Mosque of the Moors and Granada Glory in Hyderabad's Jama Masjid Iqbal-ul-Dowla at Begumpet

Memoirs of Syed Ali Arif: Jama Masjid Iqbal-ud-Dowla

Although am not biased at judging against a Masjid to another but this particular one has to be mentioned. The Spanish Mosque (Jama Masjid Iqbal-ud-Dowla) on the Paradise-Old Begumpet Airport Road, and very close to my house in Hyderabad, is a striking mosque with unique plan elevation; it was built by Sir Vikhar-ul-Umra Iqbal-ud-Dowla, the Paigah noble, in 1906.

It is believed to be the only one of its kind in India, with pointed arches, a pointed main roof composed of two truncated octagonal pyramids placed one above the other intervened by octagonal domes. The minarets aesthetically placed at corners of the parapet are in the same style, very unusual from those seen in other mosques in the city and elsewhere. And it is difficult to miss them as you climb on (from Paradise side) to the flyover opposite the Airport.

A lot of debate has been done for its semblance to the architectural look and feel of a church!

Note: See more images of the Masjid @ Google Images

On the same shelf:

• The Hindu : Mosque of the Moors by K. VENKATESHWARLU
• The Hindu: Granada Glory, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer
• Masjid Iqbal-ud-dowla, Hyderabad-Deccan, AP ... - Google Map

Charminar beautification project 'shelved'

10 Nov 2008, 0315 hrs IST, Mahesh Koride, TNN, The Times of India
HYDERABAD: Eight years after lofty plans were drawn up to beautify the area around the historical structure which, in a way, defines Hyderabad , the Charminar Pedestrianisation Project (CPP) has come to a grinding halt. What's more there is no sign that the plan will move forward in the near future. "There are far too many agencies involved. It is not easy to coordinate with so many for a project which is low in priority . The project is as good as shelved," says a senior official involved in the implementation of CPP.

In The Bazaars of Hyderabad, Revisited

Madhumita Gopalan's visualizations of the Lad Bazar and Charminar area during Ramadan (click here for other pictures):

"...I'll leave you with this poem by Sarojini Naidu called "In The Bazaars of Hyderabad", that beautifully describes the Charminar experience :)
What do you sell, O ye merchants ?
Richly your wares are displayed.
Turbans of crimson and silver,
Tunics of purple brocade,
Mirror with panels of amber,
Daggers with handles of jade.
What do you weigh, O ye vendors?
Saffron and lentil and rice.
What do you grind, O ye maidens?
Sandalwood, henna, and spice.
What do you call , O ye pedlars?
Chessman and ivory dice.
What do you make, O ye goldsmiths?
Wristlets and ankles and ring,
Bells for the feet of blue pigeons
Frail as a dragonfly's wing,
Girdles of gold for dancers,
Scabbards of gold for the king.
What do you cry, O ye fruitmen?
Citron, pomegranate, and plum.
What do you play, O ye magicians?
Spells for aeons to come.
What do you weave, O ye flowergirls
With tassels of azure and red?
Crowns for the brow of a bridegroom,
Chaplets to garland his bed,
Sheets of white blossoms new-garnered
To perfume the sleep of the dead."
--Sarojini Naidu

Another Blogger, Gautam Valluri's comment on the above poem:
"In The Bazaars of Hyderabad is a classic poem by Sarojini Naidu which I first read in school. Coincidentally, Sarojini Naidu was also a student of my school- St.George’s Grammar School, Hyderabad."

Mr. Hyderabadi biryani eater

1.75 kg biryani in 10 minutes!
Staff Reporter, The Hindu
23 musclemen from 16 States take part in ‘biryani eating contest’

Hyderabad: The city of nawabs and kababs witnessed a unique event the other day. A biryani challenge to be precise. Well, biryani may be the dish to die for. But how much of it can you eat? continue reading

Iranians find home in Hyderabad

Nov 2007, 0221 hrs IST, SAPNA KAUSHIK, The Times of India News

HYDERABAD: It is a warm, sunny afternoon as the middle-aged gentleman sips his cup of Irani chai with a calm, peaceful demeanour. Listening to Md Yavari’s conversation, one would never guess that he is a migrant from Iran. Reiterating the fact that Hyderabad is truly one of the few cities that is a real melting pot of cultures and peoples, he insists "Hyderabad is where I belong to." And other Iranians settled in the city eagerly endorse his sentiment. "I always feel I am a part of this land," Yavari smiles as he reminisces about how his family came to Hyderabad just a year after India’s independence. There has been no looking back for him ever since. continue reading

On the same shelf and aisle:

• The Nectar of Survival
  JAVED KHAN lists the best places in the city to drink the famed Irani tea. How many have you been to?
  
  
• Iran to help restore Hyderabad's architectural treasures
  posted by Sandeep at 2:17 AM on February 14, 2007

Vision of Hyderabad in The Technology Chronicles

A forwarded email (by Brothers Abdul Hai Patel and Malik Khan) brought to me the following text and visuals (Author unkown)!!!

Subject: Beautiful Hyderabad Pictures
Message:
Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to share these beautiful pictures of Hyderabad with all of you.
Enjoy.

[NB. The following text that came with the pictures, is originally posted by VALLABHA in response to Alan Saracevic's article: Visions of India: Next stop Hyderabad]
Tell me how many people in INDIA know that Hyderabad has:

1) The IMAX Theatre with Worlds Largest screen and the only true 3D screen in INDIA

2) Asia 's biggest and one of the Worlds' biggest and best Convention centres 'HICC'

3) World's biggest Film Studio complex ' Ramoji Film City '

4) Country's best Animation and art work studios

5) Country's best and biggest Exhibition centre so far 'HITEX'

6) Country's biggest single real estate venture at the cost of US $2.2Billion by ICICI Ventures and Tishman of New York !

7) Hyderabad is leading in Hospital Tourism, now trying to lead also in Echo Tourism

8) Hyderabad is the best place to start any new retail business or Mall: This was from a study on how Malls are fuelling sales in India and the max amount of Sales happened in the Malls in Hyderabad despite the huge number of very big malls in Delhi and Mumbai.. Many biggest of the kind malls are being constructed here. You can also see, Reliance group, Tata's, Heritage group and many more venturing their first retail units starting from Hyderabad !

9) Hyderabad is the only place where complete restructuring is happening by even demolishing lot of buildings within the city! Delhi is the other only City, which followed this model.

10) In fact Infosys has planned its world's Largest Campus near to Shamshabad Airport in an area of 500acres of land! However its pending.. it may take of soon. Else some other campus would come up there.

11) Fab City would be the Ultimate answer for the Electronic and chip making industry from India !

12) How many know about ISB

13) IIT is being setup now in Hyderabad .

14) Birla has already setup Bits in Hyderabad

15) Country's largest number of Colleges for Engineering Medicines and largest number of Universities are in AP!

16) Just the colleges in and around Hyderabad produce much more Engineering graduates than any other city in INDIA !

17) Country's most expensive Residential Only venture has started in Hyderabad , with 250 villas where each Villa will be in 1 Acre of land and at the cost of Rs.14crores each! Why only in Hyderabad ? Because people are ready to buy and live there :-)

18) The most connected city in INDIA with highest Teledensity
.....and lot more like this!

Can you expect Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, The 2 Google Champions, CSC, GE and all these people pour huge investments and expand their campuses just based on Hype?
Hyderabad is now a tri-city: CYBERABAD-HYDERABAD-SECUNDERABAD!

You must be knowing the Fact: US has chosen Hyderabad over Bangalore for setting up its New Consulate and it is already in process! This is because there are more VISA applicants from AP hitting Chennai Consulate! For that matter, always the biggest number of Travellers to US is from AP

A visual treat ..… [info courtesy: The Great Hyderabad (Deccan - Telangana) - Andhraguyz Community] Birla temple: Budha statue at Hussain Sagar: Charminar: Falaknuma palace: Chowmahalla palace: Khilwat: Palace Purani haveli: Mummy in Archeological Museum: Ashur khana: Durgam Cheruvu: Golconda: Fort High Court: Himayat Sagar: NTR Gardens: Osmania Hospital: OsmaniaUniversity: Ramoji Film city: Salarjung Museum: Museum Shilpa Ramam: Toyland: And Finally the One and Only Hyderabadi biryani: See also: Hyderabad (Deccan - Telangana): A visual treat ..… Visions of India: Next stop Hyderabad Deccani lithographs bring back Hyd of yore

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

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.......

Heat and chaos = Hyderabad....lest we forget!

The heat's beginning to get us now, and who knows what lies ahead? Added to all this the 'inmates' of this city have to deal with (as one knows the rest of the country does) an apathetic bureaucracy reflected in a zillion little everyday things. One of the results of chaos or the complete absence of planning, if you will, is the denial of free, open spaces to children to cut loose. Where do kids in our metropolis play? In streets and lanes--when and where they can, that is--on the odd rooftop of an apartment cluster or in front of a tv set. In a sense, this is denying them childhood. As kids growing up in the sixties, we simply had to cycle beyond Mehdipatnam or Masab Tank (in days when there were a few buses and not many cars on the roads) to find large expanses of wilderness. There was simply no dearth of playgrounds--very often we had to choose between this place or that, where we could cut loose till the cows came home.

Cut to circa 2007 and what do we see--shrinking parks, shrivelled up lakes conveniently passed on to 'builders', and a bureacracy that has in sixty years of Independence only learnt to wink and nod.......

Oh beloved land--waah re watan-e-azeez!

SATY

The other face of Hyderabad....

Strong winds wreak havoc; two killed The Hindu, Apr 15, 2007

Shopping, food are good in Hyderabad :
Vishaka Singh, IndiaGlitz.com, April 22, 2007

All it takes is a cloudburst or a determined shower, so to say, to throw city life completely out of gear. If the wind-god decides to puff and blow, Hyderabad has had it. Hoardings go flying, trees get uprooted, power lines snap, and life, in short, gets totally dislocated. If two tall trees sway this way and that, our electricity folks feel they've had enough.We who belong to this third world city that nurses delusions of leapfrogging into an elite club of metropolises know how to sift the grain of reality from the chaff of hype and illusion...
It's a bit difficult to swallow the bitter pill that a city that lays claims to competing with Shanghai or Singapore, has infrastructure so flimsy and frayed at the seams, that a downpour can paralyze it and a deluge all but destroy it. But that's the plain ole truth--Hyderabad is an overgrown village and if you need further evidence--after all the polluted lakes, overcrowded localities, ill-equipped hospitals, pathetic schools, choked drains, land grabbing cases and insane traffic--you need help!
On this rather sober note we look at our beloved city this week--preferring NOT to look at its hoariness, heritage, history, aristocracy, culture and legacy, for the moment. Remember Faiz--"Aur bhi dukh haiN zamaane meiN mohabbat ke siwa..."

Happy Ugadi--Bloggers' Carnival takes off

Folks,
Ugadi Greetings to all our bloggers....may the Ugadi 'pachhadi' symbolize loads of sweet happenings in your lives, and may the faint traces of bitterness be nothing more than gentle reminders of the infinite variety of life.
While thanking all our Hyderabadi mates who have come on board and allowed us to post the links to their blogs here, the hyderabadiz team wants all our other cybermates from Hyderabad to join the party.
This is a one-stop rendezvous for all hyderabadiz, no matter what they do in the blogosphere. The more the merrier.....
Let's welcome the Telugu New Year on this note of togetherness......


What other Hyderabadi Bloggers are saying on the eve of Ugadi:

Ugadi shubhakankshalu, by Rajani

Happy Ugadi!! by All Smiles!!

Happy Ugadi everyone by Rambler registries

Its Ugadi by VK

Happy Ugadi to you all! by Chickoo

Happy Ugadi!!! by Sneha

happy gudipadva/ugadi by vid

Ugadi - Telugu New Year

Ugadi wishes!!! by Dr.Bharath

See also"

Hyderabadi Bloggers' activism 2005, 2006

Previous Webcasts / Slideshows in this blog:

What Hyderabadi bloggers are doing on the Republic Day

Sankranti and 'patangs'

Calling out to all Hyderabadi bloggers

All ye, who have tasted the waters of Gandipet and Manjira and who are now on alien shores and native land, who blog away regardless--on this city and everything about it--let us know more about you, because our team has a brilliant idea. We intend to pool all the Hyderabadi bloggers and 'link' them on to a page--with thumbnail images of your blog, if the copyright / permissions are cleared by those who create the thumshots.

So, the sort of 'unity' we don't witness in real life, is possible in the virtual world! To know what the idea looks like--see what the Toronto folks are doing.


Get on to the Hyderabadi bandwagon (which is NOT rumbling along at the pace we hyderabadis are used to) ....We intend to launch this 'poolsite' by Ugadi....
aage aage dekhiye hota hai kya or as the children's program hosted on AIR by 'radio annayya' used to put it--'raaranDoye, raaranDoye'....
saty and the Hyderabadiz Team

Nothing changes, yet nothing remains the same...

Well, unfortunately, real life in Hyderabad can't keep pace with the frenetic pace of bloggers in virtual space. The city's languid lifestyle was once a major attraction. Today, it is a happening place with all the attendant problems on infrastructure and civic life. For old timers, the Arts College and the High Court are monuments that mirror the city's grandeur (of yore). Youngsters prefer to talk of Hi-tech City, the pubs in town and multiplexes. For some, there are distinctive traits that go with Hyderabadi culture; for others it's the new melting pot--accepting and open enough, culture be damned. For yet others, with one foot planted here and the other 'there', 'two-timing' is simply not easy.

If you're looking for a good book--there are many on our city--Ms. Noopur Kumar's 'Portrait of a City' has some excellent photographs (by Mr. D. Ravinder Reddy) on the many facets of Hyderabad, over the last few decades. It's an excellent coffee-table work and certainly worth a read.

Saty
----
***image source: D.K. Agencies]
See also

India centre (at Hyderabad) engineers played key role, filed 40 patents for Vista ,
Venkatesh Ganesh

Hyderabad: A Tale of Hype and Hope. By Patralekha Chatterjee. (Urban Age, 1999) [includes: From Minarets to Microsoft]

What else to read

The ubiquitous 'auto'.....

Catch the City Happenings - Daily life in Hyderabad***

"Auto strike called off, panel formed", says The Deccan Chronicle

And now for an update on life in our beloved city....
For a week now, they have been off the roads, and traffic has never been smoother, better, more organized and anxiety-free, on our (justly) much maligned roads. The ubiquitous 'autorickshaws', which have been a permanent fixture on our city roads, since the early 70s, make sudden, sneaky appearances and disappear, after fleecing an odd customer. The reason behind all this--our dear 'automen' don't want digital meters and have gone on an indefinite strike, assuming that they would bring the city to its knees. Well, that didn't quite happen--life goes on, schoolchildren continue to get dropped, resources get pooled and the RTC does it's fair bit. Meanwhile, some of them--the auto fellas, I mean-- have never had it better--a two mile ride can now cost you a hundred bucks!
So much for 'desh ki dharti' post-Republic Day. And speaking of Republic Day Celebrations, who doesn't know how it's celebrated? As a child, I'd see my parents sitting glued to the radio listening to Melville de Mello (was it?) on AIR, describing the Parade in Delhi. And in later years, when you had nothing but just Doordarshan to watch, the entire household (and this was a 'ghar ghar ki kahani') watched the Parade in the Capital on TV. For donkey's years now, neighbourhoods have had the habit of planting a loudspeaker somewhere (courtesy local MLA, for the most part) and subjecting the entire neigbourhood to patriotic songs like 'mere desh ki dhharti', 'ai mere watan ke logo' 'yeh desh hai veer jawanoN ka' 'apni azadi ko hum' etc., played endlessly all through the day.Well, things haven't changed one bit (in this respect) in all these years.

*** Much more in pictures: Life in Hyderabad ... photos by Steve Cubbins and Alex Wan