Hyderabad

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Hyderabad  is the capital of Andhra Pradesh in Southern India, located on the banks of the Musi River and the Deccan Plateau. Hyderabad and Secunderabad are "twin cities" near Hussain Sagar Lake (also known as Tank Bund in local parlance) but both cities have grown so much that now they have become one big city. The city and district of Hyderabad are coterminus. Hyderabad district is entirely contained within the Rangareddi district of Andhra Pradesh. Many of the suburbs of the city are actually in Rangareddi.

A city rich with history and tradition, Hyderabad now competes with Bangalore, Chennai for the crown of India's IT capital —

The old city of Hyderabad lies on the south bank of the Musi river, which roughly flows from the West to East. Most of the historical attractions, including, the Charminar, considered the centre of old Hyderabad, lie on this bank. Secunderabad, which was once a separate city, lies some distance to the north of the old city. Between Secunderabad and the old city lies the new city of Hyderabad, the administrative capital of Andhra Pradesh, which was built on the north bank of the Musi river after independence. The dividing line between the two cities is the Sardar Patel road which also goes East-West. The most prominent landmark here is the Hussain Sagar lake and most administrative offices are located around it.

The newly developed "Hi-tec city" is 9 km to the west of the new city, in a place called Madhapur. This is where most technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms have their campuses.

 

In many senses, Hyderabad is the meeting ground between North and South India. The city has a culture of its own, distinct from the rest of Andhra Pradesh, showing Islamic influences and also the courtly influence of being the capital of the Nizamate. This, however, is more true for the old city. The new city is, and looks like, just another provincial capital of a state of India. Secundarabad is more cosmopolitan, as the Cantonment area is located in this part of the city.

In recent years, due to the influx of young men and women from various parts of the country, Hyderabad's culture and attitudes have taken a turn towards "modernity", but keep in mind that this is still a deeply conservative place.

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