Hyderablog

Hyderabad’s Winter Wonderland

I just accompanied Maya to a classmate’s birthday party being held at Snow World, Hyderabad’s newest theme park-style attraction. Before opening sometime last year, this distinction was held by Prasad’s, an entertainment complex consisting of an IMAX screen (billed as the largest 3D screen in the world, now showing Harry Potter 3 and Spider-Man 2), smaller theaters screening a mix of Hindi and English films, a food court, shopping mall, arcade, etc. More than any of this, though, the center features one of only a handful of escalators in the city. Clearly, some visitors are not accustomed to this mode of travel, and it’s not uncommon to observe a group of anxious would-be moviegoers hanging back at the bottom of the steps, nervously waiting for just the right moment to take the plunge while a crowd builds behind them. So commonplace is this phenomenon, that once while checking movie times online, I noticed this helpful hint on the complex’s FAQ page:

Q. How does one use an escalator?
A. One should first hold on to the moving railing of the escalator and then step on to the escalator step without hesitation like normal walking. There are yellow lines on the moving stairs. Never put your foot on the yellow line. Put your foot immediately after the yellow line. (If you are not very confident use the stairs or the lift and do not block the escalator for others).

Snow World, on the other hand, has no escalator and is essentially built around one very large, cold room into which visitors are admitted for timed, one-hour blocks to experience “the magic of snow.” Most people in Hyderabad have never seen snow, nor do I imagine they’ve ever been this cold before. If this is successful, I understand they are considering bringing the magic of slush, the magic of a bone-chilling wind biting into your face as you cross the street, and the magic of waiting for the car to warm up after spending 15 minutes scraping the snow and ice off the windshield while your fingers go numb. In any case, the Snow World attractions here include one decent-sized slope for sledding, ice bumper cars, an igloo, various snow and ice sculptures, etc. Midway through the one-hour session, a big snow blower does its best to simulate a real snowfall. Some of the kids just seemed content to run around throwing snow at each other.

Here in Hyderabad, the opportunities for wearing our colder weather gear are few and far between. Thus, Maya was able to inaugurate the pink-and-blue sweater that Grandma had knitted her for her birthday. On top of this (literally), the place distributes jackets, gloves (Maya brought her own) and rubber boots to help everyone brave the indoor, man-made elements. Much like borrowing bowling shoes at the lanes, these items are pretty well used throughout the day, and we made sure not to inquire about the establishment’s sanitizing practices. Maya had a terrific time running around in the cold with her pals, after which we all warmed up with a pizza, burger and ice cream (?) lunch. Sadly, Maya told me she does not clearly remember real snow and winter. I had to show her this picture taken some time ago in Prospect Park, and this one, to jog her memory. Despite this, her recollections still seemed fuzzy at best.

posted by David @ 10:02 AM