Hyderabad - As I saw her.

As my 7-month long sojourn in Hyderabad draws to an end, it seems very natural that I should devote some time, capture the city as I saw it, and share the image with my friends. Here it is.

It is was due to some pleasant co-incidence that my dad got transferred here at the exact time at which my training semester was due. So the small sharma family of three members arrived here together. Don't miss the 'arrived'; Love was in 'air', literally, for the first time in his life. The first thing that caught my eye from the sky was this huge lake around which the city seemed to be built – Hussain Sagar Lake.

Hyderabad - the city of pearls, the city of nawabs, or the city of 'tanks' (small water lakes are called 'tanks' here). Won't overload this post with boring accounts of history and geography. We seldom remember those things after a few hours anyways.

Instead, I wish to present hyderabad through some particular frames; the frames I used to see the city.

1. The link between the North and the South.

Hyderabad is 'South' for people of north, and 'North' for people of Tamil Nadu, Kerela etc. I have been told that if one goes south, further than hyderabad, one would rarely find Hindi speaking people. Tamil Nadu, Kerela, Karnataka etc. are the real epitomes of South India image – Hyderabad just offers a glimpse; a gateway, if you will, to 'south' south India.

2. The 'Hyderabadi Rain'.
   We were told that we won't be needing any woolens here. I was looking forward to that, being a denizen of north India – acclimated to the extreme climate zone of Jammu and Punjab.

Hyderabad didn't disappoint me.

The rains here are so surreptitious – you won't even know when the light drizzle arrived, and when it turned into rain. Almost playfully, the amount of pouring water kept varying between the drizzle and spray throughout the rain hours - if I was out on streets, I always had a trying time deciding whether to open my umbrella or not.

It's December, and I still cover myself with one sheet while sleeping – like I did in July; we still operate fans – like we did in July.

I don't know if people here miss winters or not. But what I do know that they don't have to buy two different set of clothes. :D

3. The screwed traffic sense and MMTS.

One of the earliest things I noticed was the way pedestrians crossed roads. Raise your hand, and you become the king: that is how you cross the road. No subways, no strict traffic-rules and few foot-overs to talk about, it's a common sight. One can see people cross roads like that almost anywhere: even the big broad roads. Well, not much I could do, but to adapt.

The MMTS (Multi Modal Transport service) of the South Central Railway is a big plus-point of the city. It a cross between Metro and Local trains. For Rs. 2, (and max 5), one can traverse the length and breadth of the city. I personally commuted daily by it, for at least 4 months. A few more trains of that kind, and it could match Delhi Metro. Though I heard that a separate Hyderabad-Metro project has begun already.

4. Facets of the Feminine.

I saw women bus conductors, jostling through the crowded buses, shouting “ride” or “right” (i still dont know which) signalling the driver to move. Then I saw women cobblers (not even a single male one).

And of course I saw the burqa-clad ones. At first I took it to be a social-equalizer, a symbol of uniformity; the fact that one doesn't have any clue, whatsoever to the status of that girl/women in society. Soon, my illusion was broken. It was the same black all-covering robe, but even that had stark variations – the type of cloth used, the embroidery, the presence (and absence) of black velvet gloves adorning their hands; it wasn't so much of an equalizer that I had thought it to be.

And yes, all I could do to guess whether a girl was beautiful or not, was to guess it from her eyes – the only visible part in most of the cases. But on the whole, the mystery was alluring.

I observed that local girls, the non-muslim ones, wore very simple dresses, and were generally devoid of any sort of grooming or makeup – very unlike the northern ones.

Well, even that illusion was broken, when I visited the other side of the city – Banjara Hills, Jublee Hills, Begumpet, etc.

5. Two distinct Hyderabads.

The areas I just mentioned above, are just like Noida or Gurgaon. Malls, flyovers, marts, multi-plexes, restaurants, coffee-houses, book-stores. Banjara and Jublee hills house abodes of Tollywood stars, industrialists, and politicians; I don't need to explain anything else. Yes, this is the region where a north-Indian would feel almost at home – including how the people dressed, and what young college boys and girls do. :p

The other hyderabad has rangolis made outside houses. One can see dosa-idli-masoor bhaaji vendors around street corners. Crowded streets, markets, places like Char-Minar etc are a feature of this Hyderabad.

Even the quality of APSRTC buses seem to be biased on this two-hyderabad theory.

6. The overly-simple cotoure.

Especially in the older hyderabad, the more austere one; people wear overly simple clothes as compared to us in northern India. Of course women can't be compared distinctively, with their sarees etc. But this aspect is clearly visible when it comes to men. Very simple shirts and trousers, mostly tailor-made. Even the colors that they choose, appeared so earthen to me; I was usually conscious of my dressing being very brightly colorful in the initial days.

But of course it's a different story when one visits the other side of the City.

7. Hyderabad Revealed

The most famous hyderabadi pearls, actually come from China. Hyderabad has historically been house for the craftsmen, the people who give these pearls life. So the right thing to say would be that 'Hyderabad is famous for pearl-jewellery'.

I have been told that the city is equally famous for 'Bangles' or 'chooriyan', and for 'sandals' or 'chappals'. Also that it's twin city, Secunderabad, houses one of the largest Military Cantonment of India (or is it the largest). Having a wonderful semi-jungle Zoological park to boast, it also has a vast historical repository of artifacts from all over the world – Salar Jung Museum.

But the present identity of Hyderabad is reflected in its new name – Cyberabad. Competing with Bangalore for the title of IT capital of India, it's already a much-sought after property. You are very probable to land up here at least once, if you are in the IT or Computer sector. Maybe you find this piece helpful then. :D :D

There are many more aspects of Hyderabad, but I feel I have already crossed the word limit many of you were game for.

Posting this piece as much as for myself, as for you, friends. It has been a quite, lonely time that I spent here. 

But trust me, 'lonely' need not be a sad feeling always. :) .

It may also mean spending time with your own self.

Love Sharma

P.S: Someone here told me once "Hyderabad ke potte (prounced as potteiy. meaning 'boys') ekdum waste rehte..." . I wonder what she meant. :p