Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hyderabad. Show all posts
Being Local - 5
During Ganesh Visarjan, processions would be seen on the road with idol of Ganesha along with a group of people performing and dancing at the tunes of drums and trumpet in the attire of different Gods and Goddess. The act above is showing Maa Durga killing the Demon. This was taken in Hyderabad on such an occasion.
'Being Local' is a series where I can post the different characters who I feel is interesting enough to have a mention. You can find others in the series here.
Being Local - 2
The Chaiwali at the Kuntala Waterfalls, Nirmal. Be there water in the falls or not, there is always tea in her kettle for the visitors.
'Being Local' is a series where I can post the different characters who I feel is interesting enough to have a mention. You can find others in the series here.
Nirmal - Home for Toy and Art Industry
Nirmal is situated in the Adilabad district of the newly formed state of Telengana.
It is merely 218 kms from Hyderabad and yet there are not many people who knows that Nirmal is famous for Toys and Paintings. Staying in Hyderabad for almost about 7 years now, I recently came to know the specialty and had started growing interest to visit the place - primarily to visit the Toys workshop.
Upon reaching there and talking to various people in the Hotel where we stayed, we came to know that there is a single store accompanied by the workshop. Read from a old Hindu article that after Independence when the artisans were undergoing a bad phase, Government came to their rescue and formed a society called The Nirmal Toys and Arts Industries Cooperative Society Ltd. in 1955.
Visitors come here to purchase but most of these toys are sold in different parts of the country and even exported abroad. This is a small scale industry which has high potential to be popularized. The toys are made up of a unique tender wood called 'Poniki Wood'. The price of the toys also seemed to be moderate enough.
Toys:
Paintings:
Small Video of the Workshop:
It is sad that the Government has not promoted this place for Tourism. If a single store can make a place famous, it definitely has a lot of potential which can be explored to make this into a large scale industry. There are also other attractions (mainly Waterfalls, sanctuaries, temples etc.) which can be centered from Nirmal.
It is merely 218 kms from Hyderabad and yet there are not many people who knows that Nirmal is famous for Toys and Paintings. Staying in Hyderabad for almost about 7 years now, I recently came to know the specialty and had started growing interest to visit the place - primarily to visit the Toys workshop.
Upon reaching there and talking to various people in the Hotel where we stayed, we came to know that there is a single store accompanied by the workshop. Read from a old Hindu article that after Independence when the artisans were undergoing a bad phase, Government came to their rescue and formed a society called The Nirmal Toys and Arts Industries Cooperative Society Ltd. in 1955.
Visitors come here to purchase but most of these toys are sold in different parts of the country and even exported abroad. This is a small scale industry which has high potential to be popularized. The toys are made up of a unique tender wood called 'Poniki Wood'. The price of the toys also seemed to be moderate enough.
Toys:
Paintings:
Small Video of the Workshop:
It is sad that the Government has not promoted this place for Tourism. If a single store can make a place famous, it definitely has a lot of potential which can be explored to make this into a large scale industry. There are also other attractions (mainly Waterfalls, sanctuaries, temples etc.) which can be centered from Nirmal.
Long Drive to Bidar from Hyderabad
I was pretty excited as this was the first long drive with my son. Prior to this, I had only gone to Vikarabad which was a mere 70 km from Hyderabad. Bidar, about 115 km from Hyderabad is famous for the historical significance. It was ruled by the Bahmani kings and hence remains of the kingdom still exists here. One of the main attractions being Bidar Fort.
The road to Zaheerabad is moderate, some places it is pretty good while in other places it is not that great. Entry from Zaheerabad to Bidar was closed and hence we had to take the bypass which was not very pleasing though.
The road to Zaheerabad is moderate, some places it is pretty good while in other places it is not that great. Entry from Zaheerabad to Bidar was closed and hence we had to take the bypass which was not very pleasing though.
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| Gumbaz Darwaza |
Gumbaz Darwaza: The place fort complex could be entered from the city through two main gates on the south eastern side by a zig-zag passage and well protected gateways. The Sharza Darwaza and Gumbaz Darwaza are main entrance gates to palace complex.
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| Tarkash Mahal |
Entering the fort area, one can see the beautifully decorated garden with Tarkash Mahal and Solah Khamba Mosque. Tarkash Mahal is said to be built for a Turkish wife of one of the Bahmani kings. Entry to the Mahal is now restricted for public.
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| Solah Khamba Mosque |
Solah Khamba Mosque is said to the oldest Islamic building in Bidar and one of the largest mosques in India. As the name states it is derived from the sixteen pillars (or Khamba) in the middle portion of the Prayer Hall. Entry to this is also restricted to the public now.
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| Old Fort entrance |
Diwan-I-am and Diwan-I-Khass are present inside the Old Fort entrance.
Leaving Bidar Fort, other areas of attraction in Bidar includes Jharani Narasimha Cave Temple, Nanak Jhira Sahib, Bahamani Tombs etc
Specialty of Jharani Narasimha Cave Temple is that in order to view the idol of Lord Narasimha, you will have to go through waist deep cave water for about 300 hundred meters.There are lots of stories connected with the temple.
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| Nanak Jhira Sahib |
Nanak Jhira Sahib is a historical Sikh shrine. This is very popular and hundreds of devotees come here every year during Guru Nanak Jayanti. The Gurudwara stands beside a sweet water fountain carrying stories of how Guru Nanak gave relief to the people of Bidar who were suffering from the scarcity of water. A small Amrit–Kund is constructed in white marble and this accumulates the water flowing from this fountain.
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| Closed Tomb Besides Gurudwara |
After spending around an hour or so, we started our way back as it was almost getting dark and also started to drizzle.
Below is a wonderful documentary from Karnataka Tourism about Bidar.
Barbecuing in Hyderabad
Have been to several Barbecues in Hyderabad like Bar-B-Q Nation, 36 Chhattees, Sigree, Sizzling Grillz, The Great Indian Kabab factory etc, but after I visited AB's - Absolute Barbecues, I can definitely say that this is the best in the lot.
Thankfully I was on time to avoid the rush and got a direct entry with no waitlist. :) The staff provided me with a sofa near the corner of the floor and explained the different varieties. Observed that there were quite a few new items which was different from other places. There was a WISH GRILL which offered different varieties of meat like Quail, Rabbit, Emu, Octopus etc. You can have this cooked as per your wish and hence the term. We preferred to keep the Wish grill for our next visit and went ahead with the rest of the stuff.
Among the veg starters, I liked the Mexican Grilled Veg the most, followed by American Cheesy Potato. Singapuri Tangdi was good but a bit spicy. Hotel staff informed us that normally the food is medium spicy and if we wish we can order for less spicy ones as well. They were kind enough to offer my wife another less spicy piece. My favorite in Non-Veg was the Grilled Fish.
Had lots of Prawn and Hariyali Chicken as well, but frankly I did not like the Hariyali chicken that much compared to the other items. I would rather suggest the authorities to have a different variety of chicken instead, but that is again my personal opinion.
For Spice lovers, there is AWESOME TWOSOME - Spicy Chilli and Garlic sauce which you can spray over the baked prawns or chicken to spice up your taste with lots of ufff... and aaahs...
After the starters, we were so full that we did not head towards the main course. I took a little bit of soup while my wife choose to refrain from that too. There is a live ice-cream counter which serves with you custom mix. Among the sweets I love Firni the most. There was another item called Indrani which is uncommon in the lot. There were also a variety of truffles along with Gulab Jamun.
There is a bar counter at the corner though we restricted ourselves with the complimentary mocktails. We ordered for Aam Paana but the staff mentioned that this is not that good. They suggested to the other choices. We went ahead with Virgin Mojito and another drink (don't recollect the name). Pint Beer is also served as complimentary drink.
Loved the table decors too especially the quotes on the paper mats.
With the wish to taste the WISH GRILL signing off for now...
Thankfully I was on time to avoid the rush and got a direct entry with no waitlist. :) The staff provided me with a sofa near the corner of the floor and explained the different varieties. Observed that there were quite a few new items which was different from other places. There was a WISH GRILL which offered different varieties of meat like Quail, Rabbit, Emu, Octopus etc. You can have this cooked as per your wish and hence the term. We preferred to keep the Wish grill for our next visit and went ahead with the rest of the stuff.
Among the veg starters, I liked the Mexican Grilled Veg the most, followed by American Cheesy Potato. Singapuri Tangdi was good but a bit spicy. Hotel staff informed us that normally the food is medium spicy and if we wish we can order for less spicy ones as well. They were kind enough to offer my wife another less spicy piece. My favorite in Non-Veg was the Grilled Fish.
Had lots of Prawn and Hariyali Chicken as well, but frankly I did not like the Hariyali chicken that much compared to the other items. I would rather suggest the authorities to have a different variety of chicken instead, but that is again my personal opinion.
For Spice lovers, there is AWESOME TWOSOME - Spicy Chilli and Garlic sauce which you can spray over the baked prawns or chicken to spice up your taste with lots of ufff... and aaahs...
After the starters, we were so full that we did not head towards the main course. I took a little bit of soup while my wife choose to refrain from that too. There is a live ice-cream counter which serves with you custom mix. Among the sweets I love Firni the most. There was another item called Indrani which is uncommon in the lot. There were also a variety of truffles along with Gulab Jamun.
There is a bar counter at the corner though we restricted ourselves with the complimentary mocktails. We ordered for Aam Paana but the staff mentioned that this is not that good. They suggested to the other choices. We went ahead with Virgin Mojito and another drink (don't recollect the name). Pint Beer is also served as complimentary drink.
Loved the table decors too especially the quotes on the paper mats.
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With the wish to taste the WISH GRILL signing off for now...
Hyderabad Botanical Garden
Hyderabad Botanical Garden is situated along the Gachibowli-Miyapur road, some 2-3 kilometers from the IT hub of the city. It is a 120 acre land in the Kothaguda Reserve Forest. Though this is promoted by Tourism Department but as far as I see, this is a place which is mostly being visited by the local people during the weekend to get a feel of the greenery in the midst of the concrete jungle. The Garden opens at 9 AM in the morning and stays open till 8 PM.
There is an entrance fee of 10 Rupee and in case you are willing to do photography and have a SLR camera, it would be another 10 rupees. As soon as you enter the garden you can cute little rabbits munching carrots or leaves.
There is a beautiful Rose Garden and a Butterfly Park as well in the Garden. It is lovely to see the different colors of roses like red, orange, pink, white etc. People having interest in photography should take their cameras. Learnt from someone that to take beautiful pictures of butterfly once to visit the Garden early in the morning as soon as it opens.
A walkway is present in case you want to shed some kilos. You can purchase a monthly pass for Rs 150 for the walkway. Timings is from 6 AM to 8 AM.
A small shop which offers different types of bhajis, sweet corn, bhels etc. is also available in the garden. To have a Chai-pe-adda there is a tea shop as well.
I am the mown grass, dying at your feet,
Just opposite to the park, there is a huge parking lot so there is no worry for people who are coming by car or bike. Parking fees is 10 Rs for car and 5 Rs for two wheeler's.
Overall the fresh greenly environment can take away the toll of the entire week. I often visit this place with my family and would love to visit again and again.
There is an entrance fee of 10 Rupee and in case you are willing to do photography and have a SLR camera, it would be another 10 rupees. As soon as you enter the garden you can cute little rabbits munching carrots or leaves.
If you have small kids, there are various options for them to play including some adventure activities, zorbing, kids park etc. Horse Riding can also be done here. Double seated bicycle can be taken on rent per hour basis.
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There is a beautiful Rose Garden and a Butterfly Park as well in the Garden. It is lovely to see the different colors of roses like red, orange, pink, white etc. People having interest in photography should take their cameras. Learnt from someone that to take beautiful pictures of butterfly once to visit the Garden early in the morning as soon as it opens.
 |
| Rose Garden |
A walkway is present in case you want to shed some kilos. You can purchase a monthly pass for Rs 150 for the walkway. Timings is from 6 AM to 8 AM.
A small shop which offers different types of bhajis, sweet corn, bhels etc. is also available in the garden. To have a Chai-pe-adda there is a tea shop as well.
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| Snacks Stall |
I am the mown grass, dying at your feet,
The pale grass, gasping faintly in the sun.
I shall be dead, long, long ere day is done,
That you may say: "The air, to-day, was sweet."
I am the mown grass, dying at your feet.
- Margaret Gilman Davidson, Moritura
Just opposite to the park, there is a huge parking lot so there is no worry for people who are coming by car or bike. Parking fees is 10 Rs for car and 5 Rs for two wheeler's.
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| Parking Lot |
Overall the fresh greenly environment can take away the toll of the entire week. I often visit this place with my family and would love to visit again and again.
Numaish 2014
Like every year this year as well 46 days long 74th Numaish started on 1st January. This exhibition happens in the busy Exhibition ground near Nampally Station. For Hyderabadis, this is a must visit. There are varieties of entertainment options like joyrides, toy trains, different variety of stalls and last but not the least eateries. There are visitors who go their for tasting the different varieties of food.
Numaish has been always the Food lovers delight, be it Pista House Haleem, Bade Miya Kabab, Gokul Chat or Agra Sweets.
Few days back read a lovely article about A street food lover's delight on the blog Foodaholix.
Cultural programs are also performed by stand-up artists. I happened to be present when there was a mime show going on.
Shopaholics can easily empty their pockets in the various stalls of jewellery, textiles, crockery, and many more. I restricted myself to only the eateries and jewelley section.
A word of caution though, be there a little early or parking might be a little problem in this busy area but definitely do not forget to visit next year.
Numaish has been always the Food lovers delight, be it Pista House Haleem, Bade Miya Kabab, Gokul Chat or Agra Sweets.
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| The Serving of Haleem |
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| A Plate of Haleem |
Few days back read a lovely article about A street food lover's delight on the blog Foodaholix.
Cultural programs are also performed by stand-up artists. I happened to be present when there was a mime show going on.
Shopaholics can easily empty their pockets in the various stalls of jewellery, textiles, crockery, and many more. I restricted myself to only the eateries and jewelley section.
A word of caution though, be there a little early or parking might be a little problem in this busy area but definitely do not forget to visit next year.
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