City charms newcomers

Ask youngsters from other cities whether they would contemplate a move to the city of Nawabs and their first response is, “No Way!” To them a trip to Hyderabad merely means sampling the famous biryani, checking out the Charminar and a tour of the Ramoji Film City before heading home by the first flight.

But to many youngsters who have moved here, the city is now home. It could be the relaxed pace of life or the cosmopolitan lifestyle that marks the cityscape, but with its charm, Hyderabad has shattered all preconceived notions. There’s more to Hyderabad than just Charminar, they learnt after living here.

“When I moved here from Delhi for a job, I was told that people never stepped out after 9.30 pm. But when I came here, I realised that it was the complete opposite. The nightlife is quite happening here,” says Anat Grover, a software engineer.

Austin Vinoth, an engineer with Mahindra Satyam, says he too was pleasantly surprised to discover Hyderabad’s cosmopolitan nature when he moved here from Chennai. “The city has its own culture and lazy Nawabi lifestyle and charm, but at the same time, it is very cosmopolitan and urban in nature,” he says.

Even the language leaves many bemused. With typical Hyderabadi words like kaiko and nakko newcomers find the city’s lingo endearing and amusing. “Being from Ahmedabad, I’m used to a different Hindi. But I seem to have picked up Hyderabadi Hindi, so every time I go home and speak to someone in Hindi they laugh at me,” says Jai Sharma, an engineer with Invensys.

Anat adds that he shocked his mother when he said, “Mummy, aap aisa kaiko karre?” He says, “My mom is a Hindi teacher and she was scandalised by my Hindi. But I love the language.”