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“It’s a bright and sunny day here in Birmingham…” said the legendary Tony Greig as James Anderson steamed in from the pavilion end. The red Dukes ball bounces off the green pitch and goes past the batter. A test cricket match between India and England has always been special and that’s the closest I’ve been to the UK. I do aspire to visit London someday, explore the streets of Oxford, click a picture at the Buckingham Palace, visit the countryside, watch a cricket match at Lords and a Tennis match at Wimbledon.
Talking about visiting the Buckingham palace, I was invited to The Queen’s Birthday party by the British High Commission here in Hyderabad. I was elated when the invitation landed in my inbox while I was exploring Mumbai, and my joy had no bounds when I experienced it yesterday. And being a true blogger, I’ll share my experience of celebrating The Queen’s Birthday Party in Hyderabad.
History of The Queen’s Birthday Party
Being the history buff that I am, I read about the history of The Queen’s Birthday party and how it all started. The monarch’s birthday has been celebrated since the early 1700s. Every year a ceremony called Trooping the Color takes place to commemorate the Queen’s birthday. It’s an event performed in London by the British Army.
Every year, the queen is part of a royal procession from Buckingham Palace. The queen then inspects the troops before heading back to the palace to watch them march past. After a 41-gun state salute, the royal family then arrives at the palace’s balcony to witness the Royal Air Force flypast. This series of events is quite similar to what we do on Republic Day here in India.
Continuing that tradition, the British High Commission offices across the world commemorate the queen’s birthday by organizing events. Officials from the ministry, embassy and high commission along with the head of the state and other dignitaries are invited.
This year was an important year as the Queen became the first monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee, the celebrations were grande. I saw the events that took place in Bengaluru and other parts of the world which only made me more excited to experience the event in person.
Hyderabad celebrates The Queen’s Birthday Party
The celebrations were organized at The Westin in Madhapur. One of the most beautiful properties in the city, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong there. While the event was supposed to start at 7, Maharaj was there by 6! I walked through the lobby, and explore the hotel before getting into the ballroom where the event was.
After the initial security check, I was given a quick tour of the pop-ups, the event in general and obviously the food. That’s the perk of coming early! It was quite an elaborate event spread over 3 hours during which a toast was raised for the Queen followed by drinks and dinner. There were quite a few things on display for people to experience, here are a few that caught my attention:
- Visit Britain Flip Book: You would have seen (& read) a lot of flipbooks, but this one by Visit Britain was different. It was massive. Hung one of the walls, the flip book showed off places to visit, things to eat and experience in Britain. One of its kind flipbook that I had seen.
- Icons Of British Culture: There was a prop station that had some of the icons of British Culture including a cricket bat, a replica of the Crown of State and a tennis racket depicting the Wimbledon.
- Jaguar i-Pace EV: The iconic British luxury car brand Jaguar made its presence felt with the Jaguar iPace electric car. This electric car has a top speed of 200kmph and goes from 0-to 100 in under 5 seconds! The black beauty dazzled with all the lights and gathered eyeballs during the party.
- Pavegen Smart Tile: A setup of a few smart tiles that generated electricity when you walked on it! An innovation indeed. Pavegen aims to help cities adopt smart tiles to fulfil their energy needs. Connecting citizens with cities as they say! Loved the super cool concept, wish I could place it in my house, walk around the whole day and generate free electricity!
- Science Museum Virtual Reality: A pair of Oculus VR glasses were calling me since the time I stepped into the hall. Being the tech aficionado that I am, I was pulled towards it. The immersive VR experience was one of its kind. With a voice-over by Tim Peake, I was taken into space in a Soyuz capsule! Quite an exhilarating experience.
Fun, Food and Networking
The event saw who’s who from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. From industrialists, businessmen, actors and sportspeople to politicians and IAS officers. It was my first time at such an august gathering. Andrew Fleming, the deputy High Commissioner to Andhra and Telangana asked the gathering to meet at least 5 people. Which I was feel was a great move. Tough I’m an outgoing person, the stalwarts present in the gathering didn’t help much.
I met some folks from Twitter with whom I’ve been connected for a long time. I also got a chance to talk about Dosa Chronicles with Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India. My joy had no bounds as I interact with Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary for Industry and IT, Govt. of Telangana. I had worked on a project for the govt a few years back and spoke to him about the same. Couldn’t meet him then, but got a chance to meet him now. I also met a lot of people from the British High Commission and we spoke about everything from technology to travel and food!
Talking about the food, there were dishes that showed the perfect relationship that India and the UK share. From the famous fish and chips and British salads to Butter Chicken, Paneer along with a variety of Biryani and pulao were on offer. The dessert bar was no slouch either, an array of pastries and mousse were present for people to relish.
However, the star of the evening was the British gins and whiskey. The popular cocktail of the night was “Her Majesty’s favourite”. I tried the non-alcoholic version of it and totally loved it. Being a hot day, I drank more than I ate. However, I couldn’t keep myself away from the Dal Makhni, Paneer Butter Masala and Jackfruit Biryani!
An Evening To Remember
For an average IT guy like me who loves to document travel and food journeys on my blog, being a part of this event was massive. The installations and experiences that were on display helped me learn more about the UK. (I wish there was more of Cricket though :P)
I loved the flip book, VR experience and the smart tiles. Moreover, it was a privilege to be amongst the stalwarts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. A big shout out to Andrew Fleming and the entire team at British High Commission here in Hyderabad for organizing such an amazing event. I won’t deny that and Andrew share a great relationship with food. He knows Hyderabad like nobody else and often suggests me places to visit and eat!
If you were present during the celebrations and we couldn’t connect, we can connect now. Connect with me on Twitter, Instagram or drop me a mail 🙂
