Hyderabad

Hyderabad, which is almost 500 years old, is the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the Deccan Plateau. The city has an average altitude of about 500 m above the sea level. Most of the regions have rocky terrain.

Originally, the city of Hyderabad was established on the southern banks of the river Musi. Now, the so-called original Hyderabad city is called as the historical ‘Old City’. The Old City is the dwelling to the Charminar and the Mecca Masjid. Many constructions – government buildings and landmarks – are going on in the city center, particularly on the south side of the Husain Sagar Lake. The fast development of the city, along with the development of adjoining city ‘Secunderabad�? and adjacent municipalities, has resulted in the creation of a huge and densely populated metropolitan region.

With various software firms, call centers, and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies being set up during the early 1990s, Hyderabad has become one of the key areas for such information technology (IT) and IT-enabled service set-ups. Many pharmaceutical companies like Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Divis Labs, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hetero Drugs Limited, Matrix Laboratories, and Vimta Labs are located in the city.

History
The city’s history begins with the establishment of the Qutb Shahi dynasty when Quli Qutb Shah seized the power from the Bahamani Kingdom in 1512, establishing the city of Golconda. Owing to water scarcity and frequent epidemics of cholera and plague, Quli Qutb Shah wanted to establish a city outside of Golconda. Charminar became the center of this new city and there were four major roads arising from the Charminar along the four cardinal directions.

The wealth and strategic location of Hyderabad and Golconda attracted Aurangazeb. After a tough eight-month siege, Quli Qutb Shah gave in, and in 1687, the Moghul Empire was established. During the Moghul rule, the city experienced partial ruins and lost its importance. However, having no mighty emperors after Aurangazeb, the Moghul emperor soon lost its glory and hold, and then began Asaf Jahi dynasty. Asaf Jah I proclaimed himself the Nizam of Hyderabad and established independent rule of the Deccan. The city regained its importance and became the capital city of the Asif Jahi dynasty until Andhra Pradesh was merged into the Indian Union 1948.

Culture
The people from different regions of the state and country have dwelling in the city. The people like the Bengalis, Coastal Andhraites, Gujaratis, Marathis, the Sikh Community, and the people from different regions are residing in the city. The primary languages spoken here are Telugu, Urdu, Deccani, Hindi, and English. English is commonly used in governance, commerce, and business.

The Hinduism and the Islam are the most densely present religions in the city. The Muslims are densely populated in and around the Old City. The city has also houses for Christianity. Many popular churches have located across the city. The important Hindu festival is Ganesh Chaturthi; it is being celebrated for ten days. The important Muslim festival is Muharram.

Women of all religions and cultures in Hyderabad, mainly, wear either the sari or the salwar kameez. The younger population preferably wears salwar kameez. The conventional Hyderabadi dresses for women are the the salwar kameez and the khara dupatta, and for men it is the Sherwani.

Food
The practice of preparing food in Hyderabad is a mixture of Mughal and Persian style of cooking. You'd just love eating at Hyderabad! Hyderabad is famous for its vegetarian food as well as non-vegetarian food. However, both these types of food are very spicy. If you are not used to spicy food, you should think before you choose any item. Even though very spicy, these cuisines are extremely delicious that you should not miss them. The Hyderabadi biriyani is a delicious preparation. It is an important dish of this city. With the city becoming hi-tech, you also get fast food and Chinese delicacies.

The other native cookeries include aam ka achaar, bagaare baigan, dalcha, double ka meetha, gosht ka achaar, kaddu ki kheer (a sweetened porridge prepared using sweet gaurd), kheema aaloo (the most favourite food of the native people), nahari kulche (paayaa and haleem – a traditional meat dish eaten during Ramzan), peosi (a sweetened item prepared using milk white of egg), phirni (a sweetened vermicelli porridge prepared during Deepawali), sheer qorma (a sweetened liquid dish prepared using milk and vermicelli), til ka khatta, til ki chutney, and many more delicious foods! The native people are using imli in the preparation of most of their curries.

Shopping
Hyderabad has a huge variety of goods to offer. From antiques to handicrafts to pearls and semi-precious stones, you get anything you want. Hyderabad is known for its pearl bazaar. The artisans in Hyderabad are highly adept in piercing and stringing the pearls without causing any damage to the pearl. Rice pearl and Basra pearl are the two popular varieties of pearl available here. The pearls are intricately studded in silver and gold ornaments. Besides gold, silver, and pearl, the other metal used in ornamentation is bronze. Colorful bangles and embroidery textiles are another attraction here.

Laad Bazaar (the bangle market) is located close to Charminar. The products like artefacts, antique paintings, cotton dress materials, handloom cloths, saris, silverware, and unique handcrafts are prepared and merchandised in the city for many centuries.

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