market ( Kurupam Market ) was brought down by GVMC on 19 Nov 2013 without public consultation, stealthily and overnig...

World tourism day 2016 Times of India dated 25 September 2016 On 27 September, the world will celebrate World Tourism Day. You must wonder if this is just another one of those silly days like friendship day, cell phone day, ice cream day, pet day, beer drinking day, open defecation free day and so on. Does World Tourism Day have any real significance? If it does, what does it mean for us here in Vizag?   What UNWTO does The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has 157 countries as members plus several associate members, Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.  They are responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable tourism worldwide. As the leading international organisation in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmentally sustainable tourism. The organisation generates d...

Who’s working for Vizag? TOI dated 12 September 2016 In the olden days when a shopkeeper who singly looking after his shop, wanted to go out for a bite he generally put out a board reading “CLOSED FOR LUNCH”. Old timers will remember waiting at the doctor’s clinic where a small board read “DOCTOR IS OUT, WILL RETURN AT …” Underneath was a dummy clock, the hands of which could be rotated, that gave the time when the doctor was expected back. Until then we just sat in the waiting room thumbing through old editions of the Illustrated Weekly. Lately we Vizagites are beginning to get a funny feeling that we are constantly in waiting. We are beginning to wonder if there is anyone really looking after our city. Meeting cancelled Officials in Vizag are all busy doing something else. Here is how it works. The head honcho in Hyderabad calls for a meeting. He asks the boss administrator in the state to get him some information. The boss in turn asks the principal secretary to ge...

Vizag’s incredible treadmill Sohan Hatangadi TOI dated 28 August 2016 If you notice that the most plans announced by the government for Vizag really doesn’t get executed. Enthusiastic government officials and political leaders announce project as soon as it pops up in their minds and the Press, hungry for some juicy news, goes to town announcing every outlandish plan with great relish. We the readers are also quite optimistic and believe everything in print. The minute we read the news, being proud Vizagites, we put it out on FB and WhatsApp and give the impression that it is really happening. This is indeed good for the wellbeing of our citizens who are always buoyed by good news however far it is from reality. Researchers are studying why only a small teeny weeny percentage of ideas actually get implemented and their findings are quite revealing. I therefore decided to meet the leading experts on the subject. Alphabet number 22 I walked along the long corridors of th...

Patriotism Sohan Hatangadi Times of India 14 August 2016 Tomorrow is Independence Day. It is time for some reflection. There are instances when we complain about the conditions in our nation. Those who travel to the better countries of the world marvel at their public services, the cleanliness, the parks, play areas, efficient transportation system and the superior quality of their citizen’s lives. While we could compare ourselves with countries worse off than us it is natural to compare against the better ones. Sadly the number of countries worse off than us is far less than those better than us. The Human Development Index report published by the United Nations Development Programme, reporting based on the figures of 2014, ranks us at 130 out of 180 countries. This indicates that we are better off than 50 countries but worse off than 129 countries; certainly not a happy position to be in. Reason to be patriotic? We are now 9 days into the 2016 Olympics and a glance a...

Remember your first bike? Times of India Dated 28 July 2016 Do you remember your first bike? In the days before liberalization and before India became a consumer driven economy, the whole country depended on just half a dozen brands of bikes to carry us over our pot-holed town roads and countryside. If you have seen more than five or six decades of sunrises the names Lambretta, Vespa, Bajaj Chetak, Rajdoot, Jawa, Yezdi and Bullet would come to your mind. For a moment there you could probably hear their faint sound from memory past and imagine the wind on your face. We remember these two-wheelers like dear old friends. Those were the days when we had to pay an advance and wait for years for a scooter to be delivered to us. Most folk purchased used bikes that passed from one person to another and were let go reluctantly, often because one needed the money for things even more important. Before the age of easy consumer finance, we acquired bikes with great fiscal difficulty, r...

For God’s sake! TOI 17 July 2016 It’s coming! It’s coming! The festive season is coming! It is the time when a wave of religious fervour sweeps over the population of our fair city. Devotees gather at temples, parks, beaches, community halls, in front of their apartments and at street corners to celebrate festivals such as Guru Powrnima, Mangala Gowri Vratam, Varalakshmi Vratam, Jandyala Powrnami, Sri Krishna Jayanthi, Vinayaka chaturdhi, Durga Puja, Diwali, Kartika masam, Nagula chavithi and so on. These festivals are a time for rejoicing, socialising, shopping (what would the retailer do if there were no festivals?) and communing with God. Over the years these festivals have grown from small family and community activities to huge public spectacles involving lakhs and lakhs of devotees. And due to our constant need to communicate with the divine and solicit His blessings, the numbers joining the festivities is growing exponentially every year. How is this explosion of faith...