Hyderabad
She’s got style and she’s got charm. She lives in her past
and her future.
She is as Mughal as she is silicon. She is Hyderabad. She is Cyberabad.
She is the sixth biggest city on the Indian continent. A bustling metropolis
and a Mughal city rolled into one, Hyderabad is like no other city in
India. From info tech to Irani chai, she rocks to a different tune! Actor
and filmmaker Nagesh Kukunoor welcomes you to heart of the Deccan.
From Hyderabad to Cyberabad
Hyderabad was always a bustling metropolis, whether it was as a
Mughal city 400 years ago under the Asaf Shahi Nizams or as Cyberabad
in circa 2006. The city’s silicon avtar, however, is still strongly
rooted to its past where, as any Hyderbadi will tell you, software solutions
have been often inspired by Irani chai or biryani lunch break. To see
its sights and taste its amazing cuisine stick to the old city, near the
Char Minar.
Secundrbad, Hyderabad’s British addition to city’s architecture
lies to the north across the Hussain Sagar and its spunky Hi-Tech City
(Madhapur) and Ramoji Film City, Andhra’s answer to Hollywood’s
Universal Studios on its outskirts.
The Old City: Situated south of the Musi River, the original
town of Hyderbad is a maze of bazaars and medieval architecture. Explore
it on foot starting with Unani Hospital to your right
and the beautiful Mecca Masjid to the left, Char
Minar is in front of you and the famous Lad Bazar
left of the Minar square. An absolute must is the visit to the mosque
on the first floor of the Minar from where you can also admire the excellent
views of the Nizami city. Further on take the Gulzar Hauz Road
where you’ll find innumerable shops selling famed Hyderbadi
pearls and the Patherighat Road towards the Naya Pul
where the Falaknuma Palace is situated. It’s a
good idea to arm oneself with a guidebook, available at any of the bookstores
in the city, airport lounge or railway station. Do take time out also
for the Golconda Fort and Salar Jung Museum.
Souvenirs, bargains and pearls
A miniature replica of the Char Minar, a string of pink pearls, a set
of lac bangles, a silver necklace, an ikat blanket, a bidri vase, a Nirmal
jewelry box or a Kalamkari sari from Machilipatnam are just some of the
choices available to the city’s visitors. Be careful about buying
pearls though, as most of the ones available in the market are no longer
true Hyderabadi Basra pearls but lesser varieties from China and Japan.
Shops you can depend on (with a buy back guarantee) include Kedarnathji
Motiwale (est. 1908) and Jagdamba (the promoters
of Dhola-ri-Dhani an ethnic Rajasthan village complex recreated on the
outskirts of Hyderabad).
But that’s not all. Hyderabad is where you should sniff the traditional
oil-based perfumes called Ittar or Attr. The best place to look for them
is in Afzal Ganj near Osmania Hospital, on the other side of Musi River.
Among the perfumes that come in variety of bottles and carafes look out
for Jannat-e-Firdauz (for men), Champa (for women) and a little known
perfume called Gil that captures the smell of summer earth after the first
rain shower. One of the users of this perfume is believed to have been
Humayun’s father, Babur. Most perfumes cost about Rs 50 to Rs 500,
but the price of some rarer concoctions can go up to Rs 10,000.
Links to info:
Kedarnathji Motiwale Jewellers
Shop No 4, next to Bata showroom
Pathergatti
Hyderabad - 500002
Tel: 040 – 24566667/ 23438222
Jagdamba Jewellers and Pearls
Gupta Estate
Basheerbagh Circle
Hyderabad – 500004
Tel: 040 – 23236486 / 55566777
E-mail: info@jagadamba.com
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Virtual Disneyland
One of the biggest attractions of Hyderabad and a reflection of its creative
genius is the Ramoji Rao Film City built by a chit fund-raiser
and pickle merchant, Ramoji Rao. Rao’s foray into entertainment
industry began with the floating of a film production company Usha Kiron
in 1983 from where he moved on to set up the Film City and the hugely
successful Ennadu media group. An amazing complex of modern-day Baroquesque
palaces, opulent villas, landscaped gardens including make believe slums,
the Film City’s 2,000 acres is simply too fantastic to be given
a miss. There are plenty of restaurants and eating joints all around so
you need not worry about going hungry while exploring celluloid dreamscapes.
Not as grand as the film city but unique in terms of its idea, the Snow
World, is one of the latest editions to the city’s game parks and
a first of its kind in the country. Covering some 17,000 sq meters the
Snow World hall of artificial snowflakes is a fun place
for a bit of snow-ball powwow, though not good enough to make a snow man.
The complex also includes a Go-Karting floor, which doubles up as a dance
floor for corporate events.
Links to info:
Ramoji Rao Film City
Is situated about 35 km outside the city in the Ranga Reddy District
of Andhra Pradesh. You can get here either by taxi (metro cab) or avail
of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Department Corporation’s (APTDC) Film
City tour package for Rs 375 per person that includes the return fare
and price of the entry ticket. A general tour of the complex costs Rs
200 per person.
Snow World
Ocean Park Multi-tech Ltd,
Lower Tank Bund Road,
Behind Indira Park,
Contact General Manager,
sales@snowworldindia.com
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Flying high
On any good day, when the skies are clear and the temperatures bearable
you can find Capt. Vicky Randhawa flying a variety of airplane models
in Hyderabad. “Flying real planes is great but flying miniature
planes is like bicycling in the forest,” says Capt Randhawa, aero-modelling
enthusiast and real life pilot. When he is not on the field chasing his
little Spitfires and F-16s, you’ll find him up in the sky flying
his favourite Piper Super Club airplane – a vintage American bird
that he acquired some years back.
Aero-modelling is still a niche sport, says Capt. Randhawa who along with
his friends set up the first areo-modellers club in Mumbai with the help
of JRD Tata and other like-minded enthusiasts. Currently, Mumbai leads
with largest number of fliers, followed by Chennai and Bangalore.
Links to info:
To know more about flying model airplanes contact
Capt Vicky Randhawa at vicky737@gamail.com
Alternatively check out Mumbai-based
Wings India Radio Control Flyers Club (est. 2004)
Website: http://www.wingindia.com
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Gourmet’s Cauldron
Mixing Mughalai cuisine with local Andhra spices, in particular its famous
chili, Hyderabadi cuisine is as unique as Hyderabad’s own existence
in Central Deccan. From its haleem, lamb and chicken biryanis, mirchi
ka salan and Bommedalu curry to name a few, the array of dishes to be
tasted and experienced is staggering. So much so, that it has been increasingly
felt that even Mughalai range of dishes could never match up to Hyderbad’s
dastarkhwan. So while in the city remember that its not just about feasting,
its about discovering the distinction between Bulakhi Haleem, Zam Zam
Haleem and Irani Haleem, it’s about a culinary journey that includes
the delectably flavoured biryanis, pathar ka ghosht and sipping Irani
chai with de rigueur Osmania biscuit or a chota samosa.
Most of the restaurants in the Old City where you can come across a variety
of traditional Hyderabad dishes are small establishments that specialize
in one or two dishes. Must on the list here is the famed Madina
Hotel and Shadab Hotel at Madina Circle and
Lucky Hotel at Lakdi ka Pul. Alternatively, head for
the Sultan Bazar, Koti where a variety of haleems can
be slurped. Other well-known options include Hyderabad House,
Paradise in Secundrabad and Bawarchi at RTC
Crossroads where you can taste other delicacies such as lukmi (a flat
pastry with minced meat filling) and baigan ka salan (spicy aborigine
mash dish).
Links to info:
Madina Hotel
Madina Circle
Near Char Minar
Shadab Hotel
Madina Circle
Near Char Minar
Lucky Hotel
At the crossing of
Lakdi Ka Pul
Hyderabad House
Opp JNTU,
Masab Tank,
Hyderabad – 500028
Tel: 040 - 3327881
Paradise Food Court
Mahatma Gandhi Road,
Secundrabad – 500003
Tel: 040 – 7843115 / 26213720
Bawarchi
66, Alambad Industries Area,
RTC Cross Roads,
Hyderabad 500020,
Tel: 040 - 7634494, 7605308
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