Hyderabad is a great place for tourists with many
attractions. Enjoy the local points of interest on these two to four
hour visits as well as some of the Hyderabadi's favorite spots.
Area :
260 Sq. Km
Population : Approx 7 million (1991 Census : 3,145,939)
Growth Rate : 9.5%
Land Use : Urban 93% [including industrial]; Agriculture 1.7%; Water
Spread 5.3%
Altitude : 536 metres above sea level
Languages : Urdu, Telgu, Hindi, English
Industries : Cotton and silk textiles, cigarettes, paper, pottery,
glassware and more recently information technology and call centres.
Character : The area exhibits undulating topography with number of tanks
and hill ranges. The elevation ranging between 500 to 600m. While
Banjara, Jubilee, Golconda, Nawabat Pahad, Tirumalagiri and Moula Ali
are prominent hill ranges, Hussain Sagar and Mir Alam are prominent
tanks located within the city. Hussain Sagar located in the heart of the
city bifurcates it into Secunderabad and Hyderabad. The Musi river
passing through the middle of Hyderabad city flows in an easterly
direction.
Weather : Summer temperatures range from a mean maximum of 40 deg
centigrade to a mean minimum of 30 deg centigrade. Winter temperatures
range from 22 deg centigrade. to 14 deg centrigrade. The monsoon season
normally occurs from June to December. Registers rainfall of about 89
cms.
Though the outlook of the city has very much
changed, the fragrances of traditional past still linger on… Hyderabad invokes a
sense of nostalgia among old residents for its culture, fine arts and
sophistication in manners.
We here take the pleasure of taking you for a
virtual ride across the City familiarising you with its contemporary blend of
the traditional and Modern lives through its latest happenings…
'Harem’
is a derivative of Arabic word 'harim’ which means private quarters of
women. But when it comes to India, the `harems’ are known as 'zanana’.
Interestingly, in Persian 'zan' means woman, hence 'zanana’ that in due
course has become ‘Zenana’. Nizams of Hyderabad were known for their Zenana.
Though almost all Nizams had their own Zenana, it was the sixth Nizam
Mehboob Ali Khan (Born in 1869 and died in 1912) who outscores both his
predecessors as well as successors in terms of possessing multiple sexual
partners.
Mehboob Ali Khan, had the
largest collection of women in his harem. There was no doubt over the fact
that the sixth Nizam had a jumbo size harem compared to any one else in the
dynasty. According to the noted writer Narendra Luther, there is no single
authentic figure available regarding the numbers of women who made Mehboob’s
harem their home. "The figures usually vary from one source to another. But
it certainly ran into hundreds," he clarifies.
Mehboob
Ali Khan’s penchant for women and liquor had caused considerable ripples. So
much so that, the Resident, usually an English army colonel, wanted the
young Nizam to shift away from the Mahtab Mahal, one of the four palaces in
Chow Mohalla complex near Charminar. This move was vigorously opposed by the
ladies of the harem. In the end, the sixth Nizam moved into the Purani
Haveli. Incidentally, a high wall separated the ladies quarter from the
bachelors quarters in Purani Haveli. Since Mehboob was not yet a major, he
was allowed to spend only a night in the ladies quarter, once a week. But
once the young Nizam craved desperately for the warmth of the ladies quarter
and in his moments of desperation he and his friends nearly airlifted an
inmate from the other side of the wall. But once Mehboob became a man there
was no looking back for him.
Mehboob
was a passionate hunter and used to give hot chases to tigresses, his
favourite game. Resident George Yule, once while complimenting the Nizam on
his hunting abilities, said your highness is a tiger yourself. The Nizam’s
fascination with women did not end in the harem. He had appointed Amazon
guards who kept close watch over the harem. The Amazon guards, who did not
take part in regular warfare though, comprised of women alone.
Actually
Mehboob Ali Khan’s sole claim to fame was not because of his large harem. A
quintessential dandy, the sixth Nizam was the first Hyderabadi to wear
Western dresses. When the motor car arrived in the last decade of the
century, the Nizam was the first to acquire one. The sixth Nizam of
Hyderabad had the largest wardrobe in the world that came to occupy one full
wing in his residence, the Purani Haveli. The whole wing, which accommodated
his clothes and shoes was 176 feet in length. Not only that, both the
historians and others who knew him personally, unanimously agree that
Mehboob Ali Khan was a large-hearted man, besides being a generous ruler. He
lived his life in abundance of 'sarab’ and 'saki’. His demise at the early
age of 43 was mostly due to the fact that he hit the bottle far too much.
But he lived 'bindaas’ in typical Hyderabadi lingo.
'Harem’
is a derivative of Arabic word 'harim’ which means private quarters of
women. But when it comes to India, the `harems’ are known as 'zanana’.
Interestingly, in Persian 'zan' means woman, hence 'zanana’ that in due
course has become ‘Zenana’. Nizams of Hyderabad were known for their Zenana.
Though almost all Nizams had their own Zenana, it was the sixth Nizam
Mehboob Ali Khan (Born in 1869 and died in 1912) who outscores both his
predecessors as well as successors in terms of possessing multiple sexual
partners. 
Mehboob
Ali Khan’s penchant for women and liquor had caused considerable ripples. So
much so that, the Resident, usually an English army colonel, wanted the
young Nizam to shift away from the Mahtab Mahal, one of the four palaces in
Chow Mohalla complex near Charminar. This move was vigorously opposed by the
ladies of the harem. In the end, the sixth Nizam moved into the Purani
Haveli. Incidentally, a high wall separated the ladies quarter from the
bachelors quarters in Purani Haveli. Since Mehboob was not yet a major, he
was allowed to spend only a night in the ladies quarter, once a week. But
once the young Nizam craved desperately for the warmth of the ladies quarter
and in his moments of desperation he and his friends nearly airlifted an
inmate from the other side of the wall. But once Mehboob became a man there
was no looking back for him. 
Mehboob
was a passionate hunter and used to give hot chases to tigresses, his
favourite game. Resident George Yule, once while complimenting the Nizam on
his hunting abilities, said your highness is a tiger yourself. The Nizam’s
fascination with women did not end in the harem. He had appointed Amazon
guards who kept close watch over the harem. The Amazon guards, who did not
take part in regular warfare though, comprised of women alone. 
Actually
Mehboob Ali Khan’s sole claim to fame was not because of his large harem. A
quintessential dandy, the sixth Nizam was the first Hyderabadi to wear
Western dresses. When the motor car arrived in the last decade of the
century, the Nizam was the first to acquire one. The sixth Nizam of
Hyderabad had the largest wardrobe in the world that came to occupy one full
wing in his residence, the Purani Haveli. The whole wing, which accommodated
his clothes and shoes was 176 feet in length. Not only that, both the
historians and others who knew him personally, unanimously agree that
Mehboob Ali Khan was a large-hearted man, besides being a generous ruler. He
lived his life in abundance of 'sarab’ and 'saki’. His demise at the early
age of 43 was mostly due to the fact that he hit the bottle far too much.
But he lived 'bindaas’ in typical Hyderabadi lingo.