Many Happy returns of the Day Mani

Hope you celebrate such days, many


This world we know is fani

Your style of story-telling is toofaani


Hindi Raj Kumar’s famous dialogue, Eh Jaani

I am sure you are singing, Rajesh Khanna’s “Mere sapno ki Rani”


Sunday ** yah Monday, roz khao Andey!

We are okay to settle with Hyderabadi Biryani in Dande

A tale, not very astonishing.
It happens with every forced wanderer.
Just a story — amorphous and absorbing.

To make my living a decent one.
To build a career better —
Yes! The recent one.

I moved from city of hearts to the city known for its royalty,
The city which treated an insolent me like a nawab —
A Loyalty.
From metros — crowded with stories bold and unruly,
I came to the city having boulders depicting nature's beauty.

A blend of love and fury.

A guy who came from administrative forts,
Shocked but humbled by palaces and temples
Infusing in my veins a spiritual-divine force.

This is what happened when a guy from Delhi met Hyderabad.

From stomping streets, busy enough, still meet and greet strangers,
To streets where Bougainvilleas on the roadside make you fall in love with yourself —
Loneliness is now a fallen ranger.

I took my cravings, the longings of chole bhature,
Found one-sided love in Biryani of Paradise.

My heart got smeared
After hearing the mix from Punjabi to Hyderabadi.
My Hindi has now found its real love —
As we called "a real Ishq."

Love is in the air,
Telugu and Urdu whispering poetry
Embracing nature's soul.
Teaching love its new meaning and life — its role.

Believe me,
I have seen two cities fall in love,
Different in every aspect.
One is about passion and aggression,
Another subtle and pure,
Full of warmth and compassion.

Their love made me feel my own self-worth.
From now on, I am a Hyderabadi from heart
And a Delhiite by birth.

I saw angel-like places on this very earth.

Today, I stand here alone on the shore,
which has endured many a storm and cyclone,
nearly uprooting my confidence, my hope, and my passion again and again,
shattering my tranquility, quelling my courage, wreaking havoc within.

Years passed, and with each storm’s fierce blow,
I found new strength, deeper than I’d known.
The more the tempests lashed, the stronger I became,
forged by the trials, untouched by shame.

Now, like the shore that still stands despite the tides,
I rise resilient, with unwavering pride

Babu Hyderabadi ....