Hyderabad is a city of Nawabs and Kebabs, Biryani and Sherwani, Pearls and Paigah, Haleem and Arches, Tombs and Dombs Minartes and Modern Buildings. It is the city of 400 years plus old.
Special is Hyderabad’s Biryani Typical is Hyderabad’s zubani Wonderful is Hyderabad’s sherwani Flexible is Hyderabad’s zindagani Unforgetable is Charminar’s charm and people’s agvani
It is the city of cultural co-existence and convergence of the past and the present, as well as the coming together of North and South India in its
population, monuments, modern buildings, bazars and way of life.
It is the city of Dr. Ronald Ross, the malaria man who discovered the malarial parasite. It is the city of the world's renowned diamond 'Kohinoor' that weighs 787 carats, valued at well over one million sterlings.
It is the city of happenings, where the Microsoft's first research centre outside U.S. is situated. It is the city which played host to the World's most powerful man Mr. Bill Clinton, President of United States of America.
It played host to the most powerful people in the world like Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Microsoft Chief Bill Gates, Britain Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz.
Hyderabad is India's Bulk Drugs, Pharma, Biotechnology , IT and Training Capital of India, having the largest number of training centres. It is the important MICE(Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions).
Hyderabad city is today known for its IT and IT Enabled Services, Pharmaceuticals and Entertainment industries(UTC) Many call centers, Business process outsourcing(BPO) firms, dealing with IT and other technological services were set up in the 1990s making it one of the major regions for call center setups in India. Ramoji Film City, the largest film studio in the world is located on the outskirts of the city.
The development of a township with state-of-the-art facilities called HITEC City, prompted several IT and ITES companies to setup operations in the city. An aggressive promotion of growth in this area has led civic boosters to call the city “Cyberabad”. Hyderabad has also been referred to as the second Silicon Valley of India next to Bangalore.
Hyderabad has been the front runner in terms of attracting huge investments from Fortune 500 Companies. Hyderabad is poised to become a global city after the city has clinched Semiconductor Fab deals from Intellect Inc, Semindia. Hyderabad has been selected as the location for India’s first Fab City, a silicon chip manufacturing facility, being setup with an investment of $3 billion by the AMD-SemIndia consortium.
Hyderabad is described as the one of the fastest growing cities in the world by a World Bank report. If India is the world's fourth largest producer of bulk drugs, then Hyderabad accounts for a lion's share of this capacity.
Hyderabad is known to have huge palaces like Falaknuma Palace, Chow Mohalla Palace, Golcond Fort, The Salar Jung Museum - the largest ever one-man's collection of antiques in the world.
Charminar is always on the top of the mind of any tourist visiting Hyderabad. To say that Charminar is a major landmark in the city is to state the obvious, to repeat a cliché. The great monument is a synonym for Hyderabad and the pivot around which the glory and history of the city have developed.
A stone built Makkah Masjid southwest of Charminar is another marvel of the city. Remarkable for its architecture, size and its royal splendor.
Snow World - the world's biggest and India's first Snow Theme Park, Ramoji Film City (RFC) is the world’s largest integrated film studio complex, at nearly 2,000 acres are few more attractions. Ramoji Film City is also one of Asia’s most popular tourism and recreation centres. Hyderabad International Convention Centre(HICC) --South Asia’s largest Convention Center with seating capacity of 6000 people(area of 6,500 sq mt) and GMC Balayogi State-of-the-art Stadium to hold world clas sporting events some feather in Hyderabad's cap.
Hyderabad, the state capital was founded in the late 16th century by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, on the southern ban of the rivers, Moosi. The capital consists of the twin cities of Hyderabad & Secunderabad, linked together by the Hussein Sagar lake. Known for its medieval, Saracenic, Mughal and colonial architecture, the city reflects an exuberance and richness, hardly found in other parts of the country. Situated on a rocky plateau with access, to both the Krishna and Godavari Rivers. Hyderabad has become the nodal point of transport and communication network and a market for crafts, grains, tobacco and the anab-shahi variety of large-sized seedless grapes.
Though the elaborate gold-encrusted costumes and jewels of Salarjung's time are now glimped only at an occasional aristocratic wedding, Hyderabad still possesses exquisite jewellery, textile and crafts. The narrow lanes around Charkaman and Mittika-sher on either side of the Charminar yield wonderful bargains amidst the dust and dirt and maniacaly swirling cycle rickshaws; antique kundan and enamel jewellery, temple sarees, old bidri and silver, crystal and the ubiquitous Hyderabad pearls laden bazaar, nearby is lined with tiny shops selling glass bangles, those delicate, light rainbow tinted circles of light. They also sell sequins, braids and gold embroidery, as well as costume jewellery very like the real thing at one thousandth the price. The applique skirts, bages and tiny beads of the Banjara gypsies, Nirmal lacquerware, ornate brass from Pembharti; Kondapalli carved toys; leather puppets and Warangal carpets combine to make Hyderabad truly shopper's paradise.
Hyderabad, with its twin city Secunderabad, presents a fine picture of Muslim and Hindu cultural co-existenmce and the convergence of the past and the present, as well as the coming together of north and south India in its population, monuments, modern buildings, bazaars and way of life.
The world famous Golconda, the quarrry of the Orloff, Regent and Kohinoor diamonds is just 8kms away from Hyderabad. It is the famous market place for diamonds. It is the one of the wealthiest courts, Golconda is today a magnificent ruin in the rocky ramparts of the Deccan.
The impressive Fateh Darwaza, the bastions, the intricately carved walls of the Zenana and the fascinating acoustic system ( a clap here sounded at the entrance portal is heard at the top of the hill) bear testimony to the architectural skill of that age.
It perhaps the only place in the world where the mortal remains of an entire dynasty lie together.
Nizam, Mir Usman Ali, who was one of the richest men in the world also lived here.
Hyderabad is an important centre for education. With more universities, educational institutions and government training centres, it is also called the training capital of India, having the largest number of training centres like ASCI - ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF TRAINING COLLEGE OF INDIA, DEFENCE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT, STATE BANK STAFF COLLEGE, THE POLICE ACADEMY, PILOTS TRAINING ACADEMY, IDBI TRAINING INSTITUTE, ICFAI ETC.
Symbolic of Hyderabad is Charminar, a charming rectangular building with four slender minarets, housing a small mosque. To imagine this 400-year-old city without Charminar is to imagine New York without the Statue of Liberty or Moscow without the Kremlin. Built by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in 1591, shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what now is known as Hyderabad, this beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. This great tribute to aesthetics looks sturdy and solid from a distance but as one moves closer, it emerges as an elegant and romantic edifice proclaiming its architectural eminence in all its detail and dignity. Apart from being the core of the city’s cultural milieu, it has become a brand name. Built in just two years after the founding of Hyderabad, as a public talisman to ward off an epidemic that was ravaging the city. Once can have a fine view of the city from its top. Emerging from one of the great arches of Hyderabad's historic landmark, the Charminar (the four minarets) and extending westwards is the legendary Lad Bazaar or the street of love.
Lad Bazar for the Hyderabadis is not just a bazaar, but is a tradition which they have well preserved. It is as old as the city itself. It is a place of endless movement and of different flavours. A visitor can buy anything from charming trinklets, bangles, perfumes-to the most fascinating handicrafts, handlooms, sarees, pearls and all other items which Hyderabad is so famous for.
Mecca Masjid - It is said that the Masjid was built around a brick which was brought from Mecca and is reputed to be among the largest in the world.
Salarjung Museum - Salar Jung, the noted for his voluminous collections of antiques and rare art treasures which were housed in a showpiece landmark of Hyderabad, the Salar Jung Museum. Now given the status of National Museum, and housed in a new building, it has also a unique collection of miniature paintings and illuminated manuscripts of the Koran and other works, among numerous other interesting exhibits.
Hyderabad is also famous for Osman Ali Khan founded Osmania University, a major centre of Urdu, Persian and Arabic studies, inm addition to the modern arts and science.
Hussain Sagar lake, was built over a span of 10 years with 70 tonnes of Rajasthani marble.The Hussain Sagar is the lake around which Hyderabad has grown. It is the lake which unites twin cities. The memory of 33 historical personages is immortalised in the form of bronze statues ,placed along the bund of the lake.
The Birla Mandir is a beautiful white temple dedicated to Lord Venkateswara. It is on top of a hillock, Kala Pahad or black hill, one kilometre from the centre of the city. The hillock is also famous for Birla Planetarium.
The Mahakali Temple is another interesting Hindu shrine in the city. The Nehru Zoological Park offers lion safari.
The Nehru Zoological Park is one of largest zoos in Asia covering an expanse of 320 acres.
Food is of paramount importance to all Andhraites and the cuisine is varied. The cuisine of Hyderabad remains the art it had been refined to, with rich Persian flavours, each dish a unique creation, lavish but never ostentatious, and served with exquisite grace. A traditional Hyderabadi meal is no less than a banquet and a unique aesthetic as well as gourmet experience and splendid : fragrant biryani of steamed rice mutton and chicken kormas and salads, tamatar ka kat and baghare baigan, sour and tangy: haleem ( meat and pounded wheat): daals and rasams: and wonderful deserts etc all ended by a fragrant paan (betel leaf) folded and presented on crossed palms.
Festivals; Among popular festivals include Sankranti- a Hindua festival marking the end of the harvest season. Sankranti is the time for flying kites.
Ugadi - the beginning of the Telugu New Year . Hindus have a traditional pachadi drink( a mixture of unripe mango, neem flower and brown sugar in tamarind juice) on this day.
Vinayak Chaturthi- Though it's a popular Hindua fete dedicated to Lord Ganesh, people irrespective of cast and creed and religion participate in Ganesh immersion day.
Hyderabad is described as the one of the fastest growing cities in the world by a World Bank report. If India is the world's fourth largest producer of bulk drugs, then Hyderabad accounts for a lion's share of this capacity. Apart from emerging as the Pharma city of the country, it is also fast emerging as the Pharma city of the country, it is also fast emerging as the software centre of the country.
Hyderabad, with its twin city Secunderabad, presents a fine picture of Muslim and Hindu cultural co-existenmce and the convergence of the past and the present, as well as the coming together of north and south India in its population, monuments, modern buildings, bazaars and way of life.
Hyderabad is an important centre for education. With more universities, educational institutions and government training centres, it is also called the training capital of India, having the largest number of training centres like ASCI - ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF TRAINING COLLEGE OF INDIA, DEFENCE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT, STATE BANK STAFF COLLEGE, THE POLICE ACADEMY, PILOTS TRAINING ACADEMY, IDBI TRAINING INSTITUTE, ICFAI ETC.
Special is Hyderabad’s Biryani
