Though I belong to Jharkhand (formerly part of Bihar), but after I started working I did spend 4-5 years in Hyderabad. It used to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Now it is the joint capital of Andhra Pradesh & Telengana for the next 10 years. It's fate hangs in balance.
What a beautiful city Hyderabad is. Me and my wife fell in love with the place. Having come from smaller towns ourselves, the laidback culture of Hyderabad suited us just fine. The people are very friendly and simple. Though it is changing now. The food is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, Hyderabadi Biryani is world famous. Haleem and Harees are Hyderabadi speciality too. Then you have 'Mirchi ka saalan' , 'Baghare Baingan'. The ones with sweet tooth can savour 'Double ka Meetha' and 'Khubani ka meetha' which some people mispronounce as 'Qurbani ka Meetha' !! Then there are hard core variety like 'Pathar Gosht'. Attending a traditional Muslim wedding in Hyderabad is an experience. There is a deluge of food and a lot of it gets wasted. The invitation will say 'Nikaah at 7pm' and you will find most of the people walking in blissfully at 11pm. If you come at 7pm you may find the place being cleaned, 'Kursi' and 'Dari' being arranged. No trace of the hosts. You learn very quickly, it doesn't pay to be punctual in Hyderabad !!
Eating habits are unique too. I had some colleagues in Wipro (an IT company) who would tell me - 'Aaj nashate main to mazaa aa gaya, Zabaan aur Maghaz khaaye, mian'. I would shudder to think that these guys are coding in 'C++' Language after eating Zabaan & Maghaz, God save the software they will create !!
The Hyderabadi 'salaam' is unique too, very different from the 'salaam' in North India. In Hyderabad people can 'Salaam' you from 100 metres away, smiling, bowing down and moving the hand up and down again & again and again. Ah, what a sight that is. So you should always be watchful lest you miss someone who salaam'ed you and you didn't respond. People can get offended.
The most interesting part of Hyderabad is the Hyderabadi Zubaan. Which in its purest form is Deccani Urdu. But the colourful, vernacular veriety can he heard across the city. To get the 'real' experience you have to go to the Old City.
Some samples............
You visit someone's house and the servent says 'Zarra baithiye, sahab paani naha rahe hain.' This is common lingo in Hyderabad. You wonder does the 'sahab' also use milk and 'ittar' for his bath on other days !!
The sentences will be littered with 'Nakko' , 'Kathe', 'Katho' and other delicacies.....Another Hyderabadi 'Takiya Kalaam' is 'Light Lo Yaar'..............They use this in all kind of interesting ways. Once I asked someone for directions to a place...he went 'Aap seedhe haath ko jaate tu overbridge aata, wahan se left ko light lena (that means take the right turn)............aage danger sign aata (traffic signal).... and so on and so forth.......you got to keep decoding it..............
Another blog is needed for all the other colourful 'secreetaan bataan' of Hyderabad...........
What a beautiful city Hyderabad is. Me and my wife fell in love with the place. Having come from smaller towns ourselves, the laidback culture of Hyderabad suited us just fine. The people are very friendly and simple. Though it is changing now. The food is absolutely gorgeous. Of course, Hyderabadi Biryani is world famous. Haleem and Harees are Hyderabadi speciality too. Then you have 'Mirchi ka saalan' , 'Baghare Baingan'. The ones with sweet tooth can savour 'Double ka Meetha' and 'Khubani ka meetha' which some people mispronounce as 'Qurbani ka Meetha' !! Then there are hard core variety like 'Pathar Gosht'. Attending a traditional Muslim wedding in Hyderabad is an experience. There is a deluge of food and a lot of it gets wasted. The invitation will say 'Nikaah at 7pm' and you will find most of the people walking in blissfully at 11pm. If you come at 7pm you may find the place being cleaned, 'Kursi' and 'Dari' being arranged. No trace of the hosts. You learn very quickly, it doesn't pay to be punctual in Hyderabad !!
Eating habits are unique too. I had some colleagues in Wipro (an IT company) who would tell me - 'Aaj nashate main to mazaa aa gaya, Zabaan aur Maghaz khaaye, mian'. I would shudder to think that these guys are coding in 'C++' Language after eating Zabaan & Maghaz, God save the software they will create !!
The Hyderabadi 'salaam' is unique too, very different from the 'salaam' in North India. In Hyderabad people can 'Salaam' you from 100 metres away, smiling, bowing down and moving the hand up and down again & again and again. Ah, what a sight that is. So you should always be watchful lest you miss someone who salaam'ed you and you didn't respond. People can get offended.
The most interesting part of Hyderabad is the Hyderabadi Zubaan. Which in its purest form is Deccani Urdu. But the colourful, vernacular veriety can he heard across the city. To get the 'real' experience you have to go to the Old City.
Some samples............
You visit someone's house and the servent says 'Zarra baithiye, sahab paani naha rahe hain.' This is common lingo in Hyderabad. You wonder does the 'sahab' also use milk and 'ittar' for his bath on other days !!
The sentences will be littered with 'Nakko' , 'Kathe', 'Katho' and other delicacies.....Another Hyderabadi 'Takiya Kalaam' is 'Light Lo Yaar'..............They use this in all kind of interesting ways. Once I asked someone for directions to a place...he went 'Aap seedhe haath ko jaate tu overbridge aata, wahan se left ko light lena (that means take the right turn)............aage danger sign aata (traffic signal).... and so on and so forth.......you got to keep decoding it..............
Another blog is needed for all the other colourful 'secreetaan bataan' of Hyderabad...........
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