Hyderabad, India | September 2012 by Camille

Hyderabad

Why the City of Pearls is also the heart of modern India by Camille Chin

H .

yderabad, it seems, is destined to live in the lap of luxury. The 421-year-old capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh, in India’s southeast, made its riches on the trade of diamonds and pearls. The 105-carat Koh-iNoor diamond that’s set atop the Queen Mother’s 1937 platinum coronation crown was excavated in the ruined city of Golconda, 11 kilometres to the west, and, today, 90 percent of the world’s pearls are still pierced and strung in Hyderabad, a city of seven million Hindus and Muslims. The craftsmanship of their jewellery is unsurpassed (save up your shopping rupees!), but, as anywhere, some people’s principles are not. Fake gems are rampant so buy from a place like Kedarnathji Motiwale Jewellers (22-7-17 and 22 Pathergatti; kedarnathji.com), a business founded in 1908 and passed down from father to son to grandson. The shop is so well-known that there are knockoffs of the store itself. To make sure you’re in the real McCoy, look for a pic of one of India’s past Presidents handing an award to the owners. Then and only then, can you shop for your satlada (or seven-strand pearl necklace set with diamonds, emeralds or rubies) in peace. Krishna (6-3-883/2/3 Punjagutta; krishnapearls.com) and Mangatrai (5-9-46 Basheer Bagh, plus three other locations; mangatraijewellery. com) are also reliable, with well-to-do locals favouring the first. Hyderabad’s new wealth comes from the biotech, drug and IT industries. The latter has entrenched itself in the aptly coined Cyberabad district, about a 30-minute drive northwest of the city’s gritty downtown. Microsoft, Oracle and other giants of the software world have campuses at HITEC City (ltinfocity.com), a 60-hectare, US$375-million IT park that includes a colossal glass-and-steel cylinder that is the Cyber Towers as well as an equally futuristic-looking giant arch that is Cyber Gateway; 2012 International Scientific both are office spaces. Conference of the World Indeed, Cyberabad has, Allergy Organization for many, become the new December 6-9 Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore). Hyderabad International Convention Centre This December, it’ll be big  tel: 414-276-1791; with MDs too. The WAO www.worldallergy.org/wisc2012 conference is being hosted at the city’s 5000-capacity for 2000+ conferences: convention centre, adjacent doctorsreview.com/meetings to modern India itself.

Built in 1894, the recently restored Taj Falaknuma is known as the “Mirror of the Sky” because it sits on a hill and towers over Hyderabad.

Ninety percent of the world’s pearls still pass through Hyderabad for piercing and stringing

The essentials

Experience the HI Swallowing an up to seven-centimetre, live snakehead murrel stuffed with a secret herbal medicine might seem like a zany respiratory-disorder treatment to you, but that’s what thousands of asthmatics have been doing for 167 years every June in Hyderabad. It (sort of) makes sense then that the WAO conference is happening there this winter, when temperatures are at their coolest and average 21°C in December.

Medicine on the movE

FALL • September 2012

Infinity21/Shutterstock.com

Save your shopping rupees: the craftsmanship of Hyderabad’s jewellery is unsurpassed.

The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace (Raheja IT Park; westin.com/ hyderabadmindspace) in HITEC City will cost conferencing MDs about $180 a night, but by all accounts it’s worth it. TripAdvisor users have ranked it second out of all the hotels in Hyderabad and it was one of the winners in the Travellers’ Choice Trendiest Hotels in India category. (The former home of past Nizams, the European-inspired palace now the new Taj Falaknuma, is number one, but it’s not a conference hotel and nightly rates are between $300 to $400). Cyberabad’s hottest new restos are also in the Westin. Among them is Kangan. There, chef Rakesh Singh dreams up his take on the creamy and spicy Peshawari cooking traditions of the former North-West Frontier Province (of British India and later Pakistan). Expect the hotel’s lounges (like Mix) to be full of twenty- and thirtysomething techies who work nearby. But it’s not all highbrow in HITEC City. Shilparamam (near the Cyber Towers; shilparamam.org; admission $1) is a 26-hectare outdoor arts and crafts village where artisans peddle their handmade wares from baked clay and thatch huts. Expect a mélange of pottery, wood- and metalwork as well as beautiful, brightly coloured woven textiles, and jewellery and accessories like shawls. Prices are more down-to-earth than those in malls (Cyberabad got a new InOrbit mega mall in 2009), but that doesn’t mean that bargaining for your souvenirs is taboo. One (important!) thing to note: the market’s bathrooms leave much to be desired so bring your own toilet paper and maybe even a little hand sanitizer.

The Charminar monument is the centerpiece of the city, and houses both a Hindu temple and a mosque.

… and more

Save your full, post-conference days to explore Hyderabad’s old quarters, first by heading 20 to 30 minutes south of HITEC City to Golkonda Fort (six kilometres west of Hyderabad itself; admission $2.50). The 13th-century citadel was fine-tuned over 62 years and was the seat of the Qutb Shahi dynasty through the 16th and 17th centuries (their domed tombs are nearby). It fell to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1687, and he, believing that there were hidden diamonds and gold there, ripped the place apart. Today, visitors can tour what remains of the stronghold (GPS video tours will launch soon) and take in an evening sound-and-light show projected against the ruins. (Contact Andhra Pradesh Tourism at 011-91-40-2345-1065 for English show times). Chowmahalla (20-4-236 Khilwat; chowmahalla.com; admission $4) is 15 minutes down the road. Built in 1750 (and apparently modelled after the Shah’s residence in Tehran, Iran), its four palaces played host to elaborate parties thrown by the Nizams of the Asaf Jah dynasty. The Grand Khilwat (or Durbar Hall) is its pièce de résistance: 19 Belgian chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling. Slightly north of the palace is the Laad Bazaar (for more shopping and to experience the real hubbub of the city) and the Charminar monument (admission $2). Built in 1591 by the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty to honour either his wife or a promise he made to Allah in exchange for keeping the city safe from plague, the imposing Islamic-style landmark features arches, domes and four minarets. Most interestingly, the centrepiece that is the heart of Hyderabad includes both a mosque and a Hindu temple too. For more on travel to the region, consult Andra Pradesh Tourism (aptourism.in) or Incredible India (incredibleindia.org).

Arteki/Shutterstock.com

This old Hyderabad

Indeed, Cyberabad has, for many, become the new Bengaluru. This December, it’ll be big with MDs too

THE CONFIDENCE OF EXPERIENCE. Rx

NORVASC has been helping physicians treat hypertension in Canada for 19 years.

NORVA SC 5 mg o.d .

Today, the Continuity of Care§ Program allows patients to continue receiving their original NORVASC at no extra cost* vs. the generic. Along with the Best Life Rewarded† Program rewarding healthy behaviour, our commitment carries on.

§ This program is currently available in all provinces except for Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. To obtain Continuity of Care cards for your patients, visit itrialrx.com or call 1 866 794-3574. * Refers to the drug acquisition cost; dispensing fees may vary.

NORVASC ® Pfizer Products Inc, owner/ Pfizer Canada Inc, Licensee Product Monograph available at: www.pfizer.ca

NORVASC is indicated in the treatment of mild-to-moderate essential hypertension and for the management of chronic stable angina in patients who remain symptomatic despite adequate doses of beta-blockers and/or organic nitrates, or who cannot tolerate those agents. Most common adverse reactions for hypertension are edema (8.9%) and headache (8.3%); for angina, edema (9.9%) and headache (7.8%). Rarely, patients, particularly those with severe obstructive coronary artery disease, have developed documented increased frequency, duration and/or severity of angina or acute myocardial infarction on starting calcium channel blocker therapy or at the time of dosage increase. The mechanism of this effect has not been elucidated. NORVASC is contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to the drug or other dihydropyridines and in patients with severe hypotension (less than 90 mmHg systolic). Please refer to NORVASC monograph for full information about dosing, warnings, precautions and adverse reactions. Norvasc Product Monograph, Pfizer Canada Inc., June 2010.

See prescribing summary on page 129 xx in Doctor’s Review September