Hyderabadi Ramadan in Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Sadullah Khan. For the Yemen Times

Like many Hyderabadis, I had the opportunity to live and work in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has become a home away from home. Ramadan is the blessed month for Muslims and a time to earn great rewards. It is spiritually and physically the best month for Muslims. As Muslims follow the Hijrah (Lunar) calendar, which is shorter by 11 days as compared to Gregorian (Solar) Calendar. This allows the sliding of the Ramadan each year by 11 days and it comes in different seasons over a long period. This gives Muslims an opportunity to fast in different weather conditions. Saudi Arabia provides a conducive and congenial atmosphere for fasting and it is one of the best places for fasting.continue reading

Mohammed Sadullah Khan, is a Faculty Member and a Freelance writer based in Saudi Arabia and can be contacted at

mosakhan40@gmail.com.

On the same shelf:
Ramadan special: Iftar at Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad!


Kunal Vijayakar has 'Iftar' at Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad in this edition of 'The Foodie'.

Celebrating Diwali the Telugu way Round-the-world

Telugu Cultural Association of Greater Toronto's Greetings For the Deepavali

Diwali the Telugu way @ Malaysia By DERRICK VINESH
FOR the Telugu Hindu community, Deepavali or the Festival of Light is the most important celebration after Ugadi, which is the Telegu New Year, and Makar Sakranthri, also known as Ponggal in Tamil Nadu. More...

Diwali in Trafalgar Square In London Diwali is enthusiastically celebrated by people of all nationalities and religions.

When is diwali this year? - October 28: Trinidad News and Tobago News
Diwali is observed by 3 religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism. It has a strong significance for Indians, both religiously (Rama returned to Ayodhya, Shakti joined Shiva, etc.) and culturally (as the Indian New Year).
The Divali Nagar (Village of Lights) is the flagship project of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC). It is a nine day festival that is held annually during the nine days preceding Divali. More..

Vaaranam Aayiram, Not To Be Released This Diwali

Diwali Dhamaka on TV!

Diwali Celebrations Gerrard India Bazaar, Toronto

Albion Islington Square - Diwali Extravaganza -TABIA - Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas -From Sunday, 19 October 2008 - 8:00amTo Friday, 31 October 2008 - 8:00pm

Difference between Diwali in North India and Deepavali in South India

Deepavali, or Divali, (Markiscarali) @ Wiki

Diwali, also called Deepavali @ Telugupedia

Life after the blasts....

Will Terror Threaten India's Economy?, Aug. 27, 2007 By MADHUR SINGH, Time Magazine

Hyderabad expatriates shrug off role of external forces
By Sunita Menon, Staff Reporter, Gulf News
Published: August 26, 2007, 23:40

Terror 'outsourced' in India, By Siddharth Srivastava, Asia Times

India finds unity in terror, By Sreeram Chaulia, Asia Times

Hyderabad has bounced back, as our news channels and papers remind us. But, the eerie sense of unease that follows a tragedy of this scale, hangs over the city like a dark cloud. Public places are best avoided feel most people, telling their children not to frequent local hotspots. How could the police not screen visitors at the Lumbini Park after a warning from central Intelligence that another round of blasts could take place? Why was the security of the park given to a private agency, which had no screening mechanism in place? These are questions Hyderabadis are asking, knowing what answers to expect from politicians.
We have a low-key raksha bandhan today, marred by the grim background of death and suffering of innocent victims.

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