Hyderabad Diary 2

Hyderabad embodies the duality that India stands for in the world today:the juxtaposition of the new rich and the dilapidated old. So where you have the latest retail chains and urban spaces, you also continue to have the long forgotten bylanes that breed the spirit of India.

Old Hyderabad is as conspicuous by its architecture as by its sights and smells. You have the towering Charminar that stands as a sentinel of the traditions and history of the city....the adjoining market that has been where it is since ages....and the people who, though traditional, have learned to move forward with the times.

When you're in Hyderabad, what hits you from out of nowhere is the pathetic condition of the traffic. People seldom follow rules and sometimes it beomes a free-for-all on crossroads. The city would have been so much better had its people maintained discipline on the road. For a changing city, I am sure this too is bound to change.

Hyderabad, the city of Nawabs is also the city of the software majors.....of the Telugu film industry and the delicious biryani. Like most of the places in India it is full of culture and yet...has a contagious freshness about it. As I flashback on the week I spent back in Hyderabad, there's one thing for sure....I'll always carry the memories that it has left with me.

Hyderabad Diary 1

When you go south of the Tropic of Cancer in India, you might as well expect to find hot, sultry conditions awaiting you. At least that's what I expected of Hyderabad. But I was pleasantly surpised otherwise. The place was remarkably cool for this time of the year.

So what's special about yet another teeming metropolis in a country of the teeming millions? To the people who live and work in the big cities-nothing. But to someone who hails from a small town-a lot. I was amazed by the manner in which Hyderabad is at the forefront of almost everything happening in the country. But people there told me that the place was no longer as happening as it used to be, ever since a change in government in the state. And yet, Hyderabad, to me was in stark contrast to the sleepy township that I come from.

The city is certainly one of the IT hotspots in the country, and often competes with neighbouring Bangalore for IT related investments. But, unlike Bangalore, Hyderabad is also a city that is steeped in antiquity. A place that has, through the centuries, learned to strike an intricate balance between its glorious past, rebellious present and a future full of possibilities.

Secunderabad, Hyderabad's twin city, separated from it by the majestic Hussainsagar Lake, is rather special because of the large expanses of Cantonment Areas there. These areas, habitated and maintained by the Indian Army are the epitome of excellence in civic planning. Lush green acres, dotted with Victorian buildings for residential and administrative blocks-that's the typical geography of this area.

More about Old Hyderabad in the next post....