Heera, moti......

Watch this video: HYDERABAD - The Pearl City of India - {Azgar Khan}



For generations, Hyderabad has been known as the last stop for good pearls. A news channel reported yesterday that the 'City of 'Pearls' was fast turning into a centre for diamonds, as well. Hyderabadiz can pride themselves on the fact that there has been a 40% rise in the sale of diamonds, according to the report. Lightweight diamonds are light on the purse too and a cluster diamond is so exquisitely cut that it resembles a solitaire! Apparently, traditional Hyderabadi designs of jewelry are gaining increasing popularity among the younger folks. 'aage aage dekhiye hota hai kya'!

see Golconda Fort's neighbourhood

See also:

The Pearl City Hyderabad, by Random Southerner

Pearls of Hyderabad, by travelchacha

PEARLS by Sultan

Hyderabad - The city of pearls

Hyderabad Pearls by Pradeep Sadanapalli

LEGACY OF THE CITY OF PEARLS

Hyderabad's diaspora--vibrant overseas communities

Hyderabadiz started moving out ages ago. The migration to distant lands gathered momentum in the 80s, picked up further in the 90s and is at an all-time high now, thanks to the IT boom. Many of the early settlers be they in the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia or elsewhere in the world have their own little Indian communities and within that a community of Hyderabadiz that they move in.

London, Chicago and Toronto among dozens of other cities across the globe are clear examples of little Hyderabads that get built abroad. The second and third generation immigrants can barely relate to their roots, in the way their parents and grandparents want them to. But then, it's unfair to transplant them on alien shores and expect them to behave as though they live in Dabeerpura or Dilsukhnagar. It's only right that they are romans in Rome.

See also:

HYDERABADIS, by SHEHLA BURNEY [in Multicultural Canada]

An ode to Hyderabad, By SANGEETHA DEVI K [in a review of the film Dead Body, by Kaz Rehman, the Canadian film maker]--Kaz is a son of a Hyderabadi, late Mohammed F. Rahman, settled in Canada.

Far and away... Locating Home: India's Hyderabadis Abroad, by Karen Isaksen Leonard

Emerging lifestyles

The one thing that's changing rapidly in Hyderabad, is the lifestyle of the average middleclass citizen. In tune with the changing skyline and towers that mark this change. The malls are a huge attraction and there are quite a few of them. The pubs are a big draw as are a host of new restaurants, and some resorts. The one refrain that's heard all the time is about the 'wretched traffic'. Not much can be done say some Hyderabadiz. There's nothing that can't be regulated say others. The rains are not making it any easier for us here. What are the silver linings then? We need some Hyderabadiz to respond to this query. Is it that it still has the most laidback lifestyle in the country? Or that it gives you the sort of cuisine that few regions offer? We need some Hyderabadiz to give us their take on this.......

protests and strikes

We've had more than our fair of share of protests to put up with. Yet, our politicians simply don't seem to grow up. Who gets killed or even injured in police firing? The poor and the innocent. Hyderabadis are sick and tired of political parties doing this to the citizens--picking up a cause or latching on to it, as may be the case and going berserk in the name of 'protest'. For the past few days it's been the Leftists, with the Telugu Desam merrily jumping on their bandwagon.
What do we Hyderabadis have to say? Who's asking?

Leaders and activists of Left parties for relay hunger strike

Hyderabad takes lead in protests

Bandh today: TDP extends support to Left parties

CPI-M demands action against cops for Andhra firing

'smart' city....what about citizens?

Hyderabad is all geared up to introduce multi-application smart cards soon.
These cards, which will double as driving licence and vehicle registration documents will also bring up--thanks to hand-held readers, the history of previous traffic offences, tax and insurance data and and related information on the driver.
The city's turning 'smart' if this bit of news is to be believed, but what about the worthy citizenry? Thereby hangs a litany of woes, which I'll save for another day. The only thing I'll whine about today is what our political parties are doing to Hyderabad--in terms of worsening things. They paralyze traffic for the flimsiest of reasons, creating hopeless snarls. The Left parties say they're doing it to get land for the landless. Others have other reasons. What do our 'netas' think of pressing in their cadre as traffic volunteers to show their protest, instead of getting them caned and fired upon by the police and paralyzing traffic? Idea worth publicizing? What say folks?

see also:

Hyderabad opts for smart system

Smart cards for motorists by October, The Times of India

Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers
Biometric tracking gives a tamper proof identity to villagers, Jaya Menon - Chennai

Pay but don’t touch – Security, Satisfaction, and Expectation
Arby’s rolls out ‘contactless’ payment cards

Hyderabadi roads

We're back with the same refrain--Hyderabadi roads and the attendant chaos that goes in the name of traffic. A longtime Mumbaikar (Deepak DeSouza) wrote to the DC yesterday complaining of the utter absence of pedestrians' rights in Hyderabad. His grievance is spot on.

Where are the 'footpaths', one may ask? In no other city does such chaotic traffic go unregulated, as Deepak rightly points out. That's sadly true. One simply has no place to walk--if one doesn't depend on any mode of transport, that is, such as a car/bike/auto/pushcart/bus/truck etc. The sidewalks have been taken over by 'nature's callers' and hawkers or more often, simply don't exist. Hyderabad's traffic police continues to wink blissfully at the anarchic movement of all and sundry on the streets. One would have expected an aggressive, pro-active campaign from the traffic authorities to bring some sanity on to the streets, but the big question is--where are they, Hyderabad's traffic police, I mean?
On a different note, if you're web-savvy, there are enough tools to navigate you. No longer do you need to ask in the local lingo-"yeh rastaa kaaN jaata?" And get the tongue-in-cheek retort--"kaiiN naiiN jaata bhai, bachpan se dekhruN... aap jaareN jaaN kaiiN jaareN." There are web-tools to help you get there--"jaaN kaiiN aap jaareN", that is.....be it Charminar, Gachhi Bowli or Nacharam!