HYDERABAD INTRODUCTION
NAME OF THE CITY: HYDERABAD
NAME OF THE STATE: TELANGANA
AREA: 625KM²
[241SQMI]
FOUNDED: 1591
FOUNDER: MUHAMMAD QULI QUTUB SHAH FIFTH QUTUB SHAHI RULER
COUNTRY CODE OF INDIA: 0091 OR +91
CITY CODE/STD CODE OF HYDERABAD: 040
LANGUAGES: URDU, TELUGU, HINDI AND ENGLISH
The Old City of Hyderabad is
everything you might dream an Indian old city to be – narrow lanes thronged
with markets, chai shops, wandering animals, autorickshaws, a whirl of noise,
colour, languages and religions dotted with stately old architecture in varying
states of repair. Two unbelievably wealthy Muslim royal houses, the Qutb Shahs
and the Asaf Jahs, came and went from this city of pearls and diamonds, leaving
a legacy of magnificent palaces, mosques and tombs and of course a majority
population in poverty.
Between the old and the new lie, in
both material and geographical terms, dense inner city areas like Abids, north
of the Old City, and leafy middle-class areas like Banjara Hills and Jubilee
Hills. In the northeast, site of one of Hyderabad's three main train stations,
is Secunderabad, the former British military cantonment still referred to as
Hyderabad's 'twin city', though they are effectively one now.
Hyderabad's other pole is far
younger – its Hi-Tech City, or 'Cyberabad', out west, which since the 1990s has
propelled the city into the modern world with its accoutrements of glittery
malls, multiplexes, clubs, pubs and sleek restaurants to sit alongside the
traditional biryani joints and teahouses.
Hyderabad's Muslim population (Urdu-speaking)
is concentrated mostly in the Old City and nearby areas north of the Musi
River. The majority of the population are Telugu-speaking Hindus and there's
also a growing number of migrants from other parts of India attracted
by the IT boom.
One thing you have to accept
wherever you are in Hyderabad: the traffic is appalling. Happily a new Metro
Rail rapid transit system, coming on stream as we speak, should ease things.
LOACTION OF HYDERABAD
23 DISTRICT TELANAGANA MAP
23 DISTRICT TELANAGANA MAP
