Hyderabad

Friday 4 pm. It is hard to believe that we will be flying to Delhi in 3 ½ hours. We have all enjoyed Hyderabad – our routine for the past two days was up by 7 am, out and about around 9 am to 2 or 3 pm, and then pool, homework, email, reading, and blog after a late lunch. Worked well with E and J.

Hyderabad. Things that I did not know or expect: For 500 years (with a couple brief interruptions) Hyderabad was one of the richest and most successful states in India (before the state of Andhra Pradesh was created at the end of British rule, Hyderabad was the state). It was the center of Islamic life in India. It was the only state under British rule that had its own currency and postal system. At the time of partition, Hyderabad city was 90% Muslim, and has remained a stronghold of Islamic culture as due to their numbers, Muslims did not feel a need to leave after partition. Today the city is about half Muslim (full black burkhas are ubiquitous), but that may be changing with the economic boom- our driver Abdul, a very nice young Muslim Hyderabadi (more on him later) remarked that “all those Andhra people are coming here for IT jobs…the Muslims are not getting them as they do not have the education.” Our businessman friend we met on the overnight train, a young Hindu Keralite who lives in Secunderabad (the twin city) told us that Old Town in Hyderabad was dangerous for outsiders. I got the impression that most of the IT types lived in Secunderabad, or for IT millionaires, other posh suburbs. Abdul told us Old Town was safe….with him as our guide. He was randomly assigned by the hotel as our driver the first day. He had such good common sense about our itinerary, and was such a generous and informative guide (not his job) that by mutual agreement we arranged to have him continue to be our driver for our stay here. We became quite friendly and E and J made him a thank-you card today. As we drove around, we spoke about life in Hyderabad, and he pointed out various sites. I was surprised to learn that he speaks Urdu, English, some Hindi and Arabic, but knows only rudimentary Telugu. Turns out Urdu is the language of Islamic Hyderabad- I think I had the mistaken impression that Urdu was a Pakistani language (not that Pakistan existed before partition). His English was good enough, and he got a kick out of my Arabic. [I know what you are thinking- his appreciation for my Arabic was based upon the principle that he is in a business where profit is made by tipping- not true!].

On our first day here, worn out form the overnight train ride, we just did an easy outing- traveling to Lumbini Park to visit the Giant Stone Buddha (the park was the location of a terrorist bombing in August but is now very secure). We might have done more, but after we arrived in Hyderabad I could not get the cell phone to make outgoing calls, and Abdul drove us to two different AirTel offices to try to get this fixed (a couple guys at the concierge desk recommended this after they could not get it to work). I ended up in some cell phone bureaucratic vortex- the phone lacked “documentation” and the probation period was over, which means they needed the address and photo ID of the owner (user?). I tried to explain that I was a visitor and the phone was provided by my host; I gave my photo IDs and the address of our hotel in Chennai. The young woman said that since I was in Hyderabad, the hotel address in Chennai was not good. I gave the hotel address in Hyderabad, and she said that since the phone had a Chennai number, I needed a Chennai address. I gave her our Chennai hotel address, but…and so on. She called the main office, no luck. I left the (first and second) AirTel offices frustrated. And then the next morning, the phone worked. Don’t know if Ravi in Mr. P’s office fixed this on his own without prompting, or what. Another mystery.

Our 2^nd day we first visited the Salar Jung Museum- the art collection of a family high in the old ruling hierarchy- and of particular interest was the collection of “Salar Jung III” who was a committed collector of Indian and European art towards the end of his families reign in the 20^th century. The museum was a good choice for the first stop as the attention span of a rested 10 year old in a museum is much better than a tired one (E and J did well, and wrote about this museum on their blogs). Later we visited Charminar, a 450 year old monument in the heart of Old Hyderabad built to commemorate the end of a plague epidemic; and Mecca Masjid, the 2^nd largest mosque in India, with several stones made from soil from Mecca (hence the name). Mecca Masjid mosque can accommodate 10,000 worshipers. As we drove around, Abdul spoke about the area (for instance, he pointed out the Shia neighborhoods – turns out Hyderabadi Muslims are 80% Sunni and 20% Shia). Abdul took us to a really terrific store to shop for pearls (I am quite sure he took us to a reputable store, and not one that was giving him kickbacks). The respite in the air-conditioned store (where they gave us diet cokes) was well timed before our visit to Chowmahalla Palace. The Palace was the home to Hyderbad’s rulers until a democratic state was established at the end of British rule, and just opened to the public in 2005. It was the highlight of the day- impressive grounds, well done exhibits, interesting historical tidbits. E and J liked it despite being a bit worn out.

Today we visited Golconda Fort – the home of the rulers of Hyderabad until about 1687 (preceding Chowmahalla Palace). At all these sites guides try to attach themselves to you on arrival. We did not use guides at Chowmahalla and some of the other sites but it was recommended for Golconda. Our tour guide’s English was hard to understand (but infinitely better than my Urdu). The fort is impressive and the views are wonderful- the fort is the highest point in Hyderabad. Nearby is the Seven Tombs, large mausoleums of the seven rules of Hyderabad that reigned while Golconda Fort was in use. A couple of them were in power for 50 years. Abdul then drove us to Cyberabad- Hyderabad’s Silicon Valley. Cyberabad had an impressive number of large, gleaming modern buildings housing offices for Dell, Oracle, Microsoft and on and on. He then drove us to Jubilee Hills, where we stopped and shopped. Jubilee Hills is the home to many Tollywood (Telugu) movie stars, IT millionaires, and sports stars (cricket and tennis). And back to the hotel (these back to the hotel bits usually entailed an hour or more of fighting traffic- which was pretty thick in Chennai and a tad worse in Hyderabad (traffic in Mumbai is supposed to be much worse)- but the traffic is part of the experience, and a time for J to play Nintendo).

Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Cyberabad, Muslim, Hindu, Urdu, Telugu- this is a historically rich, vibrant, diverse, busy place. We loved it and are sad to leave.

Now on the way to Hyderabad Airport to fly to Delhi- healthy and in good spirits. The airport is close to the hotel. A new, large modern international airport that is 60 km away is to open March 15. An auspicious day to open an airport? There are going to be some tough commutes: the new highways built to relieve congestion on the route to the new airport will not be completed by 3/15.

On the plane. I feel somewhat melancholic about leaving South India. One of the passengers took a look at E and J’s summer clothing and mentioned that it is chilly in Delhi. E and J will miss the heat at pool time.

Explore posts in the same categories: Hyderabad

Tags: Buddha, Chennai, Cyberabad, Delhi, driving, fort, Hyderabad, Telugu, Tollywood, tombs, Urdu

You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.