Satyam Technology Centre (STC) is an enclave boasting of well-stocked food supplies, recreational facilities, wide spacious roads lined with trees and rock formations, gleaming glass-paneled buildings that glow like jewels in the sun, and an assortment of dormitory that caters to trainees and visiting dignitaries from various countries. It even has its own collection of birds, rabbits, and plants (we found one supposedly planted by then DPM Lee Hsien Loong during his visit to India in 2004 and another by Bill Gates) in a special section behind the clubhouse and helipad.
Yesterday, the bunch of us decided to head to the city to look for local SIM cards and other stuff that we can’t get at the STC. We took the shutter bus with a huge group of South Africans we befriended at the STC and stopped at Satyam Corporation at Mayfair located in the heart of the city.
There, we hooked up with Sharon, one of the interns heading for Tata who separated with her friend while backpacking in Ponticherry and Bangalore, and then headed for Hyderabad to seek “refuge” with us. Her stories can make any tourist scrimp: tales of how a conman cheated her of her cellphone, stray dogs that threatened to bite the heads off her and her friend, her eventful solo bus ride from Bangalore to Hyderabad, and how she landed in police custody when she lost her way in the city.
Outside, in the main city, it is a scene which can only be described as worlds apart from that in the STC. Most of the buildings were dilapidated with beggars and idle men and women loitering outside (most of them were either sitting or squatting by the road side, gawking at us foreigners). The ones that were in relatively good shape had security guards stationed outside with their own metal detectors (to ward off potential terrorists?) that beeped regardless of whether we carried any metallic items with us.
Pavements were uneven and dirty with puddles and sand. We even saw men openly peeing on the side of the pavements. I prayed that those puddles I stepped on weren’t formed by their reckless response to their calls of nature.
In the city, almost no one can be trusted. We were swamped with tuk-tuk drivers offering to send us to any destination at a high price, security guards who asked for “tea money” in return for information, idle men who beckoned us over, beggars who stretched out their palms in our faces asking for money (their kids were either clutching our pants for attention or running around trying to sell whatever merchandise that they think tourists might buy) and people who generally gawk at us because we are foreigners.
We held on to our belongings for dear life, checking every now and then that we were not victims of pickpockets or snatch thieves.
On top of that, the traffic is unruly (try crossing any road that is not manned by the traffic police) and we had to mimic the locals when crossing the road (breathlessly risk-taking individuals they are, I swear).
In short, it was a city that we felt was distinctly unfriendly and alien to us. Being on the ground there was so much different from traveling through it on the way to the STC on the night that we landed. To make matters worse, we could not get the SIM cards we wanted (many of the shops were closed because it was a public holiday) and team morale was low (one of the girls felt very tired and wanted to go back to the STC).
On the bright side, we bought delicious biryani that we brought back to the STC for dinner and I bought a pair of good formal shoes for work (at only S$8). Going back however was the problem because we had to find a cab to take us all back. We ended up scouring the rent-a-car shops for available drivers (all turned us down because it was supposedly peak hour period – kind of like getting a cab in Orchard Road at 6.30 pm) before we chanced upon a cab driver who took us back at a higher price than we wanted.
Sharon was our guest at our lodgings. Mr Shyam spoke to STC security about granting her temporary access to stay-over with us before she heads to Mumbai to intern with Tata. So now, there are 5 of us, with 2 more arriving on Friday night and another heading down on May 12.
What an adventure. More to come in the days ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment