Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Charminar City

2005 October 22

While working at Bangalore, I got a chance to visit Hyderabad on a weekend (2005 Oct 22 & 2005 Oct 23) to conduct interviews for my company, as part of the recruitment drive.

Hyderabad is one of the largest cities in India, and is the capital of Andhra Pradesh state. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are twin cities, separated by 'Hussain Sagar' which is a man made lake.

Air Deccan was making waves in India since they introduced the first budget airlines connecting even smaller cities. It reached its height when they started selling tickets for Rs. 1/-. Now I have got a chance to see how really it feels to travel in this revolutionary airline. My flight from Bangalore to Hyderabad was at early morning and since I was carrying just a printout of my online ticket, I had to be there at airport as early as possible to avoid last minute disappointment. I really had a doubt about this printouts being used as tickets, but was surprised to notice that everyone in the long queues at the four Air Deccan counters were carrying online ticket printouts! The fare for my ticket was Rs:2085.95 including taxes. Even though it was displayed that we need to carry a photo identity card, the guy at the counter didn't bother to verify it and issued boarding ticket so quickly that I missed my chance to opt for window side seat. Check-in was hassle free and fast, but there was a delay of 15 minutes for the take-off. Having flown better world class airlines before, I was wondering how the experience is going to be in a cheaper airline.

The first thing I noticed after boarding the new turboprop ATR 72-500 was its widest cabin with comfortable seats, pretty well arranged in such a small 72 seat plane. There were only two air hostesses and they served food for those who needed. A sandwich and a fruit juice will cost you Rs:70/-, and you need to pay the cash to the air hostess. When I browsed through their in-flight magazine 'Simplifly', I realized that, this is one of their means to cut cost. Avoiding fancy in-flight free meals and having less number of crews, will not only cut down cost to the passenger but will also help them make their planes ready faster, for the flights. I was impressed with the magazine, service of the airhostesses and the over all flight experience. It took exactly 01 hour30 minutes to reach Hyderabad and the slow descend gave me a wonderful view of the twin cities.

There were pre-paid taxis and auto-rickshaws at the Hyderabad airport, with decent fares. My hotel was in Secunderabad and I opted for a taxi. During the drive, I had to admit the fact that Hyderabad is far better than Bangalore compared to the roads and traffic. Here roads were wider and free from pot holes, flyovers were completed (unlike ever ongoing constructions in Bangalore) and traffic was flowing smoothly. To go to office from hotel, I chose auto-rickshaw, and was happy to find that autos and auto-drivers were also far better than the ones in Bangalore. I was busy the whole day at office, and decided to go out in the evening.

My first destination was Charminar, which is as much the signature of Hyderabad as Eiffel Tower is of Paris. History says that Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of Hyderabad, built Charminar in 1591 at the centre of the original city layout. It is believed to have been built as a charm to ward off a deadly epidemic raging at that time or to mark the end of that epidemic (I am not sure which one is correct). I enjoyed an auto-rickshaw drive from my hotel to the old city center in Hyderabad. Since it was Ramzan, the streets were busier and traffic was hectic. At a first glance, I was surprised to see that the Charminar is just like another mosque structure with four minarets, placed in the midst of a chaotic market place, and with no special charms. It is said to have 45 prayer spaces and a mosque in it, but visitors were not allowed inside. Slowly I started admiring it, after getting a good view from all the four streets leading off from Charminar. It stood as an elegant landmark, with a history of more than 400 years, and the brilliantly lit minarets were visible from everywhere.

Laad Bazaar is one of the streets off Charminar and is the most colorful shopping center of Old City. Traditional Hyderabadi glass & stone studded bangles, pearls and bridal wear are sold here. Bangles were amazingly beautiful but were very costly. Shops were busy with purdah-clad women and children who come in lots by cycle-rickshaws or auto-rickshaws. I spent a lot of time in these streets and shops, bargaining for a better deal and admiring the beauty of these bangles and thus being part of the busy crowd.

The famous Mecca Masjid was very near to Charminar. It was so named because the bricks were brought from Mecca to build the central arch. It was really huge and could accommodate 10,000 people for a single prayer.

I returned back to my room after 9PM in a bus, while the streets of Hyderabad were still busy. I remembered, my colleague had mentioned that, there are no safety issues while roaming around the city even after midnight.

The next day was also a busy day for me at office and it was after 4 PM, when I got a chance to see the rest of Hyderabad. I need to be at railway station by 7 PM to catch my train back to Bangalore. An auto-rickshaw guy was happy to take me along the places of interests in the city and we struck a deal that he will not charge any waiting charges while I will make my visits quicker and shorter. We first drove to Birla Mandir, the temple of Lord Venkateshwara, built in white marble which overlooks the city from the top of a small natural hill. The view of Hussain Sagar Lake and the city from there was amazing. The next stop was at this lake to see it properly. It is a sprawling picturesque artificial lake that holds water in all seasons. It separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The Hussain Sagar was built on a branch of the Musi River by Hussain Shah Wahi during the reign of Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in 1562. A major attraction at this lake is the 16 meter high, 350 tonne monolithic Buddha statue. It stands majestically amidst the shining waters of the lake, and there were boat services to get closer to it. Another leisure and entertainment centre adjoining the Hussain Sagar Lake was NTR Gardens.

Now I had one more hour left. I was confused on where to go next and my auto-driver friend suggested he can take me to Golconda Fort and back, provided I spend less time there. It was relatively far from the city and when the long ride ended on top of the Golconda hill, it had taken more time than we expected. Golconda is the most magnificent fortress complex in India and its origin dates back to 13th century. The fort is famous for its acoustics, palaces, factories, ingenious water supply system, etc. But I was not lucky to enjoy them and I had to satisfy myself by viewing it from outside.

My friend had told me not to forget to taste the world famous Irani chai and Osmania Biscuits, available in all the cafes, before I return from Hyderabad. So I used this last chance to taste them, and it was really refreshing and delicious. After that I rushed back to the Secunderabad railway station and was just in time to catch the Rajdhani Express coming from Nizamudhin, to Bangalore.

This was my first travel in this India's prestigious train and was happy to see that the services matched with that of an airline. We were served with tomato soups and bread sticks, before having a delicious full course meal that ended with a cup of ice cream. The army officer in my compartment gave a good company till we resorted into our comfortable sleeping berths with cozy blankets and bed sheets. We reached Bangalore the next day morning after a long but non-tiring 11 hour journey.