The city of Hyderabad is built around 428 years back by Sultan Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, from then till now it has undergone many transitions culturally, economically and infrastructure wise. This city has become one of the largest IT hubs of the country and is one of the best livable cities in India( according to mercer's quality of living rankings) for the past few years. The cost of living in this city is also very less compared to Mumbai & Delhi.
The most curious thing (that I feel)about this city is the blend of cultures of both north & south, Hindu & Muslim, Hindi & non-Hindi, Retro & Modern. Though the blend of cultures is visible in most of the cosmopolitan cities of India, the level and extent of the bond and synchronicity displayed here is perhaps not present in most other places. Starting with language, most people of this city speak both Hindi and Telugu and also English (but to a limited extent). So if a person who is familiar with Hindi can make use of it and hear the Hyderabadi accent of Hindi, which is fun to hear. The real flavour of Hyderabad comes out during the festivals of Bonalu, month of Ramzan, Batukamma & Ganesh Chaturthi when the whole city irrespective of religion, gender, age, style of dressing come together and form delight of a scene to watch.
Another curious aspect of Hyderabad is the food of it. From biryani to dosa to chai to biscuits this city has it all. But finding the best of food treasure is like a treasure in Pirates of the Caribbean, i.e, it is not available easily. It will test your will to eat by giving you time-based challenges, like deadlines given to an MBA student, and you might need a car/ a bike as your chariot in finding this treasure. My approach to
this treasure is to start the day with a wonderful cup of coffee/tea in the morning at Alpha hotel, near Secunderabad railway station and would break my fast at chutneys, 2 miles from Secunderabad, whereas the name suggests the chutneys would make you flow in trance. Time flies by in this trance and I would fancy myself lunch and what better place than Bawarchi restaurant, where Biryani and coke will make you feel like you are in heaven.
After this heavy meal, one might need a tea to digest it and Irani Chai available near Fever hospital will be the perfect fit for this job, along with tea Osmania biscuits make this tea more delightful as the biscuits melt along with tea in mouth. After this, a short trip to Koti where we can see a bomb surviving chat shop(they increased security since then), Gokul chat shop where masala/ aloo chat (famous throughout the state) will be my next treat. If we are in month of Ramzan, then Haleem after chat would be the best followup, so my next pitstop would be Pista house near iconic Charminar which makes you wanting more. After lingering on to taste of Haleem, I would like to eat midnight biryani from the world-famous biryani place Paradise, which makes me forget the hectic day of travel and relax. If I still have my will to eat and to go on then my last stop would be Mozam Jahi market's Ram ki Bandi, where unique dosas are prepared from 3am-9am and my personal favourite is Pizza dosa. This ends my day of finding food treasure which leaves me with lots of satisfaction and delight.
Food and culture are not the only curious things about Hyderabad and as many Hyderabadis say
"Galli galli main hain ek lolli", which roughly translates to "Every street has its own speciality."
It takes more than a short story to explain all the specialities of this city as one has to witness them first hand to get to know the real deal of this majestic city of Hyderabad.