It is hardly surprising that Hyderabad, the friendly capital of Andhra Pradesh, is an intriguing city; it was the centre of one of the world’s richest dynasties. In a place where gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and envious fellow rulers were all plentiful, the Nizams of Hyderabad were rich beyond wildest imagination. The last in the long line of these ultra-wealthy royals ended up moving to Western Australia and buying a sheep station near Kalbarri before moving on to Turkey after he lost his fortune.
That Hyderabad is a cosmopolitan city is well known. Historically, no less than five major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism, and Christianity) have held sway in Hyderabad and leave their traces to this day. Hyderabad’s main sights are reminders of this grander era. Charminar (char=four, minar=towers) is the city’s most famous landmark, a building-monument stretching to the sky in the middle of a broad plaza.
It houses a mosque and an observation terrace, enabling visitors to take in the swirl of vehicles and humanity below. The nearby Mecca Masjid is adorned with Belgian crystal chandeliers and is one of the largest mosques in the world. Eight kilometres west of Hyderabad lies the ruins of Golconda Fort and the neighbouring Qtub Shahi Tombs, bearing witness to the grandeur of times past. The grounds of both make for excellent exploration and can easily induce visitors to spend hours strolling among the architectural splendour.
Beyond city borders Ramoji Film City, a working film studio, offers tours of its grounds. India’s enormous film industry is the largest in the world and visitors without film careers of their own can pretend to have one here at Film City. If it’s too hot to be outside, head to another ‘world’s largest’ at Snow World, the world’s biggest indoor snow park, back in town near the Marriott Hotel. Also close to Marriott is the 17-metre statue of Buddha sitting on its own island in Hussain Sagar Lake, Hyderabad’s defining water feature. The statue is most beautiful at night in soft illumination, best seen from the lakefront promenade.
In Hyderabad, the Australian-managed Marriott hotel is the place to stay. Rooms are immaculate, service impeccable, and location superb. Marriott is home to two excellent restaurants and takes the worry out of sampling the local fare; the attractive staff and their dazzling smiles will have you coming back for seconds. More luxurious still is the amazing Falaknuma Palace, which used to be one of the Nizam’s personal palaces and still radiates a glamorous aura as part of the Taj Hotels group.
Beyond Hyderabad, the state of Andhra Pradesh offers an enticing array of attractions. Three hours’ drive to the southeast is The Nagarjunakonda Museum, home to an impressive collection of Buddhist art and relics saved from submersion when Nagarjuna Sagar Dam was built in 1965. Another worthwhile daytrip is Warangal to see the ruins of the impressive Hanamkonda (Thousand-Pillared Temple) and the fort built by the cultured Hindu Kakatiya kingdom. About halfway between Hyderabad and Warangal in the village of Kolanpak is a magnificent Sri Jain Mandir (temple) with floors and columns inlaid with semiprecious stones.
Visakhapatnam, universally known as Vizag (rhymes with ‘high zag’), is one of Asia’s fastest growing cities. That used to be a badge of honour, but in today’s world, fast growth is usually equated with dizzying expansion and not enough infrastructure. So far, Vizag maintains a calm civility, immediately noticeable upon arrival. An Indian city with no traffic jams? Almost while Vizag has its share of bottlenecks, they last minutes instead of hours. A stroll around Old Vizag instils a feel for non-tourist India, with quiet streets, abundant smiles, and colourful temples.
If you have never been inside a Russian submarine, what have you been waiting for all these years? There’s one at Ramakrisna Beach. Nearby Kailasagiri Ropeway is a cablecar ride to the top of Kailasagiri more than 300 metres above sea level. There is an extensive park at the hill’s summit; it makes for a delightful getaway, especially at sunset, after which you can make your way down to the open-air theatre at Bayfront at Tenneti Park, where a huge screen offers outdoor entertainment on a bluff overlooking the beach. But don’t go looking for Speedos on the beaches; men are modest in public, less so in private. At the same time, India’s lesbian movement is quite vocal and more visible than any male counterpart.
India is one of the world’s most gaytacular destinations without even trying to be and that only adds to its allure. Happily, there is now a tourism company that creates bespoke tours for LGBT visitors; it is called Indjapink and its charming owner Sanjay Malhotra is a fashion designer who tailors trips to clients’ wishes with a graceful charm that itself is exemplary of the finest Indian hospitality.
That there is even an openly gay tour operator in India at all is a remarkable sign of continued growth of LGBT openness in what can be a conservative society. There is a growing movement demanding rights for long-oppressed LGBT people, and finally the Indian government is taking steps to rectify past wrongs. Beyond the sequins and bare chests, this is what gay pride and Gay Pride are all about.
Make no mistake, though; there is enough colourful pageantry in India to send drag queens back to the wardrobe department frantically searching for one more feather boa. India captures your imagination with its reality as a mindboggling diverse nation and we love diversity, don’t we?
MORE INFORMATION:
www.incredibleindia.org
www.tourisminap.com
www.indjapink.co.in
www.marriott.com
www.tajhotels.com
Robert La Bua
***
