Susheel Kumar Gotla happens to be an artist. But that would be an improper introduction of him as he has had the luck to meet the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi, at his residence in Mumbai.Incidentally, it was not a dream of Susheel Kumar to make a sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi. But he is into contemporary Indian art and sculptures and considers himself to be an expressionist. Susheel’s desktop figurative sculpture of Mahatma Gandhi impressed Tushar Gandhi, who then arranged a meeting with the artist at his Mumbai residence.Susheel fondly talks of the time spent with Tushar and shares they spoke for about one and half hours about Bapu, Kasturba, and their contribution to the country. He says Tushar added his sculpture to his collection of Gandhi sculptures. Susheel also gifted Tushar a Khadi kurta and says that he was rather overwhelmed by the latter’s humbleness and being in the Gandhi household.Susheel Kumar took to art as a hobby when he was around 8 years old. However, it was in his late 30s that he did a short course at the Jawaharlal Nehru University of Fine Arts, on the insistence of his sister. Susheel says he is an artistic streak that is innate and adds that he crafts whatever comes to his mind at that point in time.He honed his skill during the pandemic as he had lots of free time and now wants to take to art seriously.

An Artist’s Journey into the Gandhi Household

As many may not be aware, Sukumar Das is a Telangana-based entrepreneur who introduced adventure sports like paragliding and paramotoring in Hyderabad. Now, he is all set to tickle people's taste buds in Hyderabad and around the city.His latest initiative will be an extension of his company Vertical World Aerosports and Adventure, along with Telangana tourism. Sukumar now wants to introduce the flavors of rural Telangana to homemade people. He is now working on setting up eateries that specialize in offering authentic and popular Telangana cuisine.The first of his eateries will be at the Telangana Aeroventure and Adventure village, which began operations in October 2021. Also, Sukumar is very clear that the menu will not include items like dal tadka, chicken 65, naan, etc. Instead, he will be serving annam, pappu, charu, kodi kura, chepa pulusu, boti fry, sakinalu and more.The best part is he will not be hiring chefs from trained hotel management institutes. Instead, Sukumar plans to get cooks from rural Telangana who cook home-cooked food. Sukumar shares that the real rustic rural food does not come with complex spices and formula gravies.The eateries will be coming up at various tourist hangout places on the city's outskirts, like at Ranganayaka Sagar, Kondapochamma reservoir in Siddipet, Udandapur, and Karivena project in Telangana. Being a food lover and traveler himself, Sukumar sees a huge potential in the project.His second objective is to get youth from villages involved in the project as it will substantiate their livelihood. Finally, he says he wants to give food cooked on firewood, paired with jonna rotte, and replace beer and carbonated drinks with toddy.

Unbeatable Combo of Adventure Ride and Rural Telangana Food

Born and brought up in Hyderabad, it was only natural for Raymond Andrews to open a biryani place. Well, it’s just that he happens to be a Tamilian with a taste for biryani. He started Biryani Blues along with his wife Aparna, and since then, he hasn’t looked back.Just in you were wondering where the restaurant is in Hyderabad, then, sweat not. There is no Biryani Blues in Hyderabad. Raymond feels the Hyderabadi market is over-saturated with biryani places, and it is low-hanging fruit. However, he says he will eventually enter the market someday.It all began when the couple would travel to other places and carry packs of Hyderabadi biryani with them. They would freeze it and eat it for days. That’s when they hit upon the idea of having a biryani house that would be a QSR chain, like Domino’s Pizza, for example. They started their first 16-seater store in March in Delhi, which took off really well.Of course, they had their share of ‘nay sayers.’ They were told north Indians would not take to rice. But the couple did not seem to be bothered by them. They went right ahead and opened their first joint. Now, they intend to open Biryani Blues in Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, and other places down south.Raymond is quite clear about his business strategy. He says they never tamper with the originality of the recipes. Of course, the only change is in the meat-rice ratio, he says.

Biryani Blues Making Waves Across the Country

A strange incident took place in SR Nagar. A couple, who had come to rent the house, went into the living room and were found in an intimate state. A house owner has kept a To Let board for his property and has made it available from May 1st. The couple approached him and asked him to allow them to see the house once.The owner told them that a portion on the second floor is vacant and gave them the key to look. However, they did not arrive for a long time. The owner got suspected and went up to see what is happening. They are caught red-handed indulging in inappropriate behavior.First, the girl and later the boy was seen running out of the portion and the apartment in fear after they were caught. The visuals got recorded in the apartment CCTV present in the common areas. They are now going viral on social media. The incident happened in SR Nagar Police Station limits.

Couple Comes To See Rented House, Caught Doing Inappropriate Things!

The Hyderabad Public School (HPS) Society will soon set up another campus in Greater Hyderabad. Members of the HPS Society, who recently discussed the matter with Education Minister Sabita Indrareddy, expressed willingness to set up a new campus in the Rangareddy district. The Minister assured that land would be provided for this.The land was found to be available on Srisailam road. With HPS's reputation for providing quality education, there have been calls for campuses in other areas as well. HPS initially set up campuses in Begumpet and Ramantapur in Hyderabad. Some time ago it has set up a campus in Warangal. It is now working to set up a campus in the Rangareddy district.The Hyderabad Public School, which was started in 1923 with just six students, has grown day by day and is now flourishing with 2800 students. It imparts education for Pre-primary, primary, middle school, and high schools. Former Union Minister Ashok Gajapathiraju, software giants Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayan, TK Kurien, former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy, MP Asaduddin Owaisi, MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, former MPs Pallamraju, Kanumuri Bapiraju, G Vivek, Rana Daggubati, Sumanth, many celebrities including actress Poonam Kaur, model-designer Shilpareddy have studied at HPS.

One More HPS Campus In Greater Hyderabad

Quess IT Staffing took up a survey to find out the top skills required to thrive in the IT industry spread across the capital of the youngest state in India. According to their survey, the most desired skills included full-stack developers at 37 percent, cloud tech developers at 26 percent, data analytics at 40 percent, and angular JS developers at 25 percent.Data analyst professionals were 40 percent more in demand with top-tier, mid-tier, and small IT companies. In terms of the top 5 digital skills that included cloud infrastructure technology developer, full-stack developer, react JS developer, android developer, and angular JS developer, Hyderabad came second after Bengaluru.On the other hand, there was equal demand for full-stack developers and angular JS developers in tech cities Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Given the growth in the BFSI industry, which incidentally occupies a big space in Hyderabad, migration to platform-based solutions has boosted demand for AI, ML, and IoT experts, as well as data scientists and DevOps engineers. Another area where there is high demand is cyber security and data encryption services, as there is an increasing need to secure the digital assets of companies.According to Vijay Sivaram, CEO of Quess, the IT industry is going through a period of ‘The Great Resignation,’ as the unceasing talent surge has disrupted the demand-supply equilibrium, driving organizations to focus on both talent attraction as well as talent retention.

The Top IT Skills Sought-after in Hyderabad

History does interest all, as it tells fascinating stories from the past. Well, right in the heart of the city, in Koti, is the recently renovated British Residency. An erstwhile political powerhouse of the British residents in Hyderabad, the 200-year-old building has been restored to its past glory at the cost of Rs 17 crore and a timeline of 10 years.The building is now open to the public, and it goes without saying, it’s abuzz with activity. The European style structure stands on the premises of Koti Women’s College, which was once Osmania University College for Women, which will now be called the Telangana Women’s University.Apart from the Durbar Hall, the British Residency has seven rooms on the ground floor and nine on the first floor. It was abandoned once the British left India in 1947. In 2002, the building gained attention when the World Monuments Watch declared it among the 100 most endangered sites in the world.Incidentally, after it is open to the public, photoshoots and shootings will be allowed in the building. Though it was earlier decided that the shootings would be allowed only outside the building, they can now be done with a fee. While a simple photoshoot costs Rs 100, shootings can cost Rs 1.5 lakh per day outside and Rs 3 lakh inside.However, shootings will be permitted on holidays so as to not disturb the college students. The beautiful ceilings made of papier-mache with their multi-colored flowers and vegetable patterns and gilded beadings in the Darbar Hall are a special highlight of the Residency. The chandeliers in the 60-feet high Darbar Hall and fans are still in working condition, while the woodwork in the building is of Burma teak wood.One can watch a 15-minute movie on how the Residency was established or check out the newly opened information and interpretation center. The entry for foreign nationals is Rs 200, while it’s 100 for locals and Rs 50 for students.

Renovated British Residency Now Open for All, But With a Fee

The authorities have taken a crucial decision to reduce the incoming MMTS fares by providing low-cost travel facilities to the city dwellers. First-class fares have been reduced by 50 percent. Reduction in Suburban First Class Single Journey fares will come into effect from May 5th. The decision taken by the authorities will be of great benefit to the employees and students who travel on MMTS trains in the city every day.Single Journey First Class fares for MMTS trains on suburban sections of Secunderabad and Hyderabad divisions will be reduced in line with the reduced fares. Full details of the reduced fare were shared on the official Twitter account of the South Central Railway. Authorities, meanwhile, the authorities are working to restore the MMTS trains that were canceled due to the corona.As part of this, the number of services is gradually increasing. At present, 86 services over a distance of 50 km covering 29 railway stations are being operated between Falaknuma, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Begumpet, Lingampally, Tellapur, and Ramachandrapuram. In this regard, the South Central Railway General Manager (in-charge) Shri Arun Kumar Jain said that all passengers should take advantage of the reduced fares. He said the reduction in first-class fares would be very beneficial to travelers during the summer when the number of MMTS passengers is steadily increasing.

MMTS Charges Slashed By 50%

Ice, ice baby... remember the ad? Well, looks like this summer, ice too has taken a new dimension. If you wonder as to what could be different about ice, then here’s the latest info. The newest item to enter the restaurant business happens to be artisanal ice cubes.As compared to normal, regular ice cubes that are got by freezing water in ice trays, the artisanal ice cubes have a special process for making and adding an aesthetic dimension to the drinks. The chefs and mixologists are pretty excited by the new trend as they can now make a drink look visually enticing with artisanal ice cubes.The best part is they stay longer and do not melt. Also, they are shaped differently from regular ice. Apparently, the water is frozen ‘directionally,’ which prevents air bubbles from forming or being trapped in the ice. In short, directional freezing is a simple method to make crystal clear ice by controlling the direction that water freezes.As it melts real slow, an artisanal ice cube will not dilute the taste of a cocktail or mocktail. Artisanal ice is made with a machine called the cline bell machine, where it is frozen at a certain temperature. Some restaurant owners and pub owners put their stamp on them to make them more appealing.Incidentally, there are no makers of artisanal ice cubes in Hyderabad; they are got from Bengaluru, and each ice cube costs Rs 70.

Artisanal Ice Cubes Are The New Fad in the Food Scene

Hyderabad is a city that is on the road to progress and looks like there is no stopping it. The city is all set to have another 15 major infrastructure projects that will take the Hyderabad one notch up on the development graph.Of course, the development activities will be taken up by or under the aegis of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which has 15 projects lined up under the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP) Phase 2. The civic body has requested funding of Rs 3115 crore from the state government for these projects.The works under consideration include the construction of six flyovers, one underpass, four roads under bridges (RuBs), one Road over Bridge (RoB), a bridge across Fox Sagar surplus Nala, a Y junction, and a tunnel at Khajaguda. Incidentally, the Khajaguda tunnel will require about Rs 1080 crore.To execute the 15 projects, GHMC will not avail of loans but will seek the state government’s aid. Under SRDP Phase 2, five projects have been proposed in the Charminar zone, four in the Khairatabad zone, two in the Secunderabad zone, two in the Kukatpally zone, and one each in LB Nagar and Serilingampally zone.One major outcome of the projects would be the decongestion of heavy traffic roads and easing the commuting problems of people. Also, a tunnel has been proposed at KBR Park, for which a feasibility study will be done by technical consultants. However, prior to starting work on the tunnel, various aspects will be looked into, like safety measures, ventilation, illumination, etc.

GHMC Proposes 15 New Infra Projects Under SRDP Phase 2

There are inter-city trains between different tier cities, though passengers could do with better connectivity. In keeping with the thoughts of such rail passengers, the Hyderabad Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (HUMTA), a wing of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), has decided to take up semi-high speed rail connectivity to Warangal and Vijayawada.HUMTA has now invited proposals from experienced and market-savvy firms to carry out a pre-feasibility study for the proposed high-speed rail connectivity in the two corridors. The plan, if carried out, will provide safe, comfortable, and fast commuter systems at a reasonable fare for intra-regional movement. Warangal and Vijayawada have been chosen as the movement of passengers are high in these corridors.The semi-high speed rail differs from conventional railways as it provides reliable, high frequency, point-to-point travel along a dedicated pathway. The whole idea behind the project is to reduce the dependence of passengers on on-road travel.The study will include secondary information, site visits, and limited primary surveys for passengers, cargo, and traffic/ trips on competing facilities. Based on terrain and other technical requirements, a suitable system will be suggested for various sections of the corridor. Assessment of social and environmental aspects will also be conducted as part of the required study.