
If you are traveling to Hyderabad on business — as is increasingly the case now — it is easy to miss the 400-year-old Hyderabad. The city that immediately hits the eye is a sprawling metropolis of shopping malls and office buildings with glass facades. The whole of the city seems to be under construction or renovation and the roads are jammed because flyovers are being constructed.
The "old city" that was once the seat of the Nizam, the ruler of the largest and the most opulent "princely state", and the twin city of Secunderabad where the British maintained a cantonment to keep the army within striking distance of the Nizam can be seen only if you take the time out to see them.
Hyderabad's many epithets include the City of Pearls, the City of Nawabs, the Biryani City and, because of its high-tech draw, Cyberabad.
Hyderabad's history dates back to 1463, when Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk established the fortress of Golconda around 8 km to the west of the present day old city. He had quelled rebellion in the Telangana region and had was appointed the subedar, or administrator of the region as a result. By 1518, he had become independent from the Bahmani sultan and declared himself the Sultan, under the name of Quli Qutb Shah and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty. In 1589, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, a grandson of Quli Qutb Shah, took the decision to move his capital from the Golconda fort to the present day location of Hyderabad to alleviate water shortages at the old location. In 1591, he ordered the construction of the Charminar, reportedly in gratitude to Allah for cutting short a plague epidemic before it could do too much damage.
The name "Hyderabad" reportedly had its origins in an affair between Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah and a local Telugu courtesan named Bhagmati. He named the city Bhagyanagar after her, and after she converted to Islam and took on the name of "Hyder Mahal", he named the city Hyderabad to keep pace. Hyderabad was built on a grid plan with help from Iranian architects. French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier favorably compared Hyderabad to Orleans.
The Qutb Shahi dynasty lasted till 1687, when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb defeated the sultanate and took over Hyderabad. He appointed his governor over the region and granted him the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk. Mughal rule was shortlived, however, as in 1724, the Nizam Asaf Jah I gained independence from a declining Mughal empire. Legend has it that while on a hunting expedition, he met a holy man who offered him some kulchas and asked him to eat as much as he could. Asaf Jah ate only seven, and the holy man prophesied that his dynasty would last for seven generations. Sure enough, the seventh ruler in the dynasty was the last. In honour of the legend, the flag of the Nizams featured a kulcha.
Around 1763 Asif Jah II, defeated by the Marathas and threatened by Tipu Sultan of Mysore, entered into a subsidiary alliance with a British. Hyderabad ended up as the capital of the largest princely state in British India, the Hyderabad state. This state was the richest in the country and in the 1930s Time magazine rated the Nizam the richest man in the world. In 1947, with India's independence, the seventh Nizam was reluctant to cede his prinicipality to the newly independent India, prefering Pakistan instead. India sent in its troops and the 200 year old prophesy was fulfilled. Hyderabad became the capital of the newly formed state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 and steadily grew in size.
The next major events in Hyderabad's history took place when Chandrababu Naidu became the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1995. Among his key policies was a major initiative to turn the city into an IT hub. He cleaned up the streets, laid out IT parks and did much to attract technology companies into the city. A major achievement for him was when Microsoft chose Hyderabad as its India headquarters over rival Bangalore. Today, as Bangalore chokes over its infrastructure, Hyderabad's well-laid out streets are proving to be a major attraction for software and IT-enabled companies. Hyderabad takes its brand as an IT destination very seriously. Cyberabad is not just a nickname. The technology enclave of Madhapur has actually been officially named Hi tec city, and Cyberabad too is commonly used in official documents.
Hyderabad is now renamed as Greater Hyderabad.
The old city of Hyderabad lies on the south bank of the Musi river, which roughly flows from the West to East. Most of the historical attractions, including, the Charminar, considered the centre of old Hyderabad, lie on this bank. Secunderabad, which was once a separate city, lies some distance to the north of the old city. Between Secunderabad and the old city lies the new city of Hyderabad, the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh, which was built on the north bank of the Musi river after independence. The dividing line between the two cities is the Sardar Patel road which also goes East-West. The most prominent landmark here is the Hussain Sagar lake and most administrative offices are located around it.
The newly developed "Hi-tec city" is 9 km to the west of the new city, in a place called Madhapur. This is where most technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms have their campuses.
In many senses, Hyderabad is the meeting ground between North and South India. The city has a culture of its own, distinct from the rest of Andhra Pradesh, showing Islamic influences and also the courtly influence of being the capital of the Nizamate. This, however, is more true for the old city. The new city is, and looks like, just another provincial capital of a state of India. Secundarabad is more cosmopolitan, as the Cantonment area is located in this part of the city.
In recent years, due to the influx of young men and women from various parts of the country, Hyderabad's culture and attitudes have taken a turn towards "modernity", but keep in mind that this is still a deeply conservative place.
Hyderabad, like many other indian cities has a tropical climate. The best time to visit the city is from mid - November to mid - February.Temperatures are mild with abundant sunshine during this time. Average temperatures during this time range from a low of 15°C (59°F) to a high of 29°C (85°F). March to June is hot and dry with occasional thunderstorms. Highs can reach 40°C (104°F) or more and lack of air-conditioning can make it feel very uncomfortable. July, August, September and October can be quite warm and humid and monsoon rain spells can last for days at a stretch. The city is sometimes affected by low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal during this season causing heavy rain for days.
The Hyderabad Race Club though an infant amongst Indian Turf Authorities has a tradition for racing of over a hundred years. Records and history tell us that racing and wagering existed in this fabled land of Nizams as far back as 1868. In those days, racing was conducted at Moula Ali race course, a few miles from the city and it was known as the Hyderabad (Deccan) races. As per reports the racing was rated on par with any other centre in India.
In 1886 the scene shifted from Moula Ali to Malakpet. This change was necessiated as the ruler H.H Nawab Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, Nizam VI wanted the race course to be near his place. In fact, the race course was constructed in the palace premises. The racing was conducted under the auspicies and rules of the royal Calcutta Turf Club. The season in Hyderabad was always conducted in the Monsoon and the Nizams Cup was the focal point. Later a regular race course was constructed on the land belonging to the cantonment at Secundrabad. The Nizam as a gesture sold to the Hyderabad race club 126 acres of land at a nominal price.
Hyderabad.GIF (28516 bytes)
GRAND STAND: Conceptualised in 1989, HRC's 70million rupees, dream project of having a grand stand realised in 1993. The grand stand in the first enclouser at HRC is the largest and most modern in India and compares to the best anywhere in the world.
As may be expected, most of the historical attractions are situated in the old city.
The Qutubshahi mosques in Hyderabad are so named because they were built by the Qutubshahi dynasty. Most of them were built by Quli Qutb Shah, the founder.
(The wild life parks, botanical garden and zoo have several educational programs including lectures with live snakes)
Hyderabad is well connected to all parts of the country by air, rail and road.
Hyderabad's new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (IATA: HYD) [2] is located at Shamshabad, 40 km away from the old airport at Begumpet, which is now closed. The new airport is currently the best aviation facility in India and a real relief compared to the chaos of Delhi and Mumbai and even the new Banaglore airports. Getting to the airport now requires a bit of extra time. Till the express road to the airport is completed, you will need to allow at least 1:00 to 1:45 hours to get there before check in. The airport is far superior to Bangalore's new airport.
Domestic check in and security put together take around 10 minutes in total.
Direct international connectivity from Hyderabad is available for many countries. International carriers operating from Hyderabad are Air India, British Airways, Emirates, Gulf Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qatar Airways, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Srilankan Airlines and Thai Airways.
Domestic connectivity is excellent with Air India (erstwhile Indian Airline), Deccan, GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher, Paramount and SpiceJet operating from here.
Once you arrive at Hyderabad airport, one option is to take the air-conditioned buses run by the airport (Aero Express) to three designated points in the city (1) Begumpet (Paryatak Bhavan) (2) Secunderabad (Keyes High School) (3) Hi-Tec City (Opposite Shilparamam) at a fixed price of Rs 150 including taxes and two designated points in the city (4) Charminar (City College) (5) Mehdipatnam (Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital) at Rs 120 including taxes per seat (travel time varies between 45 to 100 minutes depending on time of day and traffic conditions). The buses have a frequency of a bus every 30 minutes between 03:30 am and 23:00 pm and every hour at midnight, 1:00 am, 2:00 am and 3:00 am. You can reach the designated points and then take auto or metered cabs from there.
Alternatively, you can hire metered air-conditioned radio cabs at Rs 15 per km like Dot Cabs (+91-40-2424-2424), Easy Cabs (+91-40-4343-4343), Meru Cabs (+91-40-4422-4422), Orange Radio Cabs (+91-40-4445-4647) and Select Cabs (+91-40-4415-1515). Easy and Meru are officially approved by the Airport and are available just after exiting out of the terminal building. For the rest, you need to call and book with advance time of 15 minutes to 1 hour. These cabs charge 25 % surcharge in the night (ie, Rs. 18.75 per km).
The airport can be contacted on their (toll free for BSNL/MTNL subscribers) number 1-800-419-2008 for all services and enquiries including arrivals / departure information, facilities, transport availability, etc.
Indian Railways [3] runs its service to Hyderabad from all over India.
There are three major railway stations serving the twin cities: Secunderabad, Nampally (Hyderabad Deccan), and Kacheguda and a minor station at Begumpet.
If you don't mind a long drive, Hyderabad is at a drivable distance from Bangalore (via NH7 - 552 km). It is 752 km from Chennai (NH9 and NH5) and 753 km from Mumbai (NH9 till Pune and the expressway to Mumbai.) The Bangalore Hyderabad section is part of the North South corridor which is being updated, and is a four-lane divided highway. The quality of the road is inconsistent.
Hyderabad is well-connected to all parts of the Andhra Pradesh and some parts of South India. CBS / Imliban is the biggest station run by APSRTC (state-run) situated in Hyderabad and JBS / Jubilee Bus station is in Secunderabad. [4]. Imliban is said to be the largest bus station in the world. APSRTC is in the guiness book of world records for having the highest number of buses in a particular state in the world.
There are many ways to get around in Hyderabad. It has good bus service, passable autorickshaw and taxi service and a grossly inadequate local train service.
Street by Street Driving Directions [5]
Hyderabad has good local bus connectivity and is run by APSRTC, a state-government owned corporation. Most buses start and terminate from Secunderabad Railway station, Nampally Railway station, Koti and Charminar. Apart from normal local buses, you have a choice of Metro Express and Metro Deluxe aka Veera. Since April 2008 you also have a choice of low floor Air-conditioned buses aka Seetala Hamsa between Secunderabad Railway Station and Hi-Tec City (minimum fare Rs 10/-).
Autorickshaws in Hyderabad should be metered, though it can be difficult for non-locals to find an autorickshaw driver who agrees to a metered fare. Autos can carry a maximum of 3 passengers excluding the driver, but it is common to find them being overloaded to carry up to six passengers. . The minimum fare is Rs 10.00 (now revised to Rs 12). There are also shared 8 seater Maxi Vans available in selected areas. Fares are mostly 2 rupees more than bus fares, but are far more comfortable and fast for short distances upto 5 kms.
Metered taxis are available, but they cannot be hailed off the street. One needs to call their centralised call centre and book the service. Service is very good if you are booking for longer distances for travel else expect them to not turn up even after booking. It is next to impossible to be able to get a cab without prior booking since demand far outstrips the supply. All metered cabs have digital meters that show the distance and fare.
Operators offering metered taxis (not all below are reliable and not all of them are prompt) at Rs 10 per km in alphabetical order:
Operators offering Air conditioned metered taxis at Rs 15 per km:
The third variety of cabs are chartered type, example hired for maximum of 8 hours or 80 km whichever is higher. These are available from:
Local trains are also available, albeit for a few places in Hyderabad, called MMTS [10]. The frequency is around 2 per hour, save the day time and Sundays when it is lesser. It is a fast way of travel to the few stations it covers, not to mention the cheapest as well. If you plan to travel through MMTS, do checkout the schedule from the website [11]
Hyderabad lacks an expressway system, leading to traffic jams during rush hours. However, an 160km Ring Road Expressway [12] is currently under construction, with an expected first phase completion in early 2008.
Driving discipline in Hyderabad is, if it can be possible, worse than in the rest of India. There are long stretches of roads passing through thickly populated areas that have no median breaks, so vehicles, including motorbikes and cars, simply drive on the wrong side of the road. The accepted way to take a right turn is to go to the left edge of the road and turn right, in the face of multiple lanes of cars attempting to go straight. Red lights are broken in broad daylight while cops watch helplessly.
Hyderabad, especially Old City, is good for walking. Going around Chudi Bazaar(Lad Bazaar) near Charminar is an experience, a visit to the famed Chowmahalla palace and Mecca Masjid is a good option. Places like Necklace Road, Sultan Bazar(Koti) and Abids are worth travelling on foot. But please note that walking can be hazardous. It is common for roads to not have pavements at all, and bikes will go to right up to the edge of the road and climb any barrier to gain an advantage over others on the road. Crossing roads is also very dangerous, always use the foot over bridge.
Himayathnagar: Contact Lilac Boutique for Designer Sarees, suits and blouses.
Hyderabadi cuisine that developed as an attempt to satisfy the palate of the Nizam, his court and his army. While heavily influenced by traditional Telangana cuisine, it is distinct from it.
The most famous Hyderabadi dish is the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani. Dum refers to the baking process where Basmati rice and meat or vegetables are mixed in a pot and heated for a long time. During the Nizam's time, the Biryani was made with lamb's meat carefully cooked with rice. Culinary delicacies of Hyderabad include Gosht, which is made from a buck/billy/young goat, and is associated with the Hyderabadi cuisine.Hyderabadis prize the meat of a male goat.Kachchi gosht ki biriyani of Hyderabad, where raw meat is stir fried with spices(masala) for couple of minutes and then covered with rice and put on dum. Today, Biryani is also made using vegetables, chicken, seafood and beef. The beef Biryani is known as Kalyani Biryani, available at many small eateries in the city. Although any Irani cafe might serve this delectable dish, there are a few places better known for tasteful food than their hygiene.
Hyderabadi Haleem is another dish which is available only in the month of Ramadaan(Ramzan).
Mirchi ka salan — spicy chilly gravy, is another dish that serves as a tasty accompaniment to any rice item.
Khubani ka meetha is Hyderabad's preferred dessert sweet. It is made from apricots boiled in sugar syrup till they achieve a thick consistency. It looks similar to, but tastes different from gajar ka halwa. It is often topped with ice-cream or cream.
Double Ka Meetha is a dessert made from bread, milk and dry fruits.
In these Hotels one can get the Hyderbadi dishes, it's an experience to have a meal in these restaurants.
Contact Information Telephone: 27667115, 66625520(Great Biryani)
Phone 65100033, 65100044, 9885650789
*Zaitoon Offers Dishes From Afghanisthan,Pakistan,Iraq,Arabia.
Opposite sarojini Devi eye hospital, Up of Minerva Sweets, Masab Tank.
Hyderabad also offers a midnight feast of Biryani along with a lavish spread of other dishes. The Midnight Biryani Buffet normally opens at 23.30 hrs(11.30) and remains open Upto Wee hours of the day. Try the Midnyte Spread at Taj Deccan .
If Biryani is not your choice of meal or you have had your fair share of it, do not fret. There are contemporary South Indian restaurants, like Spice Junxion at Taj Deccan, which offers and different experience. Hyderabad also offers a wide variety of food on its platter, and many of the luxurious hotels offer authentic cuisine even from places such as Afghanistan - Dum Pukt in Grand Kakatiya is a case in point. Besides, there is unending array of thematic food festivals to soothe your appetite.
+91-40-65457754, Mobile # 9346909700...this is for all those who require to manage food when working late in STC. :-) all the best for re-imbursements!!!
The Udipi hotels are the best hotels to eat authentic south Indian food. A favourite food joint for breakfast & snacks.
Venalla - madhapur.
Anupama - Offers a variety of Andhra Cuisine
Bowl Of China (Secunderabad, SR Nagar and has lot of Branches)
Ph:+(91)-(040)-645 32326 [31]
Mediterranean Cuisine is the only Turkish restaurant across the country along with traditional Mughlai and Indian cuisines with best chefs from Turkey and India.
There is plenty to do at night in Hyderabad, though local regulations have most places serving last drinks by 11PM. On weekdays, drinks in the some of the pubs have best offers, as most clubs are empty until Thursday or Friday nights, when the clubbers emerge. But the sheer number of nightlife spots makes it hard to choose which ones to list. As a general rule they tend to be clustered around Begumpet, Road No.1 Banjara Hills.
Alcohol is available easily from numerous Liqour Shops, known as Wines' in local parlance, spread across the twin cities, in Restaurants who have taken licence for serving alcohol (includes most upscale ones) and also in Pubs.
The best drink in the summer months is Lassi and Faluda(Paradise serves the best Faluda in Hyderabad), Or Coconut Water and many people here also drink the famous sugarcane juice. But the most famous & favorite drink all over the year irrespective of the season is the the Irani chai ( hyderabadi tea) which is available all over the city.