Addiction At 85?

 Can you become an addict at 85 and lead a healthy life? Addicted to what?

A substance? Drugs? Alcohol? What else?

This is the story of a super senior citizen (and many others like him!) ‘suffering’ from addiction of a different kind. Addiction for good! Addiction for golf!

This super senior citizen, an armed forces veteran, is so deeply addicted to golf that he plays even in darkness. Don’t believe it? See the picture below shot in the darkness on a wintery morning at Secunderabad India. Can you spot a ball and the golfer?

 

As the day dawns, the darkness gives way to magical dawn and sometimes a misty morning with ground frost! Some more pictures below.

Golf is such an addiction that the golfers not only start the day with a round of golf but also dream, breathe and live golf! Ask any golfer! There is a society called ‘Golf Addicts’ with chapters around the world. Unlike ‘Alcoholic Anonymous’, the golf addicts celebrate being an addict.

Ghumakkad is also a golfer. Our earlier stories on golf have had wide readership. Links to some of the golf stories from our blog are listed below. Just click to browse the picture stories.

Golf and Yoga

Rolling Pin and Golf Club

RSI Golf Secunderabad - Hasn't happened again after 2016!

So, to remain happy in life, become an addict! Get addicted not to drugs or substance or alcohol, but to something positive in life like golf or painting, music, dance or gardening!  Follow your positive addiction with passion and you will live a healthy life! Just like Col GB Sethi featured in the story. Thanks Dr Sethi for your companionship, wit and humour on the golf course and beyond.

 

Thank you for browsing.

Incidentally, this is Ghumakkad’s 600^th story in our 12-year-old blog! It comes to you from a moving train! Thanks for your continued readership and support.

-        Harsh-the-Ghumakkad / Vande Bharat Train/ 23^rd Dec 23

#addiction #passion #golf #darkness #life #dawn #magicalmorning #mistymorning #golfaddicts #drugs #alacohol #substance #veterans #armedforces #bloggingfromrunningtrain #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Devarakonda The Fort Which Needs Your Support

Day temperature hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. Is it a pleasant time for a hike? The weather Gods were listening. And it drizzled in the evening. We, a dozen odd hikers in the age group of 15 to 71, set off next morning. Destination: Devarakonda Fort, 125 kms SSE of Hyderabad. A convoy of four cars in dead of the night. Flagged off from RSI at 4 AM, yes 4 AM! That shows the passion of these young and not-so-young hikers.

Our pictures will do the talking shortly. But before that a bit of history of the Fort courtesy Telangana Tourism and our guide Younus Farhaan from Devarakonda.

• Built in 1278 AD by Padma Nayaka Veluma Rajas and ruled by them till 1482 AD
• Thereafter, conquered by Maada Naidu who made many additions to the Fort
• Fort named after the village Devarakonda in Nalgonda district. See the map courtesy Google.
• Built across seven hills having an area of 525 acres
• Apart from Rani and Raja's Mahals, it has reservoirs for rain water harvesting
• Rama temple on hill top and Shiva temple at a lower level
• Entire fort built using local stones
• Has multi-layered security with gates and bastions
• Imposing ramparts

It is a perfect getaway from Hyderabad with a 2.5 hours drive on Nagarjuna Sagar road. We did it in one day but if you have the time, an overnight halt would be less fatiguing. The fort is partly in ruins. But thanks to Anjan a local journalist, with his volunteering effort a large part of the fort has been restored. Do support the drive for restoration of the Fort. Now let our pictures enthrall you.

Get a feel of the climb in this one-minute video.

We in India suffer from a National malaise of defacing national monuments, trees, rocks, walls, staircases, elevators, rest rooms and what not! We engrave our name as if it is a big achievement! Shame on these guys who did it. See the pictures below. One person seems to have defaced number of trees. Such people should be punished with their faces scratched with a sharp needle with their names!

Gates of the Fort

Here is a 55-second video showing the Tortoise Gate of the Fort. It also shows the royal insignia 'Kalash'  a water container carved on the front wall of every gate to the Fort. Click here to view the video.

Moving on, here are more pictures of the Fort and our hike.

You can see the hikers approaching the next gate called the Fish Gate in the video below:

In this short video, you can get a feel of the in-built security through the design of the gates to the Fort 

Anjan the Saviour

Ram Mandir

Here is an all round view of Devarakonda from Ram Mandir Hilltop.

You may view a short 50-second video for a panoramic tour of the seven hills as seen from the Venkateshwara Temple in Devarakonda city.

The Granaries

Rani Mahal

This short video clip highlights the architecture of Rani Mahal and its imposing gate.

Shiv Mandir

All Weather Water Reservoir

You may appreciate the scene around the water reservoir in this short video.

The Fort Needs Your Support

Women Empowerment

We also met a lady in Devarakonda town who had lost her husband 15 years back. Her story from being a homemaker to learning a technical skill and then taking charge of her husband's business of repairing electrical appliances, is truly inspiring. You may browse her story of grit and determination. We titled it 'Who Empowers Women?'

Cultural Street Art

Another attraction in Devarakonda is a series of wall paintings done by Prem Esram and his team from JNAFAU (Jawahar Lal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad) on a street now known as Cultural Street. The paintings depict the history of the Fort and few other scenes. See the video below or click the link here.

Ghumakkad took a selfie at the Cultural Street.

Lord Venkateshwara Temple

A temple is being built on a hill top in Devarakonda. We are sharing a few pictures of the work in progress. It promises to be a big tourist attraction in future.

Here is a short 30-second video showing the interiors of the temple.

Sai Baba Temple

Mid-way between Hyderabad and Devarakonda there is a Sai Baba temple. Next to the temple is an Annapoorna restaurant with nice food and clean rest rooms.

Previous Hikes

We, the members of Palmette Bicycling Club (PBC) undertake bicycle rides and treks around Secunderabad regularly. You may browse a video capturing one of the recent rides.

More Hikes Near Hyderabad

Those keen on hikes near Hyderabad, may browse our previous stories. Just click the link to read the picture story with embedded videos. You will enjoy it.

Hiking to Discover Yourself - Hiking up the Khajaguda hills

Bhongir Fort - The giant monolith beckons you

Ghar-e-Mubarak - Beating the Covid year with a hike

Hope you enjoyed our picture story. If you have been to any of the getaways mentioned above, feel free to share your pictures and/or information. Your feedback is welcome.

Thanks for browsing. Stay connected for more picture stories.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 9th April 2022

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