Hyderabad
The region of the subcontinent , today , known as
Hyderabad in the district of Telangana , is very aged and dates back to the iron ages . Many episodes have shaped the character of the city and
shot it to prominence in the last 400 odd years.
Deservingly, the city has had hundreds of well
illustrated articles
describe its allure in
manifold publications over several
generations .
Mine is not a regular tourist essay on Hyderabad per se . I will not be
( though righteous ) predictably
waxing eloquent about the obvious
locales like Charminar or Salar Jung Museum .
My family has lived in that province for over a century
. They have lived in the Deccan
forever.
So needless to say , we have a huge extended family spread all over the twin cities of Hyderabad , Secunderabad and its neighboring regions .
Till a couple of decades ago, Hyderbad was
acknowledged mostly for its Biryani
and Pearls .
Currently , of course, its also acknowledged as being a fertile hub for software and finance . I have
tried to compile my memories/ feelings
/ observations /vexations /
reminiscences about my town
in this blog .
The Deccan , included the parts of the region which , today, belongs to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu , Maharashtra and Karnataka . Small wonder that it has a rich mix of people with varied back grounds . – Kannadigas , Marathis , Tamils not to mention the local Telugu and Urdu populace . Though the town is worthy of being called a cosmopolitan , we must understand that its relative . It was ( at least till the software boom ) surely not as metropolitan as Mumbai .
In the early
90s when I was in my very early 20s , I left my home town to work for a big
financial house in the big bad world of Mumbai . The
first thing which stuck me was the
language . The Hindi spoken
there was clearly quite
different from the Urdu and Telugu mixed Hindi spoken in
Hyderabad .
The yearning to hear the local parlance of my hometown never
left me during my entire stay
there . Every few months , when it was time to visit my family , I remember coming to the railway station hours in advance merely to walk around the platform to
interact with the intended
passengers speak a mix of
the Hyderabadi Hindi . Chancing
upon territorial words like Howla ( madcap ) ,
Juloos ( procession ) ,
Galeez ( dirty ) , chaar
anna ( 0.25 INR , chaurasta (
cross roads
), Duftar ( office ) , dastakhat ( signature ) , Hallu (
slowly ) used to give me an indescribable thrill.
The second thing was
the weather. Hyderabad is no where near any sea bank and hence you sweat very little . It took me a while to get used to the moist , sticky
weather of the coast.
While you don’t need to change your smelling , dripping clothes as often as in the coastal areas but the minus point is the sun remains a lot in your body and instances of
sunstroke are common . In those
days the television was a toy to
be found only with the affluent ,
we used to get radio announcements
warning us not to venture out during peak sunny hours .
Hyderabadis are basically simple and peace
loving . At every road side
, you can see places of worship belonging to different religions and
sects. Fridays are a sight to
behold at these pious sites with crowds thronging . It’s a day sacred for both
Hindus and Muslims .
The above picture shows the corner compound housing the worshipping place of both Hindus and Muslims at Nimboli
Adda . There are hundreds of
such collective places all over the city .
This is the
city of the Nizams meaning the
System or the Order .
The Nizams were noted to be benevolent rulers . I am privy to
first hand
narrations about how the government guards would roam
around incognito at the shops
and see if the customer ( especially foreign faces ) is being
cheated on the price or the
quality . Deccan had its own
currency and at the
border towns like Gulbarga, Dornakal or Ganagpur , the passengers could get their
currency coverted .
The local Hali
sikka was made of pure silver .It was
a common practice for householders to melt the Hali rupi and make usable objects like plates etc.,
The very
popular and , then , stylish Rumi Topi is very much around in
my family and is exhibited as a heirloom at occasions .
Sweeping and spraying
the streets with disinfectants
might be typical today
but for scores of decades , all over
the region of Deccan , ( not only the main cities ) the roads near the religious and collective places were cleaned with flowing water blended with cowdung which is a natural repellent .
Since times immemorial , it’s a familiar sight to see ladies sprinkle the same mixture
in front of their houses to settle the mud down and draw intricate designs early morning .
The state had its own
public transport service which had a good network. Young maidens could travel on their own without any risk of being robbed or manhandled. In the pre metro / train days , the kingdom had a
dedicated fleet of buses catering
to passengers proceeding to
various locations .
The above picture shows an exhibit of an old model of
mini bus . Today Its kept as
an exhibit at the RTC
office near their chikkadpally offices .
The last
Nizam’s Turkish wife
, Begum Niloufer was an
educated and aware lady. Not
surprisingly , numerous charity organizations and hospitals are named after her . She is buried in Paris in the
Bobigny cemetery along with the other members of her
Seljuk dynasty . I have promised
myself that one day I will surely go hunting for her resting ground .
Many of the government employees have supplemented their professions as their surnames The sons
habitually inherited the line
of work from their fathers.
Hence ,over a period of time , the profession became their surname . For example : Karodgiri was the name of those working in
the customs , Kotwali for those who used to man the police department , Baldia
for those in the municipality etc.,
My
awareness is mostly based
on hearsay. I profusely apologise
if any information I have mentioned above deviates from the truth.
The old folk of my clan only need a nudge to start talking nineteen to the dozen
about their childhood and what they have heard about the childhood of their old
folk. You can sit for hours and days together letting them recite without feeling tired.
Cuisine .
He who has not heard of Hyderabadi Biryani has been living under a cave . While there are
hundreds of so-called ‘authentic’ Biryani joints mushrooming all over
the city, there are also some eateries which strive to serve legitimately real Biryani .
Bawarchi
and Paradise are some of the acknowledged names in this field. Started over 5 decades ago , the main cooks of Paradise restaurant got trained under the Iranian chefs . Sadly .,when they have over 20 non
vegetarian Biryani dishes , they
have only a couple of vegetarian
Biryani platter which
is traditionally served with Mirch ka salan and butter milk ( to balance the
effects of the spices ) .
The final accompaniment to Biryani has to be the local
Kubani ka Meetha ( sweet apricot
) . The bill for one family can
come up to 1000.00 INR which roughly translates to 10 or 12
Euros. It makes a filling lunch
for one family especially during weekends or when you have time to spare. I would surely not recommend Biryani for a working day quick lunch .
Its not something you can relish
in a few minutes . You need to savor
each bite slowly and feel the tang of spices on your tongue .
The above picture shows the main branch of
the Paradise Biryani eatery.
The above picture shows vegetarian Biryani with mirch ka salan being served at
Paradise .
What else , but a hot cuppa to calm your system after heavy meal ?
At one time ,
Iranian chai defined the culture of Hyderabad . They have survived competition
from the onslaught of bio , organic , natural , raw , albeit ,
healthy juice bars ( which have sprung up at every intersection ) and can be seen at many corners
even today . The local fabrication of Lasa Lamsa tea is slightly sweeter but will leave you more refreshed after a few sips . They come in many flavours like
chocolate , black , herbal, green
tea etc.,
Before the rushed , stressful lifestyle of the metro era started , when the man of the house
said - “ I am going to the Iranian tea house ” , then the woman of the
house knew that she should not expect him to return for several hours to come . She had no say in the
matter anyway .
The city offers
many delicacies from
near by regions like sweets made
of rice starch ( poota rekulu )
, wheat flour
and sugar ( madata khaja ) , bread
pudding ( double ka meetha ) , gutti vankaya ( stuffed baby aubergines) along with the others.
Like a good girl , I too have assisted my mother in making
pickles and chutneys . Each year , we would make pickles of mangoes, lemon , ginger , Amla and what not . Mango pickle was our family
favourite and we used to buy at
least 500 mangoes for this to last a whole year .
Today blame it
on migration to colder weathers or the pressures of day to day life ( anything but the obvious lethargy
) many families are not able to do
this themselves. Truth be told , I
did try to make pickles a couple of
times but the less said
about the end result, the better .
Grrr so much for my skills on domesticity.
Thankfully , countless
chain shops provide reliable
, home made pickles and spices
which can be bought at reasonable prices and kept year long . I
try my condiments from different establishments
which are equally in the
business since several decades .
The masala market is
volatile and every year there are new entrants in this arena , each one better
than the other . loyalty is definitely
not my middle name . So I
don’t restrict myself to one manufacturer.
Creation of
pure gold and silver foils locally known as Wakar has been in vogue since hundreds of years . The custom is maintained
by traditional families .
If you are nonchalantly walking in the Charminar area and you hear a dull
pounding of hammer , These are used to decorate sweets or the omnipresent Biryani . This was unique to Hyderabad till the
industrialization took over . Some
100 thin sheets are folded and covered with a special leather jacket and pounded for several hours by
a hand held hammer.
A peculiarity of the old city is the
Khova market . I don’t know if
other cities too have it but it used to be sight way back then. Khova made of split milk is the
main ingredient in many sweets. Near Shalibanda beyond Charminar , they used to
have a unique practice . Daily at the stoke of 10:00 the khova markets
opened up and and the
headman would announce the rate on a daily basis depending on the weather, supply , demand etc.,
All the
buyers would rush to give their orders
as stocks would vanish in no time .
With so much on the platter , if you suffer from stomach burns or
indigestion, then , local Unani medicine
outlets can be found at every carrefour. Though it originated in Greece,
its practiced with fervor in Hyderabad . The main university of Unani medicine offers
research and PhD facilities too .
Shopping :
Hyderabad can be a shoppers paradise but you should know
from where to buy what
.
The yearly Numayish ( exhibition ) which started in the 1930s still holds attraction
, nonetheless , today , its commercialized with advertisements and publicity stunts
. In my university days , we used to
hang around there to get a
dekko of Bollywood actors who were invited as guests. It was originally started to advance the local products and give a boost to the regional
entrepreneurs but
present-day , they have stalls from all over the
country . They must have
discontinued it today but way back my cherished stall was the one selling
aromatic oils and herbs from Kashmir . I have not seen it in recent times . The smallest vial
of the Zulf E Kashmir hair oil
would cost some 30,00 INR and it
was always on our list of must-buys
. Upon usage , the hair
carried a fruity fragrance for
several days to come .
The yearly exposition held for
around 40 days starting
from the first week of
January in the big exhibition
grounds in the city centre of Nampally . Days only for female customers , stalls maintained by
only ladies , ex convicts , the
handicapped are some of the
unusual attractions . Its well
organized with an office for lost
and found , baby care facilities , water outlets at regular places , tailors
offering cheap alteration et al .
Begum bazaar
, Charminar Koti , Abids , Laad ( or Choodi ) bazaar are among the well known shopping spheres .
Although , everything is
available everywhere , I would recommend buying pearls from
approved shops in the Charminar
area and the sweet scented
Pakeezah henna from Begum bazaar
. The street
smart hawkers will trick you into
purchasing almost anything
claiming it to be “authentic”
. Be warned and go armed .
Hyderabad is no hermitage and its
not the dwelling of only the saints .
Like all other places , here too you need to be “in-the-know”.
Places to visit .
Apart from the very obvious Charminar or Salarjung meuseum ,
Hyderabad offers many sights and sounds to soak in for the average visitor .
A visit to the 100 odd years’ old main Osmania University
campus can take you a full day . Built in the centre of a sprawling campus ,
thanx to its buildings , flora and fauna , the lush grounds lure the students of biology, architecture , ornithology ( among others ) .
Early morning joggers
are a frequent sight along with cyclists , those just wanting to soak in the fresh breeze or simply relax
under one of the numerous heavy
shaded trees.
The above
picture shows the main campus of Osmania university .
The above picture shows the name board of one of the offices
in the Osmania University campus .
I can
assure you that apart from the
conspicuous attractions ( which I have named at the start of this
blog ) , a quiet visit
to the Golconda forts ( described
below ) , the Qutub Shahi tombs under the same fort , The
Dargahs of Maula Ali , Pahade Sharif , Birla mandir made
fully of white marble , the palaces of Falak Numa ( exhibition of the skies ) , Taramati ,
Chaumohalla
will be equally beneficial
.
Regrettably
. Today many of these dwellings big and small alike
belonging to the regality
are being smoothly converted into hotels or high end spas thereby restricting deserving visitors
.
You can unearth
some rare gems of history and architecture when you take a leisurely walk about
parts of the town .
The above picture shows the one and only mosque built in the Spanish style near Begumpet ( old airport area
) . I was not allowed inside so could not click the pictures .
The above picture shows the tomb of Sydena tomb near the
Boat’s club built in Armenian
style .
The above picture shows the clock tower at Secunderabad . Built by the British . Its
been showing the correct time since it was built in the late 19th
century .
Credit where credit due . While the surrounding park is reasonably well
maintained , go warned of the lurking addicts and
the professed homeless.
The above picture shows a goat market at
Amberpet. The goatherds are only too happy to let you caress their stock
free of charge.
If you want a
change from history , then there
is no dearth of places for recreation and rejuvenation . Indira park , Lumbini park , public gardens ,
The Tank Bund road which
was built as a dam for the Hussain
Sagar lake and which bridges the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad ,
The zoological park ,
Ramoji rao studios are perfect for a day’s outing . I have tried to
portray some of these
sites below .
Indira park was the favourite of us cousins as it was near our residence .We would play hide and seek among the trees and bushes there , my dear hiding place being the sweet smelling group of kewra plants . The only way I would climb down was when threatened with snake bites. . I don’t know if its true but I have been told that snakes are attracted by the odour of kewra flowers. If its of any concern to anyone , then, I was not bitten even once by any snakes or bees during the hundreds of times I have climbed and holed up among those plants .
Lumbini park
was constructed in the early 90s
and its colourful dancing
fountains is still a major draw
.
Ramoji Rao studios was built in the mid 1990s . Though I have heard of its
opulence from friends and family , its only recently that I got a chance
to visit . I must say I was not disappointed
. The ticket per head costs 900.00
INR and is worth every penny . The minus point is that you need to walk at
least 5 kilometers among the layouts . There is a
bus plying inside taking you
station to station describing in 3
languages ( English/
Hindi / Telugu ) but be prepared to physically stress your self . Its no promenade I tell you when you go
with your family including a couple of kids . It takes a whole day
. Apart from the conventional, grand film settings , it houses Bonsai garden
, a bird sancturary, a
butterfly breeding
garden and a place for children’s’
activities.
One good thing
is that they have drinking water at all places so you don’t have to carry heavy
water bottles. The gardens and
buildings are very well preserved
. That’s a welcome change from the other so called “well-maintained” attractions
in the city in particular and sub continent in general. You do agree with me don’t you ?
The above
picture shows just one of the
rare varieties of birds in
Ramoji Rao studios
The above picture
shows workers trimming the
studio gardens .
Golconda fort is just
1 hour’s journey from the
Osmania University . A bulk of the
land inside the fort compound
today has been trespassed by the self proclaimed
descendents of the Nizams .
I feel its my
mournful duty to warn
would-be visitors that the fort as such is not very well kept . Large portions of this beautiful
fort has been understandably destroyed by conquering invaders .
There is very little we could have done to control that .
Desecrating larger
portions of this centuries’
old fort on a regular basis by the
so called civilized visitors is sad , indeed .
There is no
awareness or scrutinizing
the tourists about how to preserve this heritage
which was built over 1000 years ago with extensions and repairs done by
subsequent dwellers.
Among the other information imparted to us by our guide , we
were fascinated by the following teeny weeny detail .
I doubt if it crosses any
ones mind to find out . That is that the palanquin bearing the aristocracy had 2 dwarfs at the front
and 2 men with normal height at the back because of the slant and steep steps to make sure that it did not topple . Wow logical indeed.
The voice mechanism of the fort makes it a worth a visit . Even the slightest sound like a
traitor trying to remove the knife from its sheath in the main durbar will be echoed and amplified to the guards sitting scores of meters away .
No wonder they say – even walls have ears .
There was no officer or guard in sight to report .
The above picture shows a view of the city from atop the
Golconda fort . It’s a stressful climb of over 600 uneven rocks with not much help for the handicapped or the seniors .
The above picture shows a view of the city underneath from
atop the Golconda fort.
If you do
manage to climb the slippery
pebbly steps , then you are rewarded with a splendid view of the town below .
There are innumerable places to visit , sites to view ,
restaurants to try out , activities to engage in and their numbers are growing day by day . I can go on and
on about Hyderabad . Like most towns, this too is
undergoing many advancements . Change is inescapable. Anything which
does not change will start stagnating .
Vast expanses are added to cater to the ever growing influx of new comers. While I can expectantly lament that the city of my childhood is fast depleting , I also need to accept that new stretches are being built and
cultivated as per standards like
the world famous Hi-tech city .
We cousins have spread over all the 5 continents today
. We do try to meet up every
couple of years in our home town where our extended tribe lives . A group sojourn of the
familiar streets is a must each
time as the next generation has to start getting familiar with this
glorious city . We girl cousins never omit the walk around the famed Charminar , at least to feed our addiction of … what else … shopping .
#Hyderabad #Niloufer #Golconda #QutubShah #Biryani #Bawarchi #Charminar #Pearls #Numayish #Deccan #Syedna
#Hyderabad #Niloufer #Golconda #QutubShah #Biryani #Bawarchi #Charminar #Pearls #Numayish #Deccan #Syedna
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