Loving Hyderabad

First time off, we’re gonna play safe and begin with what we know best: Hyderabad!

*seetiyaan please*

Hyderabad, what can I say about this city? Born to hyderabadi parents, brought up with nakkos and haos and biryani and having spent almost every summer here, this city somehow becomes back home, or home for you. 

So what is it about this city that makes us love its nawabi ness and get us all charged up when someone talks against us?matlab kaiku toh bhiii aisa pyar aajata?

We attempt to enlist a few of the reasons tht make us so awesome and kirrraaakkk 😀

–The Nawabipana or the Nizamness of the city: Hyderabad is aka nawaboun ka shehr (the city of Nawabs) and the city of pearls. City of nawabs coz, it was ruled by different nawabs for more than three centuries, to be precise 356 years. As we are not writing the history of Hyderabad, we’re not getting into the details (Kaiku bole toh humlogaan time nai waste karte, point to point baat karte). Khoj hori toh jaoo www.google.com pe.Thank you.

 Back to the point, you can see the nawabipana everywhere and in everyone, it flows in our blood. For example, we Hyderabadis think its our birth right to be late by an hour or so and our excuse will be “arey miya traffic mein phasgaya tha”, well traffic jams and Hyderabad go hand in hand. To give u the clear picture, will give you one more example. One of the favourite dialogues by our Ammis “ Yahan se wahan tak poore nawabaan hai, ek kaam nai hota, haath ke neeche dus naukaraaan hona tumlogoun ku. Nizamou k khaandan mein paida hona tha” and if you are a girl there’s an addition “dusre ghar ku jaake kya naam nikalte, yehich bolte logaan amma kya sikha ke bheji”. Weeelllllll!

So where were we, yeah nawabipana. To witness the true nizamness, you gotta visit the old city. Even though it’s getting crowded day by day and chindi choraan bhar jaarey, to catch a glimpse of the “Real Hyderabad” you need to take the risk. Nishanis of Nizamness include our infamous Charminar, which was built by Mohammed Quli Qutub shah in 1591. And apparently while laying the foundation he made a dua “Oh Allah, bestow unto this city peace and prosperity. Let millions of men of all castes, creeds and religions make it their abode, like fish in the water.” No wonder Hyderabad is developing day by day and turning into a sea of people, Alhamdulilah!

Even though you may find it boring coz “what’s so exciting about those four minarets” but to Hyderabad and Hyderabadis, Charminar is what the Eiffel tower is to the French.

 
So we love Charminar like every Hyderabadi does for its simple majestic self (even if we’ve never climbed it).  Charminar is only the tiny yet major part of the Nizamness. Other nishanis include Falaknuma Palace, Chowmahalla Palace, the High court, Purani Haveli, Makkah Masjid. There are many more, but that can be another post on the nishanis itself soon. Insha’Allah. 

-Numaish. Aka exhibition. Yes that once in a year, much awaited feat, at nampally ground, where you have to go regardless of whether u dine at Taj Krishna and shop at Neerus elite or not. Hai kya yeh cheez aakhir?

Numaish means shopping, eating, tiny rides which can get you all excited just because you wait in line forever (hao malum par samjho na bhai ab), more shopping, crazy thrills like maut ka kuaaan, chindi chaaley, lots of shopping and wayyy more bargaining. Its where you can have a good laugh at the sheer stupidity of people and things and push your way thru the crowd even if you are joblessly roaming. Why?

I don’t know.theres something about it, its fun.

-Language.its how you can instantly recognize your fellow hyderabadi. I mean  all it takes for one true blue hyderabadi to recognize another is one line. It’s the way we say KHurbani ka mitttha, khamush, khatrnaak – the KH from the epiglotiis, kaiku? Nakko. And all that.

Of course, there are the poser hydrus, who actually talk pretty rough at home, but outside they very conveniently talk like theyre some lucknowi nawabs. Aka paki accent. Then there are those that try to sound more hydru than they can ever understand. Over chaaley.

But the real ones are those where the hydi floooooowwwwss, with fluency, with the ryt word at the right time, and these are the kind of people that others look at and think wat a fun language. Theres so much fun and craziness in this language. No kidding. Like suurat, how it’s a comeback for every other thing.

Aiiiiyyytt, kiraaak, jabar,  over, aaakhrii and suuurat. These are the spice of our language.the kaikus, the nakko and haos and the –ich is not the spice, my dear, to correct you, it is the heart and soul of our language.

-another distinctive hyderabadi quality is the ability to phek. Doooor ke phekaan. Ittey door ke ke koi pakadich nai sakta. Baith ke confidence se doooor ke phekna, ya chodna. Woh bhi thannndey. Often, these people become the raunaq of the mehfil. Baitho, suno aur halluuu chaabi do.phir mazey looto 😉

Jab phekne ki baaat horich toh zara apne exaggeration ku kaisa bhool saktey. Bada chada ke boley bina moonh se baat nai nikalti. When talking to a hydru, u can have the luxury of subtracting 25-75% masala, depending on the person and then believing a story. An example of this is,  “parsun”.” Arey parsun miyaan, sarah ki shaadi hui thi na ji…” Woh sara jiski parsun shaadi hui thi , aaj uska do saal ka beta hai =) parsun toh samajhich gaye hongey na?

–the food. Aaaah the food, jo humku wirsey mein mila, fit for a nawab, and not just the nawabzada sleeping outside in your hall. From the basics like khatti dal and talava gosht, khichdi khatta paapad, to the more rich ones like haleem, biryani, bagaarey baigan and mithhey mein khurbani (yes, even if it is khubani, WE WILL call it KHURbani) and double ka mittha, there is just something about our food, that can keep you asking for more. And the real authentic taste is not using shan ke dabba ka masala, nope, our ammis know the real deal when it comes to biryanis  and nothing beats that. Thts why WORLD OVER, the hyderabadi biryani is so renowned. 

And no matter where you go, a Hyderabadi will figure out a way to get his Hyderabadi food, chaahey Australia ho ya China. Our men just don’t compromise on food, so the young ladies, get in the kitchen aur gosht saaf karna shuru karlo, kaiku bole toh aapke miyaan ji bina talaava gosht ke nai rehne waaley hai, main likh ke detiun.im sorry but thts how they go….

Another thing tht we don’t realize is most of our food has a khatta ingredient or a subtle khatta undertone to it, be it biryani or tamaatey ka cut. So don’t get offended next time you are called a khatta =)

Khaaney ki baat chalri toh,

 Haleem:  Since its Ramadan, and this haleem craze is in full swing, we believe it should get a spot of its own.Ask a hardcore Hyderabadi where you get good haleem and he will come up with various answers. And we are saying hardcore, coz newbie Hyderabadis are not certified to trust. Every year during the month of Ramadan, there’s battle between the Haleem makers for the title of “Best Haleem”.  And it’s a real battle, not like some cold cold battle, it involves the nanas and the dadas. Some say Haleem was first made by our great great great nana, so we ought to win this battle and some think Haleem was given to them in legacy by their great great great dada, hence they deserve the title. Pista House and Sarvi Restaurant are the winners but we hear Shah Ghouse isn’t bad too. How can we forget the famous “Paradise”, *Paradise ka swad banaye har pal khaas-ting ting tiding* .Go out, eat and choose for yourself cuz in Ramadan you’ll  find a Haleem stall every few metres and every stall is full, with degchey lined up and people “toot pad-ing” on the Haleem. The cost is crazy at even 95 for ONE PLATE!

 And these stalls are open till 2-3 am and in the old city till sehri( even in other days till fajr).  Oh and andar ki baat, Pista House’s recipe is sooo secret that only the head chef knows it and while mixing the spices, everyone else vacates the kitchen and he starts his magic. Haleem is something that came into existence during the rule of Nizams. So I guess even that’s one of the Nishanis of nizamness.

Again, our Ammi Jees make better and more hygienic haleems than these people (no offence to the owners). It’s our personal opinion. And as our Ammis are also Hyderabadis, they too contribute to the Hyderabadi Pride. Yayayay to Ammi Jees!So go out, grab a haleem or find an ammi jee and remember why you love this city ❤

Stumbled across this, check it out for a visual flavor http://www.flickriver.com/groups/879149@N21/pool/interesting/