Rail transport

Hyderabad has a light rail transportation system known as the MultiModal Transport System (MMTS) (MMTS Photo feature). The MMTS connects various parts of the city with Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Lingampally and Faluknama. Hyderabad is currently scheduled to get a Metro system to help ease urban congestion. The Konkan Skybus is in the running.[citation needed]

Demographics

The city population is estimated at over 3.69 million in 2001 while the population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at over 6.39 million. Religiously and culturally, the city is evenly divided between Muslims and Hindus which includes a visible population of Christians. Languages spoken include Telugu, Urdu and Hindi. Telugu is the local language of the indigenous population. There is a significant amount of English used in business. People from many other parts of India have adopted Hyderabad as their hometown.

Culture and religion

Hyderabad has been the meeting place of many different cultures and traditions. Historically, Hyderabad has been the city where the distinct cultural and linguistic traditions of North India and South India meet.

People in Hyderabad practice Islam, Hinduism,and Christianity. Hyderabadis have developed their own distinctive culture, the Muslim culture of Hyderabad is very well known. Hindus and Christians usually speak Telugu and the Muslims tend to speak Urdu. However, all the residents of the city of Hyderabad generally understand and communicate in a certian dialect of Urdu known as Deccani Urdu which is particular to Hyderabad. Women of all cultures and faith communities in Hyderabad typically wear the traditional Indian dress, the sari - sometimes Shalwar Qamis. As a sign of public modesty, a large percentage of Muslim women in the city wear either the burqa’ or the hijab.

Cuisine

Hyderabadi cuisine is world famous and is very distinct from the rest of the Indian cuisine. It is a blend of heavy Mughal influences and some elements of Telangana cuisine as well as the surrounding Andhra region.

There are several star hotels in Hyderabad which serve several different cuisines
5 Star Hotels
Taj Krishna, Ramada Manohar, Hotel Viceroy, Sheraton Kakatiya Hotel and Towers, Taj Residency, Best Western Amrutha Castle, Taj Banjara
3 Star Hotels
The Green Park, Park Inn Aditya, The Viceroy Hotel, Comfort Inn Woodbridge

Some of the famous dishes include Biryani, Baghare Baygan, Khubani ka Mitha and Double ka Mitha, as well as Halim traditionally eaten by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. As many Hyderabadis travel to the Middle East in search for employment Halim is gaining recognition in these regions. Local chains that serve Halim and other Hyderabadi specialties in Hyderabad are Yusufain Pista House, Madinah Hotel, 555 Hotel, Cafe Bahar, Bawartchi, Paradise and Hyderabad House.

G. Pulla Reddy is famous for pure ghee sweets in Hyderabad. Karachi Bakery near Nampally is known for its biscuits. Other renowned joints include Gokul Chat near Sultan Bazar and Narsing Chat near Mahatma Gandhi Road, Ram singh Chat Bhandar in Begum Bazaar are famous for their North Indian chat, which is liberally doused with spices and yogurt.

Markets

Hyderabad is famous for its traditional markets, few of them are the Laad Bazaar, situated near Charminar, Sultan Bazaar at Koti and General Bazaar at Mahatma Gandhi Road. These old-style markets usually consist of one or two story shops, and street vendors with carts.

There are several large, new, Western-style shopping malls, including Hyderabad Central, Life Style, Shopper’s Stop, Big Bazar and MPM Mall.

Then there are many innovative markets or shopping malls as this current generation calls it, in which the only thing that they sell are “things” making it the first city in this world to sell only “things”

Besides IMAX, as hyderbradis call it, for their very own Multiplex, also has some shops, which can be window shopped without any fines.

Media

Hyderabad has a well-developed communication and media infrastructure. The city is covered by a large network of optical fiber cables by Reliance Telcom Company. The city’s telephone service is serviced by four landline companies: BSNL, Tata Indicom, Reliance Infocomm and Airtel. There are six mobile phone companies: BSNL, Hutch, Idea, Airtel, Tata Indicom and Reliance Infocomm. Several phone companies offer broadband Internet access.

Doordarshan runs several terrestrial television channels and two satellite television channels from its Hyderabad Doordasrshan centre. The city has two AM and one FM radio station, operated by All India Radio. The city has a World Space radio network.

Telugu Television channels are classified as
News channels
ETV2, TV9 (A professional 24/7 NEWS channel), Teja News, DD News, Visa News, Arey News
Entertainment Channels
ETV, Maa TV, Teja, Gemini, C Channel, Siti Cable, Vissa, Zee Telugu, Aditya TV

Hyderabad has about three print media groups that publish several newspapers and magazines in English, Telugu, and Urdu. The major Telugu dailies include the Eenadu, Vaartha, Andhra Jyoti, Andhra Bhoomi, Udayam and Andhra Prabha. The major Urdu dailies are, The Siasat Daily (the first Urdu newspaper in the world to go on-line), The Munsif Daily, The Rahnuma-i Deccan, and The Daily Milap. The major English dailies are The Deccan Chronicle, Business Standard, The Hindu, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Economic Times. Besides these major newspapers, there a number of localised neighbourhood newspapers that cater to several localities. Magazines published from Hyderabad include Swati, Navya, Andhra Prabha, Andhra Jyoti, Vipula, Vanita and Chandamama. Movie magazines include Sitara, Siva Ranjani and Jyoti Chitra.

Sports and stadiums

Sports besides cricket are popular in Hyderabad. In the inaugural Premiere Hockey League in 2005, Hyderabad Sultans won the championships. Hyderabad recently got a new cricket stadium, Visakha International Cricket Stadium, which was later renamed to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.
Sporting Icons of Hyderabad
V. V. S. Laxman - Current Indian Cricket player.
Mohammad Azharuddin - Former Indian Cricket team captain.
Pullela Gopichand - Badminton player(Winner of The All England Badminton Championship - 2001)
Pendyala Harikrishna - India’s Youngest Chess Grandmaster.
Sania Mirza - Tennis player who is the first Indian woman to win a WTA singles title.

List of stadiums in Hyderabad

Most of these stadiums were built to host the Afro-Asian Games 2003 at Hyderabad.
G.M.C. Balayogi Athletic Stadium
This stadium has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. It is an ultra modern stadium with 8 line competition synthetic athletic track and 4-lane synthetic practice track. It uses the latest high-mast lighting for day-night events and provides obstruction-free viewing for all spectators and is a very picturesque stadium amidst breath-taking landscape.
Indoor Stadium A/C
This stadium has a capacity of 4000 spectators, is fully air-conditioned, and a multi purpose stadium. It has wooden flooring which is approved by International Federation and is up to DIN standards.
The Lal Bahadur Stadium
This stadium has a capacity of 25,000 spectators and is equipped with floodlights around the field and provision of internal lights for the spectators. With dimensions 105 m x 70 m field and a 1 inch grass turf.
Aquatics Complex
This stadium has a capacity of 2000 spectators, is an aquatic complex for swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized events. It is a temperature controlled pool through modern heating systems and fibre-reinforced polymer filters.
Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Indoor Stadium
This multi purpose stadium has a capacity of 2000 spectators and adopts a world class wooden flooring with temperature control.
SAAP Tennis Complex, Fateh Maidan
This central court has a capacity of 4000 spectators and has a 7 top class synthetic surfaces.
Shooting Range, Hyderabad Central University
This is a out door shooting range with a capacity of 600 spectators and facilities for 120 competitors at a time, with facilities for 15 different games at a time using latest electronic equipment targets.
Swarnandhra Pradesh Sports Complex, Gachibowli, Hyderabad
This sports complex uses a synthetic turf with sophisticated sprinkler system for watering and drainage and has galleries with RC flat slabs and unique suspended steel roof structure. Pavilion housing the Federation Office and amenities including lounges for players, guests and media.
Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (formerly known as Visaka International Stadium)
This is an exclusive cricket stadium in Uppal, Hyderabad.

Attractions

Birla Planetarium - located in the heart of the city on the panoramic hillock of Nawbat Pahad, the Birla Planetarium is a tribute to the advances made in science and technology.
Chilkur Balaji - Temple of Lord Sri Venkateshwara.
Charminar - the major landmark in Hyderabad with four graceful minarets.
Nehru Zoological Park - among the largest in Asia.
Falaknuma Palace - Built by Nawab Viqar al-Umra’, a beautiful and stunning piece of architecture.
Golconda Fort - located on the outskirts of the city, Golconda Fort is one of the most magnificient fortress complexes in India.
Husain Sagar - man-made lake that separates the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Laad Bazaar - directly to the west of Charminar, and known for its bangles.
Makkah Masjid - a stone-built mosque, immediately southwest of Charminar.
NTR Gardens - Well laid out garden on the banks of Husain Sagar
Prasads IMAX Theatre - is the first IMAX theatre to open in South India. It was the world’s biggest IMAX screen at the time of opening.
Public Gardens of Hyderabad - one of the best laid-out gardens in the country with buildings of the State Legislature, Jubilee Hall, etc.
Purani Haveli - The official residence of the Nizam.
Ramoji Film City - as the name suggests a Film City on the Hyderabad-vijayawada highway. Open to visitors and houses the various sets that were used in films. It has recently entered into the Guinness Book of World records for sheer size of the film city.
Salar Jung Museum - houses the largest one-man collection of antiques in the world.
Sanghi Temple - A temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara graces apromontory overlooking Sanghi Nagar.
Snow World - An amusement park which enables citizens of this tropical city to experience very low temperatures and snow
Astha Laxmi Temple - A temple located in Vasavi Colony near Dilsukhnagar is the 2nd largest Laxmi temple in India.