Chapter 9: chapter 9

5A friend of mine who was in the media told me over phone: “There’s a vineyard belonging to a lady who was an important political leader in Hyderabad! Please take photographs of that vineyard and send them to me as soon as possible!” Now and then I used to write stories for the magazine of which he was the editor. So, I could not turn down his request! Only on hearing from him, I came to know that that lady, who was an important political leader, owned a vineyard in Hyderabad. When I enquired a friend, who was working for Deccan Chronicle about it, he affirmed it and told me that it was not news at all and everybody knew it!Boinapally was 30 k.m. away from Hyderabad. I reached there after changing three or four buses. When I enquired about the vineyard, many people willingly showed me the way. That lady used to visit the vineyard now and then. Whenever she came, there would be lot of restrictions and much fussing over, they told me. I reached the entrance. A large iron gate welcomed me. The vineyard sprawled across many acres. The compound wall was so high that nothing was visible from outside. My plan was to see it first without anybody to go with me and then come back with Anandan, a photographer-friend to take photos. I had already visited many places with Anandan, who was working as an apprentice photographer in Ananda Vikatan, a popular Tamil magazine. He was working under the student-cum- journalist scheme! The environment of Secunderabad was affected by the tents put up for housing the Sri Lankan refugees and by the biological waste disposed by the hospitals. I also wrote a news item on the World Humour Festival. Anandan agreed to come with me to the vineyard. He was a bit worried that his studies were getting affected by the work as an apprentice in Ananda Vikatan.Whichever route we took around the vineyard we were welcomed only by the compound wall. Nothing in the vineyard could be seen from outside. I imagined earlier that the vineyard would be surrounded by a barbed wire fence. Earlier, I dreamt: “I could go through the barbed wire fence, know the secrets easily, take photographs and get bruised while escaping!” But my dream could not be realised because of the huge fence! I approached the security guard in order to elicit some information from him. But his rough Hindi made me take to my heels!The Michael vineyards were very famous! Pannir thiratchai, a variety of grapes, was sold in carts there, for half the price it was sold in the town. Plenty of different types of grapes was available there!I walked a bit, bought some grapes sold in the carts and returned to Secunderabad.The friend working in Deccan Chronicle introduced me to the photographer working for that newspaper. That photographer told me that he had already gone to Boinapally and taken photos of that madam’s vineyard. I told him frankly about my intention. He dragged on for days saying that he would give me the photographs. Only later, I realized that those photos were worth lakhs of rupees. He might have laughed at me in his heart of hearts that I had asked for the photographs worth lakhs of rupees ‘just like that’! The photographs of the vineyard appeared in the newspapers of Tamil Nadu after a long time.Now that spot has become a big tourist attraction. To go to Dhola ri Dhani, a model Rajasthani village, one had to pass through Boinapally. It had become a tourist centre.The Rajasthan village atmosphere was created in a piece of land, sprawling across many acres. Houses, huts and streets all were created exactly in the Rajasthani style. Rajasthani food and other things unique to Rajasthan were available there. The people who were there wore the Rajasthani style of dress.The evenings were filled with dramas, dances, singing and folk programmes that were exactly and essentially Rajasthani. The entrance fee was Rs. 1500/= It became a place meant for people who wanted to spend a day leisurely! The people who went to Dhola ri Dhani had to pass by the madam’s vineyard. On such occasions, people used to say, “See! That’s madam’s vineyard!” with their eyes filled with awe! It stood guarded by big iron gates. Once it was without much ‘traffic’. Now it had become a crowded place. The very face of it had changed! The taste of Angoor had changed because of chemical manures.Now that writer- friend is working in another magazine. That owner of that magazine now is the madam, who is also the owner of the vineyard.