What are some of the most mind-blowing facts about the city Hyderabad in India?

This is a very old chain-mail I had received more than 8 years ago! However, I believe most of these are relevant even today. Though they sound funny, anyone who is associated with Hyderabad  for considerable duration, cannot deny its factuality to a great extent. If you are in Hyderabad: 1. Your address reads as 23-404-32/67A-43 (New MCH number 56-678/4A/B-22), while you actually live in the green colour second house beside zamzam cafe in lane behind Anand Theatre on SP Road. 2. Your street has at least one roadside mobile hotel that serves Chinese delicacies such as " Vegetable soft needles", "Navrotten Kurma", "Chicken Manchewurea" or "American Chompsee". 3. Your answer is 'seedha chale jao'  (keep going) when somebody asks you for directions, whether it is to Malakpet, Masab Tank, Malkajgiri or Moosapet. 4. You come across tailors sporting the board: 'Immidiot delivery in two days onli'. 5.You can speak Hindi, Urdu, hyderabadi hinglish, telenglish.... All except Telugu , fluently. 6.You ask the waiter to get you some ' achaar' (pickle) even if you are sitting at a lavish continental banquet dinner with exotic Chinese, Mexican, Italian and Lebanese cuisines. 7. You order for a tea just after having had a Caramel custard. 8. You have at least one Srinivas, Prasad, Raju, Rao or Venkatesh within six square feet. OR you have at least one cousin, friend, colleague or acquaintance with these names. 9. Every time somebody gives you a piece of good news, the first thing you ask him or her is 'Party kab hain? (when is the party)' 10. Refer to any past as 'parso', be it yesterday or long before three hundred years. 11. You call 11 AM as subah subah. 12. You are 15 minutes late and you feel you are on time. 13. You look at the 'fixed price' board and still ask 'dene ka bolo' 14. You feel offended by someone looking at you (Kaiku ghoorraa be?) 15. You can say the typical "Light le le baap" (take it easy) and be cool without analyzing what the situation is. 16. You feel its legal and your Nizami birthright to show your hand and stop the traffic (better than a traffic police) while you cross the road whenever and wherever you like. 17. You have to eat Paradise Biryani or Bawarchi Biryani atleast once in a month. 18. You go to the Petrol Bunk and say "Panch Point Single Oil maaro yaar" and hand over 15 bucks. 19. You can relate the words 'Nakko', 'Hou' 'Kaiku','hallu' and make these the integral part of your vocabulary. 20. You tell your friend that you will 'just come back' ("abbhi aathu mein") and your friend knows that either you will take a couple of hours or not come back at all. Source: An old (Yahoo!) e-mail thread :)

Hyderabad has one of the two official retreats for the President of India and each year the President spends time here doing his official work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashtrapati_Nilayam.

1.Golconda Fort  was the original place of Kohinoor diamond   The Koh-i-Noor (the "Mountain of Light") , which was once the largest known diamond in the world was originally mined in Kollur mines and then kept in a vault in golconda fort.Golconda is universally famous for producing some of the world's most coveted gems like Hope diamond , Darya-i-noor and idol's eye.     2.Buddha statue at hussain sagar lake  is the largest Monolithic statue of gautam Buddha in the world         The statue is  18-metre high and located in a small island in the middle of the lake.The statue was chiseled out of a white granite rock, weighting 450 tons, by 200 sculptors in two years.   3.Ramoji film city is the largest integrated film city in the world   Started in 1996 , this film city is built over a huge area of 1666 acres.Not many know that this place was built on Nizam war grounds and is believed to be haunted.   4.Charminar was built to honour a promise   It is believed that Charminar was built to honor a promise Quli Qutb Shah made to Allah. It was in fact, built to mark the end of the plague in the city.   5.There were originally 149 varieties of Hyderabadi Biryani   Biryani was introduced when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered south India. The blending of Mughlai and Telugu cuisines in the kitchens of the Nizam, resulted in the creation of Hyderabadi Biryani and  apparently 149 varieties of biryani used to be prepared in the kitchen's of Nizam.   6.Prasad's IMAX has the largest IMAX 3D screen in the world.   The screen is 72-foot high, 95-foot wide is accompanied by 635 seats and a 12,000-watt sound system.The Prasads IMAX theater made its name by being the most attended screen in the world for major blockbusters such as The Harry Potter and Spider-Man films.

Hyderabad is a really charming city, brimming with modern structures as well as historical monuments that are centuries old. There are very few cities in India that can boast of a mix of history and modern culture that can match Hyderabad. This booming IT hub hasn't allowed the new developments to cloud its history and culture.  Here are a few amazing facts about this wonderful city...Disclaimer: The source of the following content is - http://ezroadtrips.com/blogs/2016/04/10-Unknown-Amazing-Interesting-Facts-About-Hyderabad.html Hyderabad had its own currencyDid you know that Hyderabad used to have its own currency? The Hyderabadi Rupee was the currency of the Hyderabad State from 1918 to 1959. It coexisted with the Indian rupee from 1950. Like the Indian rupee, it was divided into 16 annas, each of 12 pai. Coins were issued in copper (later bronze) for denominations of 1 and 2 pai and ½ anna, in cupro-nickel (later bronze) for 1 anna and in silver for 2, 4 and 8 annas and 1 rupee. Hyderabad was the only Indian princely state that was permitted to continue issuing its own notes after joining the Dominion of India in 1948 and the Republic of India in 1950. The Clock at Chowmahalla PalaceThe clock above the main gate to Chowmahalla Palace is affectionately called as Khilwat Clock. It has been ticking away for around 250 years. An expert family of clock repairers winds the mechanical clock every week. The people of the locality wait for its chimes and correct their own watches by the accuracy of this clock's timing. Inside The Golconda Fort There Is An 800 Years Old TreeGolconda Fort is an oft visited attraction in Hyderabad, but how many knew that there exists a 800 years old tree inside? This tree is about 80 feet in circumference and can accommodate up to 12 people in the hollow in the middle. ocated inside the Naya Qila, this is the oldest, biggest and rarely seen baobab tree in India. With a circumference of over 25 meters, it is called ‘hathiyan jhad’ or ‘elephant tree’ by the locals for its sheer size. The tree was planted by wandering fakirs in the regime of Qutb Shahi kings in Golconda. It is believed that the tree was once home to 40 thieves! They used to hide inside the enormous trunk of the tree at daytime and come out at night to do plundering. Interestingly, the tree was such a good hideout that the thieves remained safe for years. Source: http://ezroadtrips.com/blogs/2016/04/10-Unknown-Amazing-Interesting-Facts-About-Hyderabad.html

I had answered a similiar question here, Just reproducing the same answer. Mehboob ki Mehndi, is the city's  red light area. Located in old city, quite a notorious place, though closed down of late. Gowliguda   get's it's name from the fact that it was a village of  Gowlis(  milkmen), it used to have the hangars for the Nizam's  private aircraft,  now used as a bus repair workshop. Abids, the city's commercial district is named after a Jewish valet of the Nizam, Albert Abid. Agoranath  Chattopadhyaya the father of  Dr.Sarojini  Naidu was the first principal of the Nizam College. Fateh Maidan which  houses the Old Cricket stadium, was used as a camping ground by the  Mughal Army during their Siege of Golconda. After Golkonda fell to the  Mughals, it was named as Fateh Maidan- Ground of Victory. Bolarum was where Sardar Patel negotiated the terms of the Nizam's surrender with his general El Eldroos. Hyderabad city was developed by Quli Qutub Shah, and was patterned after the Iranian city of Isfahan. Hussain Sagar gets it's name from Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, a renowned Sufi saint of Golkonda in the 16th century, who also built it for the city's water needs The Andhra Pradesh Secretariat, is partially housed in the Saifabad Palace, built by 6th Nizam, Mahbub Ali Khan. During NTR's reign as Chief Minister, he named some of the blocks in the Secretariat as Samatha, Sujala, Subodha, Sampreeti. Secunderabad gets it's name from Sikandar Jah, the 3rd Asaf Jahi Nizam, and was founded as a British cantonment, in 1806. Sir Ronald Ross discovered the cause of malaria, during his work at the Begumpet general hospital in 1897. Lallaguda due to it's large Anglo Indian community was nicknamed as "Little England" Dhoolpet   was founded as a neighborhood primarily for immigrants from UP, famous  for the Ganapati idols manufactured there, equally notorious for it's  Gudumba( hooch) trade too. Strange mix of  crime and religion. Habsiguda gets it's name from the Siddhis of Abysinnia  who had settled here  during the Nizam's time. They were locally called as Habeeses. Alwal  gets it's name from the Alwars who had settled down here, centuries back. Niloufer Hospital   was built on the request of Princess Niloufer, daughter in law of the  last Nizam, she wanted a medical center that would take care of women in  their pregnancy and childbirth stage.  Niloufer incidentally was one of  the last princesses of the Ottoman dynasty. She had also worked as a  nurse during WWII. A.S.Rao Nagar is named after Ayyagari Sambasiva Rao, the founder of Electronics Corporation of India(ECIL). Aghapura contains the HQ of the MIM party, and is named after Agha Muhammed Dawood Abul Ulal a disciple of the Sufi saint Hazrat Shah Mohammed Hassan Abul Ulalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_Ulai Domalguda is  believed to have got it's name from two wrestlers( Do Malla) residing  in the area. Though of late, many believe it's name comes from the  mosquitoes(  Telugu word for Mosquito is Doma)  there. The Yellama temple in Balkampet is believed to be dedicated to Parashuram's mother Renuka( Yellama),  who apparently hid here, to escape being killed by her son. It is one of  the main temples for Bonalu. Bolarum has the Rashtrapati  Nilayam, equivalent of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, serving as the official  residence of the President, whenever he visits the South.

10 Most Interesting Facts About Hyderabad Hyderabad has Asia’s biggest and one of the World’s biggest and best Convention centers ‘http://www.hicc.com/“ Hyderabad has world’s biggest film complex in terms of area: http://www.cityhyd.info/2012/05/06/ramoji-film-city/ Hyderabad is leading in Hospital Tourism, now almost trying to lead in Eco Tourism as well. Hyderabad is one of the elite cities in India, which has a top business school: http://www.isb.edu/, top technology institutes: http://www.iith.ac.in/ and http://www.iiit.ac.in/, and Birla has already setup http://www.bits-pilani.ac.in/hyderabad/. Hyderabad is India’s most connected city with the highest Tele-density. Hyderabad has got bigger and bigger, and now Hyderabad is a Tricity (previously a Twin City): CYBERABAD-HYDERABAD-SECUNDERABAD!! Each year the biggest number of travelers to USA are from Hyderabad  (or from Andhra Pradesh state), therefore US chose Hyderabad over  Bangalore for setting up its new consulate. The IMAX Theater in Hyderabad have the World’s largest screen and the only true 3D screen in India. Hyderabad is the best place to start any new retail business or  Mall in India as per the study performed by private agencies on how  Malls are fueling sales in India. As per the reports, Malls in Hyderabad  report the maximum number of sales in the entire country. Hyderabad has the maximum number of engineer inhabitants in the whole country. Additional Info:

Some of the following have already been mentioned by the others. But these are a few which I can think off at the moment.   1. India’s largest and the most technologically advanced convention facility- Hitex- Hyderabad International Convention Center, Constructed by Emaar MGF of India owned by United Arab Emirates.  with 5,000 seating capacity and 291,000 square foot area, it is India’s largest and the most technologically advanced convention facility. It is an integrated  facility with a 287-room-capacity business hotel, Novotel Hyderabad, covering 15 acres. 2. Home for artificial lakes. Hyderabad is home to some of the most beautiful artificial lakes in the world with lakes such as Hussain Sagar, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar being created by dams on River Musi. 3. The state of Hyderabad Till 1956 the city of Hyderabad was part of the Hyderabad State, which consisted of portions of Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The state was under the rule of Nizams of Hyderabad till 1948, when Sardar Patel used operation Polo to unite India using Indian Army. After their era it remained as a state in the Union of India. The state was dissolved in 1956 after the formation of the former Andhra Pradesh State. 4. Architectural beauty Maqbara Nawab Fakr Mulk located on the main road at Sanathnagar. Qutub shahi tomb. Chowmahalla Palace These are just a few. 5. The city is home to some of the most exotic flora and fauna. It has several parks that conserve this natural endowment including; Nehru Zoological Park, Manjira Wildlife Sanctuary, Mrugavani National Park, Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park and Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park. KBR park

2nd June 2016On the occasion of 2nd Anniversary of Telangana State Formation day , Telangana State Chief Minister K.Chandrashekar Rao hoisted the India's biggest and largest tricolour in Hyderabad.Some Amazing Facts about this :The gigantic flag measures 108 by 72 feet.It is two feet short of being the tallest flag.The steel pipes used to construct the country's tallest flag post were specially ordered from Kolkata.Due to the huge size of the flag, the flag was unfurled with the help of a motorized mechanism.The flag weighs over 65 kilos.The Telangana government spent close to Rs 3 Crore.Here are the pics : Ariel View Amazing Night View Hatsoff to Telangana Government _/\_#ProudHyderabadi#Proud Indian

1. Ramoji Film City It is the largest integrated film city and film studio complex in the world. Many film including blockbusters like Baahubali, Baahubali 2 etc. 2. Hyderabadi Biryaani Probably the national dish of Hyderabad, The Hyderabadi Biryaani is a world famous dish with ton of varieties. Another fact is that, almost 90% of hotels in hyderabad serve this dish, if the rest 10% would be considered as vegetarian serving hotels. 3. Irani Chai with Osmania Biscuits If biryaani would be the national dish then this would be the national snack of Hyderabad. There are many delicious combinations in the world and Irani chai with Osmnia Biscuits is one of them. These come with "TRY ONCE AND GET ADDICTED FOREVER" scheme and are best when you are tired of your work and want to refresh yourselves.4. Hyderabaadi Hindi Watch this video and you shall understand. Totally diverse and sweet. "Haibath nakko khaoo chachaa Khaamushh padho abhi khatam nai hua"5. South India’s Rastrapathi Nilayam Hyderabad has one of the two official retreats for the President of India and each year the President spends time here doing his official work at Rastrapathi Nilayam during winter when Delhi becomes real cold.6. Buddha statue at hussain sagar lake It is the world's largest Monolith of Gautam Buddha.7. World’s largest 3D screen Love Movies ? Prasads IMAX is just the right place for you. A 95x72 foot screen, 12000W sound system, the best in the world!!8. Original place of Kohinoor diamond The world famous Kohinoor(Kooh-i-Noor = Mountain of Light) Diamond was originally mined in kollur mines and taken to Hyderabad's Golconda Fort.9. Khairatabad Ganapathi It is the most beloved and the biggest Ganesh in Hyderabad. People from all over the world come to bow their heads before this giant god who according to people, has a great track record of making your dreams come true.10. Hyderabad's People Hyderabadi people are the very heart of Hyderabad. The blend of culture of Hyderabad that makes all religions come close and everyone in hyderabad be called a hyderabadi. You may travel all over the world but, you will never find people like hyderabad. Some other things why Hyderabad is known for: Hyderabad is one of the elite cities in India, which has a top business school like Indian School of Business and top technology institutes like IIT, IIIT, and BITS. Hitex- Hyderabad International Convention Center, Constructed by Emaar MGF of India owned by United Arab Emirates. with 5,000 seating capacity and 291,000 square foot area, it is India’s largest and the most technologically advanced convention facility. It is an integrated facility with a 287-room-capacity business hotel, Novotel Hyderabad, covering 15 acres. Hyderabad is home to some of the most beautiful artificial lakes in the world with lakes such as Hussain Sagar, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar being created by dams on River Musi. Just 400 years old, Hyderabad is one of India's fastest growing cities (beaten to the top place by Bangalore) and has been getting greener every day. Hope you enjoyed my answer !!