I am sure anyone with a hyderabadi friend has heard that phrase.
I am a Hyderabadi myself...and i am proud to be one. ask me
why? and you are going to be stuck with me for a long time, listening to the
Ga Ga s about the city. SO, i am going to talk about the city more in the form
of pictures than words.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
Your address reads as 23-404-32/67A-43
(New MCH number 56-678/4A/B-22), while you actually live in the second house
beside Zamzam cafe in lane behind Anand Theatre on SP Road .
Your answer is 'seedha chale jao' when
somebody asks you for directions, whether it is to Malakpet, Masab Tank, Malkajgiri
or Moosapet.
"CHARMINAR"
According to local folklore, the Charminar was constructed
to ward off the ravages of a deadly epidemic, the Charminar is Hyderabad's primary
landmark. Almost as old as the city itself (built just two years after the founding
of Hyderabad) it's a monument with four graceful minarets. Raised by Mohammed
Quli Qutub Shah, the founder of the city in 1591, it is often referred to as
the Arc of Triumph of the East.
This four columned structure stands 56mt high and 30mt wide,
creating four arches facing each of the cardinal points. Each column has a minaret
on the top. Spiral staircases lead up the column and provide a view of the city.
The structure is illuminated in the evenings.
It is now famous for the bangle stores,
pearl shops, pretty salwar suits, mirror works and mirchi
bajji!
The picture to the right shows a beautiful
pearl jewllery set made in hyderabad.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
You end up buying only a salwar kameez, whether it is
a theatre workshop, food mela, consumer expo, designer jewellery show, science
show or an automobile convention.
You look at the fixed price stand and still ask 'dene
ka bolo'
"BIRLA
MANDIR"
A Beautiful attraction/asset of the city. Industrialists Birlas
built this piece of architectural magnificence which, strangely, is referred
to as Birla temple and not Venkateswara temple.
A quarter century ago, they built this temple in Hyderabad
entirely in marble brought from Rajasthan and dedicated it to Lord Venkateswara,
known as Balaji in the north. The temple, built on a hillock called Kala Pahad,
one of the Naubat Pahad twins, lords over its equally celebrated surroundings
comprising the imposing Secretariat buildings, the azure-blue waters of Hussain
Sagar, the serene and halcyon Lumbini Park, the luxurious Public Gardens dominated
by the Asafjahi-style Legislative Assembly complex and the Reserve Bank of India.
From the highest level of the temple, the spectacle around is breath-taking,
providing a view of the incessant flow of traffic on the Tank Bund, crowds thronging
the administrative complexes of the government, the newly-built flyovers and
the cultural hub of the city Ravindra Bharathi and the NTR Memorial.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
Your street has at least one roadside mobile
hotel that serves Chinese delicacies such as "Vegetable soft needles",
"Navrotten Kurma", "Chicken Manchewurea" or "American
Chompsee".
You order for a tea just after having had
a Caramel custard.
"BUDDHA
STATUE"
The Buddhist statue has been placed on the rock of Gibraltar
in the placid waters of the Hussain Sagar, popularly know as 'Tank Bund'. It
is the tallest standing monolith of 72 feet. The idea of erecting a giant monolith
Buddha statue in the midst of Hussainsagar lake on the Gibraltar rock was a
part of the Buddha Poornima project in 1985.
The monolithic statue was chiselled out of a white granite
rock, weighting 450 tons.It was carved by 200 sculptors for two years. The statue
was transported to Hyderabad in November 1988.After the intial problems, the
statue was erected on 12th April 1992 on a red coloured Lotus pedestral. Attached
to it , Lumbini park was inaugurated with musical fountains, Bonsai Plants and
a boat ride from Lumbini Park to the Buddha Statue.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
You can speak Hindi, Urdu, hyderabadi hinglish,
except Telugu, fluently.
You ask the waiter to get you some 'Mango
pickle' even if you are sitting at a lavish continental banquet dinner with
exotic Chinese, Mexican,Italian and Lebanese cuisines.
You have at least one cousin, friend, colleague
or acquaintance in the US in software.
"""
GOLCONDA FORT "
Located about 11-km, On The Western Outskirts of theCity, this
fort is famous for its Acoustics, Palaces, Ingenious Water Supply System, And
Diamond Trade.
Built By Quli Qutub Shah In 1525.
Some of the Tourist attractions being, Taramathi Gana Mandir, Premathi Nritya
Mandir and the Sound And Light Show .
The fort area on the hill is fenced off by a series of high and broad granite
walls built in concentric circles, their defences strengthened by several moats
and drawbridges. Legend has it that Golkonda was the centre of a flourishing
trade in diamonds and that the world-famous Kohinoor diamond came from this
market. The rugged and time-ravaged ruins throw up fleeting evidence of a golden
age with Golkonda as its essence.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
You have at least one Srinivas,Prasad,
Raju or Venkatesh within six square feet. OR you have at least one cousin, friend,
colleague or acquaintance with these names.
Everytime somebody gives you a piece of
good news, the first thing you ask them is 'Party kab hain?'
"SALAR JUNG MUSEUM"
a ONE
A one man wonder:Salar Jung museum is the fantasy of an
art visionary come to life which waited for its consummation for another great
lover of art, Jawaharlal Nehru to visit the historic city of the Quli Qutab
Shahs and inaugurate it on 16 December, 1951.The collections were hurriedly
assorted and housed in Diwan Devdi, residence of the Salar Jungs. Every year
a million visitors pay homage to this great repository of art and history. The
priceless collections were moved in 1968 to a new site from the 100-year-old
palace Dewan Devdi of the prime ministers. Legend has that the museum houses
art collections of three generations of the Salar Jung family, beginning with
Salar Jung.
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
You refer to any past as 'parso', be it
yesterday or long before three hundred years.
You call 11 AM as subah subah.
"
RAMOJI FILM CITY"
History knows Quli Qutb Shah as the founder of Hyderabad City
and posterity will know Ramoji Rao as the architect of the Film City known to
everyone who is familiar with the world of films and entertainment.
The Film City, spread over 2,000 acres of land studded with
hills, vales and lakes, hasfew parallels as both a tourist attraction and major
film-making facility. The city is anytime a match to Universal Studios in Hollywood,
brick to brick, gizmo to gizmo. It
is a place where reality acquires all the attributes of magic and incredibility.
To quote some directors and producers, the Film City has "all
facilities at one place with latest technology and advanced equipment."
Its brochure highlights its motto as 'make the magic happen.' However, magic
happens spontaneously without human intervention as though it is the main ingredient
of the entire project. Yet, everything is real, from the 50 studio floors, the
support systems, outdoor locations to the high-tech laboratories, the wealth
of technology, the
greenery, and the hillscape.
The Film City, in company with the Cybercity, has put Hyderabad on the map of
the world. In short, it is a film-maker's dream and a tourist's idea of a paradise
You are a true Hyderabadi if:
You label your boss as 'Dimakh Kharab'
You are 15 minutes late and you feel you
are on time.
"CHARMINAR"
"BIRLA
MANDIR" 
"BUDDHA
STATUE"
"""
GOLCONDA FORT "
"
RAMOJI FILM CITY"
t
is a place where reality acquires all the attributes of magic and incredibility.
greenery, and the hillscape.