Hyderabad Tour

After Rahul’s epic travelogue, I was really hesitant (read scared) to put down my “Experience of Hyderabad Tour” that I had as part of Training at Basix Academy on “Microfinance: Practices, Processes and Risk Management” last week. Anyway, as a senior blogger (hope Rahul will not mind for this self proclaimed designation); I thought I should write something as so many things had happened first time in this tour.

It was three and half day tour (24^th to 28^th June) and we reached Hyderabad on 24^th Night. It was indeed my first travel by Air and frankly speaking I was frightened. The day before the actual journey, late night edition of 9XNews was exclusively carrying a half hour story on recent time aero-plane accidents and believe me every time I was changing my remote, it was getting standstill on that channel only. Hope you can imagine how good sleep I had that night.

The first flight experience in one word: Good. I was terrified when the plan was taking off, I was terrified when the plan was jerking in the mid air and I was terrified when the plane was landing. The smile of the beautiful air hostesses even was not enough to relieve me.So I can’t rate this journey more than “Good”. The come back flight was cool and I guess I am now quite confident for journey by fight.

Ok the real story started at the night when we had reached the Hotel which is almost 30 KMs away from the stunning Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (my senior Darshini from her personal experience shared that this airport is even better than Paris International Airport). First thing I had to do after reaching hotel was to give food to the Vodafone Dog so that it can bark (read: recharge my Vodafone mobile). So I went out from the hotel around 10.30 and I thought recharging of my mobile would be the easiest job in the universe. Coming from Mumbai, it was unimaginable for us to think that a city can be closed at mere 10.30 PM. So first, I went upto 1 KM by walking to right hand direction. It was absolute shocking to see that there was not a single shop open at that time. I thought then that the left side direction would be active as it’s the era of Left (be it IPL, Nuclear Deal or Oil Price reaching 148 dollar, Left are all there). So I went to the left direction and it was truly futile effort. I had to come back to hotel without recharging. The story does not end here. Before leaving the hotel I along with Ravi gave order for Dinner and when I was coming back empty hand, I was appeasing my mind that I will have good time as I had given order of Special Hydrabadi Biriyani. There was no food in the hotel’s room and it was almost 45 min over. Ravi checked to the reception and the famous answer came that the kitchen was closed at 10 and so there was no food (that son of b***h receptionist did not say this at the time when we gave our order). Nothing could have better than this. After disastrous food at the flight (I could not believe how food can be so tasteless at the flight when they are taking so much money), I was terrible hungry and Ravi too. So again I had to come out of hotel with hope (I guess it was greater that Lance Armstrong’s hope) that if any where any thing I get to eat. After 1.5 km walking me saw a bakery shop open and I bought cake and biscuit for my dinner. It was tastier than Biriyani at that time J

The first Day Training was general classroom training on Microfinance, its models and Legal Aspects. It was nothing new for me as I already had little bit exposure. But it was special for me because I could not believe that I was being taught by none other Mr. Shankar Dutta, the Livelihood and Microfinance Expert. It was dream coming true after the lunch when “Father of Indian Microfinance and Livelihood”, Vijay Mahajan Sir came to give us lecture on Bank and Microfinance linkage. He is really superb and I would like to give one example how passionate this man is for development of marginal people. He was telling a real life incident of his own house maid and one boy who collects garbage from his house. Sir wanted that these people should also be part of financial inclusion and they must have account in bank. We spend thousand words and write papers after papers for this financial inclusion. But when it was a simple act (accounts opening of these so called marginal people, so many obstacles, rules, regulations arise and ultimately the sufferer is these people). Without exception, it was not possible for that house maid and that boy to open account.

May be it was plain  incident, but the way Vijay Mahajan Sir was expressing his concerns for these people, it was clearly comprehensible that those words were directly coming from his heart. I was really wondering that a man like his stature (who has nothing to gain) is still so energetic; his eyes spark when he talks about these people. Salute Sir!!

The next day was supposed to be the field visit and it was in a place called Vidar which is district headquarter of District Vidar, Karnataka. The journey to Vidar from Hydrabad was excellent (Darshini please don’t mind, those Kishore Kumar’s songs were amazing). I was really missing those IIFM Field Trip days when similarly in a Zeep or similar kind of vehicle, we five people used to travel the country roads of Karnataka along with forest officials. The mood in the vehicle used to be much dramatic with Abhishek’s witty remarks, real mock fight between Vaibhav and Kalpana and Shweta’s act of reconciliation aunty. “Jane Kahan gaye woh din”!!

The journey was good till the time when actually we realized that we were being directed by a Hyperactive Human Being who had lost his way to the place where we supposed to spend that night. Shrey, Getting lost is not good all the time specially when you are lost not because of you but because of a third person whom you are not liking. I can’t count how many times our Quails driver took “U Turn” that night. Finally we discovered that place and I must say it was beautiful Guest House. Actually it was Guest House cum Training Center of DCCB, Vidar. The dinner served that night was amazing.

Next day was hectic and we had to cover and see the microfinance operation being run by NGOs (Pawardha), MFIs (Nirantara and NKRDS) and Bank (DCCB, Vidar) at the same time. It was incredible to see those women with much confidence and smile in the group meeting of SHGs as well groups formed by MFIs. That part of Karnataka has much higher penetration of Microfinance operation because of the influence of adjacent “Microfinance Mecca of India” Andhra Pradesh and it was first time for me to see the cross borrowing by borrowers (One Borrowers borrowing from different MFIs). I guess it has both advantage as well disadvantages and its upto the MFIs to decide that whether they are feeding to those whose stomach are already filled or still hungry. It was also first time for me to see the Community Based Microfinance Institutions (GMASS) where community members themselves have built MFI out of their need and few women who were once mere borrowers have made into the board of the MFI.  

The returning journey was nothing special except for Darshini who might not forget those songs that our Driver played at the end of our Journey. It was awesome CD produced by Great Gulshan Kumar of T-Series. The songs were supposed to be for the broken heart and broken souls but the dialogues, in between the songs, were so hilarious that even every broken soul will might burst out in laugh J

We retuned hotel around mid night after breathtaking dinner at a Dhaba whose name was “International Dhaba” J

The last day was normal classroom teaching and finally it was over by 4.30 PM. Our fight was at 9 and so we had time to see the “Charminar”. It was nothing exceptional and I did really not like that throng there. We returned to hotel at 6 PM and Checked out to catch Radio Cab for airport at 6.30.

The Return from the Hyderabad was cool. Over all it was good experience minus Hyderabadi Biriyani. Please Curse me for the reason that I did not  eat “Hyderabadi Biriyani” in Hyderabad L