[mobike008]

Dear All, Happy New Year 2009

It's that time again. Yeah, you guessed it right, time to start our banter on our next drive meet

I am proposing the dates as Jan 25th/Jan 26th and like we discussed in our last meet, we can even think of doing an overnighter which would be a first for Hyd tbhp. What say?

As Zen91 was suggesting, we can think of Bijapur ( 400kms one way) and BEWARE there is nothing much to see there except for GOLGUMAZ (largest dome in Asia) but the roads leading to this destination is heaven.

So let the ideas flow-in to make our first drive meet of the year enjoyable and momentous.

[himanshugoswami]

welcome back Avi....how was the himachal trip?

as regards teh 25th trip, there has been some discussion to push this for the GQ drive in Feb. If that is the case then we can consider something for the second weekend of Jan for a quick blast.

on a personal note, 22nd to 26th jan, i need to be in Delhi on work....

[pulsar56]

Whatever be the destination, I am game! cheers:
Don't want to miss the meet this time.

[Rajesh Rawal]

ok ,so my 1st post of the new year and what a way to do it than giving a confirmation that i am in

happy new year to everyone!

here's hoping all the hyd tbhp members get "Mhawked" ( copyright-getsurya) this year...

this year i hope i get married

i am looking at zen91 and sai thakur taking a lead on this one ,so not many thoughts i can think of for this drive.

do we all come in our own cars or do we club into some cars ,since this is gonna be an overnight!

the way zen91 drives ,if i get my f1 xing i guess he'll be waiting for me to catch up everytime... so clubbing with someone is what i feel!

btw:- does my avtar pic remind you guys of the good old doordarshan days

[hillram]

Avi...26th Jan clashes with the Deccan Heritage Vintage Rally..Myself will be showcasing most of my classics and this time Suren will debut his participation with his Fiat 1100 Centre light.
I suggest that you move the date.

[nagvasireddy]

Happy new year to all Team-BHPians in Hyd

Avi - welcome back. will await write up on your HP tour..

Count me in the Bijapur trip (or whatever it morphs into finally) on Jan 25 and 26.

[zen91]

A Happy New Year to all and as Avi rightly mentioned,time for us to discuss on our drive meet in Jan'09.

The proposal for Bijapur is for the following reasons:

1. 400kms drive out of which 230kms is pure bliss(you can test your vehicle on all performance parameters)
2. Road from Humnabad to Bijapur via Gulbarga-Jewargi-Sindgi-Bijapur is one of the best roads I have driven on.
3. Very less traffic from Humnabad untill Bijapur.
4. Bijapur is famous for Gol Gumbaj(2nd Largest dome in the world).

We need to make an overnight stay at Bijapur as it would take approximately 8 hours to reach,including our photo sessions in between.

I shall try and find out on the accommodation at Bijapur and I guess it would not be too difficult as the town is reasonably big and attracts a lot of tourists.

Incase we are travelling with our families,we need to factor this while making hotel bookings.

Attractions at Bijapur:

Bijapur is rich in historical attractions, mainly related to [COLOR=#002bb8]Islamic architecture[/COLOR].

• [COLOR=#002bb8]Gol Gumbaz[/COLOR]: This is the most famous monument in Bijapur. It is the tomb of Mohammed Adil Shah (ruled 1627-1657). It is the second largest dome ever built, next in size only to [COLOR=#002bb8]St Peter's Basilica[/COLOR] in [COLOR=#002bb8]Rome[/COLOR]. A particular attraction in this monument is the central chamber, where every sound is echoed seven times. Another attraction at the Gol Gumbaz is the Whispering Gallery, where even minute sounds can be heard clearly 37 metres away. Gol Gumbaz complex includes a mosque, a Naqqar Khana (a hall for the trumpeters) (Now it is used as museum) and the ruins of guest houses.
• Ibrahim Rauza: This is the tomb of [COLOR=#002bb8]Ibrahim Adil Shah II[/COLOR] (ruled 1580-1627), the fifth king of the dynasty and, like the Mughal emperor [COLOR=#002bb8]Akbar[/COLOR], known for religious tolerance. Built on a single rock bed, it is noted for the symmetry of its features. It is said that the design for the Ibrahim Rauza served as an inspiration for that of the famous [COLOR=#002bb8]Taj Mahal[/COLOR].

A file photo of Bara Kaman Circa 1870

• Malik-e-Maidan (The Monarch of the Plains) the largest medieval cannon in the world. Being 4 m long, 1,5 m in diameter and weighing 55 tons, this gun was brought back from [COLOR=#002bb8]Ahmadnagar[/COLOR] in the 17th century as a trophy of war by 400 oxen, 10 elephants and tens of men. It was placed on the Sherza Burj (Lion Gate) on a platform especially built for it. The cannon's nozzle is fashioned into the shape of a lion's head with open jaws & between the carved fangs is depicted an elephant being crushed to death. It is said that after igniting the cannon, the gunner would remain underwater in a tank of water on the platform to avoid the deafening explosion. The cannon remains cool even in strong sunlight and if tapped, tinkles like a bell. In 1854 the cannon was auctioned for Rs. 150 but the sale was cancelled in the end.

The Gun: Malik-E-Maidan, which means the master of the war front

• Upri Buruj, Built around 1584 by Hyder Khan, is an 80 ft (24 m) high tower standing to the north of Dakhani Idgah in Bijapur. This is a spherical structure with stone steps winding round the outside. Top of the tower offers a commanding view of the city. This is also known as ;Hyder Burj", "Upli Burj". On top of Upli Burj there are two guns of huge size. The parafeet this tower which was used for monitoring purposes has been fenced now. One needs to climb the circular stairs to reach the top. However except for this tower there is very little evidence of the citadel wall in this area due to rampant construction.
• Chand Bawdi, Ali Adil Shah (1557-1580) built this tank near eastern boundary of Bijapur. When there was large influx of people into Bijapur after the fall of the Vijayanagar empire, and new settlements came up within the walled city raising the need for better infrastructure and providing water supply. This has a storage capacity of 20 million litres. Later it became a model for many other tanks constructed in the city. A grandeur complex came up around it, which was mainly used to house the maintenance staff though members of the royal family occasionally used it for recreation. He named this after his wife "Chand Bibi".
  The incomplete masolueum of Adil Shah, Barakaman(Ali Roza-II), [COLOR=#002bb8]India[/COLOR], which means twelve arches in [COLOR=#002bb8]Urdu[/COLOR]
  
  
• Asar Mahal, The Asar Mahal was built by Mohammed Adil Shah in about 1646, which was used to serve as a Hall of Justice. The building was also used to house hairs from the Prophet's beard. The rooms on the upper storey are decorated with frescoes and the front is graced with a square tank. Here women are not allowed inside. Every year there is urs (festival) held at this place. In front of the hall, one can see three tanks the bigger tank, which is at the centre is about 15 feet (4.6 m) deep however the other two are comparatively smaller in size as well as depth. Behind Asar Mahal one can still see the remain of the citadel. Just a kilometer away behind Asar Mahal, one can still find the old mosque which is on top of the citadel wall. There is a big entrance with arc below this mosque. Many stones have inscriptions. The site is under maintenance of Archeological Survey of India.

Asar Mahal

• Gagan Mahal, Which means Sky Palace, is built with a 21- meter façade and four wooden massive pillars, has a majestic central arch. Sikandar Adil Shah, in silver chains, surrendered to Aurangzeb in 1681 here.

Gagan Mahal

• Barakaman (Ali Roza-II) A mausoleum of Ali Roza built in 1672. It was previously named as Ali Roza, but Shah Nawab Khan changed its name to Bara Kaman as this was the 12th monument during his reign. It has now seven arches and the tomb containing the graves of Ali, his queens and eleven other ladies possibly belonging to the Zenana of the queens.
• Among the other historical attractions at Bijapur, some notable ones are the Anand Mahal, Jod Gumbaz, Jumma Mosque, Sat Manzil, and Jal Manzil. Also among old houses at Bijapur, the most famous is Elavia House ( Nauzer Elavia) which is more than 100 years old.

[Rajesh Rawal]

@zen91-any pics of the blissful roads/scenary

knowing our gang/myself i have my doubts whether we'll cover more than 1 tourist attraction...

[zen91]

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

@zen91-any pics of the blissful roads/scenary

knowing our gang/myself i have my doubts whether we'll cover more than 1 tourist attraction...

Rajesh bhai..unfortunately no pictures of the roads and scenary.

Let's keep it as a surprise for the drive meet.

[mobike008]

Wow, as expected the response and enthusiasm of mana hyderabad has continued into 2009

@Himanshu & Nag, thanks and i am not back yet. I am still in Delhi soaking in the 4C temparatures and i quickly need to post this before the chill seeps into my bones..hehehe. I am back tomorrow ( Jan 4th) late night.

Firstly a note for the folks( Himanshu & Hillram- Both H's...huh?) who mentioned 25th and 26th ain't possible. I don't see any other day possible in January except maybe Jan 14th or 15th whenever we get our sankranthi festival which happens to be in middle of a week. What other dates you guys have in mind?

@Brajesh, wow you really want us to go to Bijapur...don't you? seeing your exhaustive details on this destination...we'll go there buddy

@Rajesh, good idea of sharing the rides, it does make sense to an extent.

Regarding your marriage, i saw some awesome appy ( as in apples) cheeked, mind-boggling beautiful girls in Himachal, I think you should go there and i wont be surprised if you come back to hyderabad un-decided whom to marry..hahaha!

Btw, your avatar looks more like i am in Egypt looking at the pyramids

[Rajesh Rawal]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Regarding your marriage, i saw some awesome appy ( as in apples) cheeked, mind-boggling beautiful girls in Himachal, I think you should go there and i wont be surprised if you come back to hyderabad un-decided whom to marry..hahaha!

Btw, your avatar looks more like i am in Egypt looking at the pyramids

aree sir looks like the himachal apples have arrived in hyderabad was dining @ serengiti ,there was this babe yaar ,full pink ..hehehehe,wanted to marry her there and there itself,lol

ok so about the avtaar thing ,when i was growing up there used to be this animation series 'giant robot' on doordarshan,chanced upon this in you tube ,got back good old memories ,so uploaded the pic..

hey if we guys are travelling one way 400km ,why not put the extra 100 and go to bangalore yaar ,we can do a hyd visitors tbhp meet with the bangalore folks ,just a thought!

ok tata for now ..have got addicted to this need for speed undercover on the psp ,playing on it even while am in the loo,hhehehe..

[hillram]

Avi..Jan looks very packed.can we do the driv ein Feb

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by hillram

Avi..Jan looks very packed.can we do the driv ein Feb

Ram, 25th/26th is too good an opportunity to miss. We can do another for Feb'09

Guys, depending on participation numbers we can plan the Jan 25th/26th drive, if less numbers, we'll cancel this drive.

Let's do some headcount, copy and paste from "Destination line" and add your name to it.

Plan is to go to Bijapur on 25th morning and stay overnight and back on 26th evening.

Destination: Bijapur ( 800kms up and down), overnight stay
Date: Jan 25th and Jan 26th
Meeting Time and Point : TBD
Carpooling: To be strongly considered

Confirmed

1. Mobike008+Wife
2. Zen91
3. Rajesh.Rawal
4. Nagvasireddy
5. Pulsar56

[zen91]

On behalf of Sai,wish to confirm his participation for this drive meet.

Destination: Bijapur ( 800kms up and down), overnight stay
Date: Jan 25th and Jan 26th
Meeting Time and Point : TBD
Carpooling: To be strongly considered

Confirmed

1. Mobike008+Wife
2. Zen91
3. Rajesh.Rawal
4. Nagvasireddy
5. Pulsar56
6. Sai Thakur

[mobike008]

What's wrong? Not many seem interested?