[Rajesh Rawal]

i am supposed to be the 'mood setter' and you zalim people put up only one pic of mine

guys what an evening.

some highlights for me were:

a) singer purvi singing some of my favourites
b) devidas on the flute
c) fazal bhai's little angel looking so cute and elegant doing her act
d) pocket dynamite chikoo keeping all entertained
e) theodore walking in with a surprise.( i was really surprised seeing her dude)
f) meeting all like minded people
g) mrs downsouth getting me married.lol ,arey shweta if you reading this where are the pics of my honne wali biwi.lol

special thanks to devidas/avi and fazal bhai for making yesterday evening truely one of a kind.

lastly : what a venue man

p.s: kavita if you are reading this as well ,have a safe trip to bangalore and trust me you wont find events like the one yesterday there.hehehe

still wanna go to bangalore now.?

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I'm the better photographer out of the two of us. ........

Remember she is the better half. Now where is the salt cellar?

Originally Posted by Stanher

.....
'seems like someone put "flowers in his ears" (translating a telugu saying literally!).. :P

For the non-telugu chaps the Hyderabadi = "Kaan mein beedi".

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Trust me, getting Mr & Mrs. Milecruncher to pose for that picture was the toughest job for me yesterday!

What did you use to bribe Mrs. MC?

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

We were there for you to take the picture the moment you asked us.

Now where is the salt mine!

Ok, time for me to stop being a smart alec and give my take on last night's event.

I was late for the meet, I picked up a friend and called Rajesh, then Avi neither of them picked up their phones and I am going - "God, these guys are ignoring me. I must be a real pain in the neck." Then the usual ego/confidence kicks in and I tell myself - Oh no, for once a Hyd TBHP meet has started on time and just my luck - I am late. These guys are having rollicking time and I am lost, I do not know the address (the damn address was never communicated to me). All, I have is a map to Hampi - but the Hampi drive is later this month. I give Arun a call - thankfully he answers and puts Sai Thakur on line - aaah here come instructions in true Hyderabadi style -

he to me: seedha jaao, university ke yahan left maaro - seedha jaao - left turn aata, left kaato - hamara gaadiyaan dikhenge!

Well that seems pretty clear........clear as mud! I am on the old Bombay road (before it became Mumbai), do I have to take a left before/ after university.....just one doubt ....how much before Mumbai should I take the left? .....then another left......any land marks? So I put on my best "I am an imbecile - will you please explain it again to me" voice and re-start the whole process.


Me to him: but on which road? - I am at a cross roads - ok, ok, I am approaching from airport -
He to me: Left le lo,
Me to him: Ok, left liya to Old Bombay road pe aatun main.
He to me: Stadium aata.....phir University aataa
Me to him: ........Me to him .....ok, university ...
He to me: University ke baad ...left turn leo....
Me to him: heyyy hold on ....how far after university .....
He to me: 1 & 1/2 km. then he adds - straight gaye tho Bombay jaati......
Me to myself: well that sure is news considering, this is the Bombay road!
He to me. Bole to, right ko gaye to BHEL aur Bombay jaati...wahaan pe left lenaa...
Me to myself: ya that sounds better....(seems that there is a bend in the road to the right and turning is around that spot.)
Me to him: ..left lene ke baad? ......
He to me: .....aur ek left aata....
Me to him: ...theek hai......
Me to myself: Let me drive in the right direction, take the first left and then call if I do not see another left or I see too many of them.

Thankfully Avi calls back soon enough after I take the first left and tells me to look for a "Aparna" board in blue colour. ..... Brilliant ...I see the board in about 10 seconds ......now I am on the home stretch and see the TBHP beasts (no not the members - their cars) all lined up. I pull in and park, get the luggage out of the dickie and head upstairs. The music wafting down gently pulling me upstairs.

The place is awesome. Well lit, great breeze and done up neatly.

I was astounded on seeing the 'gang'. The usually ragamuffin lot who seem to live in shorts and jeans were immaculately dressed and looking rather distinguished. The guys however, were totally outclassed by the ladies who were absolutely elegant.

The kids there - Prabhu's two little angels, Hillram's cute little Vijay, Suren's son and Fazal saab's lovely daughter with the twinkle toes and son with twinkling eyes were clearly enjoying themselves.

The seating lay-out and the music was just right....soothing and the volume was not too high to impede conversation.

The kebabs, fried fish and reshmi kebabs were just right....the chutney with the kebabs deserves a special mention. The food - the rotis were absolutely excellent, the mutton maraag was wonderful, the biryani was more Awadhi/Moghlai than Hyderabadi or maybe it was the rose-water on it that gave me this impression (the Hyderabadi in me said - kambakhat, biryani mein ittar daal diya). The dessert was awesome and many of us had seconds - (kurtas tend to hide paunches, so we ignored ours and pigged out).

Devidas - host and organiser par-excellance, deserves a special thanks, so on behalf of all of us who were there, I thank Devi for a wonderful evening.

Devidas also showed he had other hidden talents - he is awesome on the flute!

We finally wound down around 1.30 a.m. (which by our standards, is rather a decent hour!)

Now it is time to catch my breath and rest till the next meet.

Did I hear someone mention F1? Tomorrow!!

Cheers,

[Stanher]

Neat pics. from you guys, and as always a superb write-up from you, raveendra!

Originally Posted by Ravveendrra

For the non-telugu chaps the Hyderabadi = "Kaan mein beedi".

Oh, this is something new I learnt! Thanks for the gyAn!

BTW, I guess you mean non-telugu speaking chaps, because I too am a non-telugu but telugu-speaking chap!

[mobike008]

Awesome write up Ravvs !!!

I was on the phone for about an hour since i reached the venue as everyone seems to call only me for directions and this is not the first time but for all meets.

Added to above misery, by the time you arrived, music had commenced and in the midst of those lilting ghazals the phone rings were getting drowned.

But, what a night, awesome fun and even before we get out of that awesome night daze, we are all set to vroommmm ( F1 Meet) for another meet at Arun's house in a couple of hours from now

[anurag_p80]

Incredible meet guys. Thanks to all you wonderful people for that great evening of music, laughter, animated discussions, laughter, and oh-so-much-more. A special note of thanks to Devidas, Fazal bhai, Avinash, MC, and all the others who contributed to the "event management" side of it.

On a separate note, count me out of the F1 meet, man. Dont wanna see another Brawn 1-2, rather keep the pain private ya knw, and it is too hot to get out anyway. You guys enjoy, and may the best red car win. See yall soon for another rockin' meet.
Cheerios!!!

[absynthguzzler]

uh oh!, everyone's offline so i guess my house is being raided lol

[MileCruncher]

Just back from another wonderful F1 meet. Hope the best car won
Cheers

[Rajesh Rawal]

ok so anurag unfortunately the 'red' car did not win the rain hit gp.

wish it was raining likewise in hyderabad.

good fun to meet up at arun's place ,filled with the usual hoo hallah ( were we really watching the malaysian gp?lol)

our drivoblog man 'btirthankar' was there as well ,basu dude keep those travelogues coming.long drive or short drive (always a fun to read them)

oh yes! we also initiated/decided our next drive out! watch this space for more on that

popat of the day: instead of the egg parathas ,the gur nihal fellow packed aloo paratha

[pulsar56]

Originally Posted by anurag_p80

and it is too hot to get out anyway.

Today's meet was more than the race as you can see from MC's comment below.

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Just back from another wonderful F1 meet. Hope the best car won

Dude, this is our first F1 meet! LOL!

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

good fun to meet up at arun's place ,filled with the usual hoo hallah ( were we really watching the malaysian gp?lol)

our drivoblog man 'btirthankar' was there as well ,basu dude keep those travelogues coming.long drive or short drive (always a fun to read them)

popat of the day: instead of the egg parathas ,the gur nihal fellow packed aloo paratha

Arun's place rocked as usual!
RR, I was watching the GP and kirkiri was also following with me!

btirthankar, I would prefer to call you Basu. It was really great to meet you! It was fun having those detailed discussions and the tips on driving!

Can you do a sequel to the Hyderabad travelogue with the changes you see now?

Missed the Egg Parathas! Hillram will be smiling now! LOL!

[mobike008]

You know what i went again to GurNihal for dinner last night and oh boy! i am little tired of those egg parathas and achari chicken

Great meet at Arun's place and Basu it was wonderful to catching up with you. As discussed, look forward to one of your longgggg drive from Kolkatta to our 25/26th meet destination

[himanshugoswami]

Guys, what an AWESOME friday night.....

truly memorable and a special thanks to Fazal, Devidas and Avi, without whom this meet would not be possible.
@MC- buddy, i owe you money for the tonic water, sorry forgot to pay u that night.

@Rajesh- you now have a new fan- Kavita- she found you absolutely adorable

Shweta and Neera, if you are reading this, about time we got RR hitched up or else the table conversation will degenerate (or become more intersting- depending which way you look at it ) with each passing meet.

Most of us who met Sai Thakur fo rthe first time after his accident (last month's drive to Vikarabad) asked the first question- Gaadi laisi hai ....Lol, proves we are true Bhpians, worried more about the health of the car than our dear Sai.
so guys, have fun, and I will meet you after third week of May now (P.S. in case you have Gur Nihal lunch sometime in April, may join you then)

till then, Drive safe......

[hillram]

Folks..im logging into the thread pretty late..
But the Ghazal nite was so memorable and it was something to remember.When i described the event to few of my Non-TBhpian friends..i was asked what strata of enjoyment we are all sailing in?
Truly it was a well organised event.Thanks to all the people like Avi,Anirudha and Devidas,who put in their time to set up everything.
The place looked like Xanadu and he ghazals were flowing from the wind and the food was awesome.
In the end it was a great meet for the weekend to start and am wondering what next innovative meet will we all wind up in?

[Rajesh Rawal]

bhailog ,yesterday's aloo paratha was full zhol i guess ,since morning must have visited pakistan( loo) 3-4 times.

guess my system is not used to eating veg khaana anymore.lol

time to eat one goli of pudin hara now.

pandeyji ,you came all the way to hi tech and didnt call me yaar! i can understand you wanted a candle light dinner at gur nihal( it turns into an automatic candle light setting with no electricity anyways)

[btirthankar]

Originally Posted by mobike008

You know what i went again to GurNihal for dinner last night and oh boy! i am little tired of those egg parathas and achari chicken

Great meet at Arun's place and Basu it was wonderful to catching up with you. As discussed, look forward to one of your longgggg drive from Kolkatta to our 25/26th meet destination

I would love to pounce on any opportunity to attend Hydra-BHP Meets. I may relocate to HYD at the next career opportunity.

And thanks Arun for the Hospitality.

Originally Posted by pulsar56

btirthankar, I would prefer to call you Basu. It was really great to meet you! It was fun having those detailed discussions and the tips on driving!

Can you do a sequel to the Hyderabad travelogue with the changes you see now?

It was a pleasure meeting you too.

Mention not. We are all experts in our own areas.

Also liked seeing your pepped up Zen torquing on the Paradise Flyover.

Originally Posted by Rajesh Rawal

our drivoblog man 'btirthankar' was there as well ,basu dude keep those travelogues coming.long drive or short drive (always a fun to read them)

oh yes! we also initiated/decided our next drive out! watch this space for more on that

popat of the day: instead of the egg parathas ,the gur nihal fellow packed aloo paratha

REAL POPAT Maaaaaaan! I was wondering whether the Eggs were mixed so well with the alu that they were present in the molecular level, or not. I also said once that maybe they used only egg whites.

I have again populated the Travelogue Section. Apart from tickling your belly and intellects, very soon it will also attract troublemakers from the West Coast, seems like.

One guy even said my Travelogues have become 'Fight-Club' so enjoy the Fightoblogs, err Drivoblogs.

Hey Hillram, I saw your photo riding that Mirco-Harley. What a feat!

Hey Suren Uncle, Missed you!

[absynthguzzler]

Originally Posted by hillram

In the end it was a great meet for the weekend to start and am wondering what next innovative meet will we all wind up in?

Well well , i was just waiting for someone to ask this question! .

My next proposal would be to hire a boat on the Hussein Sagar,get caterers in the same mold and also have our very own Music.Music Equipment is already provided.Also shouldn't be a problem hiring out the aquafloats as their business normally ends at 8-8:30pm.

I was discussing the rates with Suren and he says 8-9Grand should be good to go for the boat and equipment and 4hours on water.(maybe even a stop over at the Budha statue for the meal). Taking into consideration a similar turn out of 25-30 . This should be a breeze as we wont be getting full blown caterers.I'd even say cut the fancy snacks out and just get nice crunchy 50p veg and non veg samosas. Food can just remain a lip smacking veg and nonveg biryani.

To keep this theme in tune with T-BHp,tell me which city has organised an indepth(on-site) review of Engines in Boats? lol. Hyd shall be the first!