Hyderabad by Walk - Ramzan Walk at Charminar

I had been promising Anjali a Ramzan food walk so when the Deccan Archives announced a Ramzan walk I signed up. It was also the same day that Anjali was coming to Hyderabad for her semester break so it worked out fine. As food walks go it was not just about food but a nice dip into history and heritage interspersed by small stops for food (eating moderately as they said).

The mosque at Darul Shifa

The school

The entrance to Darul Shifa

So Vasu, Anjali, Vajra and me did the smart thing and took a cab to Darul Shifa, the 16th century healing place which stands near the Salar Jung Museum at 9 and joined a sizeable crowd. Sibgat began by telling us that the Darul Shifa football ground was where the Abbas Football Club played and it was one of the first football clubs in Hyderabad. Apparently this was where Syed Abdul Rahim, the Hyderabad player and football coach upon whose life the Ajay Devgan film Maidaan was made, also played. Also he gave us the rather disheartening news that the grounds would now be converted into a Metro station called Salar Jung Museum Metro station. Why can't we leave our grounds alone? Where will those kids play?

Khadeem Munshi Naan

Anyway to our left was the Darul Shifa and in front of us was a Sunni mosque. We walked into the Darul Shifa, which is no more a healing place but houses a school named after Mohammad Quli, and Ashoorkhanas within its premises with a 680 AD relic inside. We wound our way to the backside where we saw a container used to store water - a reminder to the martyrs of Karbala who were not provided water (or some such significance - I didn't pay much attention). Onwards to the lane behind where several small shops operate electrical windings, mechanic shops etc were busy at work despite the late hour and proceeded to view the effects of the Metro project.

Chatta Bazar Kamaan - the first foot overbridge

Entrance to the Dewan Deodi

One of the landmarks that got affected by the Metro demolition is the famed Munshi Naan store which was established in 1851 by Late Mohammed Hussain at the Purani Haveli (known as Haveli Khadeem those days). Since Mohammed Hussain worked as a Munshi with the IVth Nizam, the shop came to be known as Munshi Naan. Anyway, the shop has now moved just a 100 metres away on the road leading to Chatta Bazaar. We stopped for a brief while and tasted warm, soft naans (20 bucks apiece) while the shop owner gave us pamphlets about the shop. They sell Naan and that's it.

Badshahi Ashoorkhana

We walked on past the Chatta bazaar, the Chatta Bazaar Kamaan and ducked into what was probably the Dewan Deodi, the Salar Jung residence which was supposedly very opulent in its day and which completely disappeared and made way for a bunch of shops and stuff. 

Haleem at Shadab

Chai and Khajoor at Bismillah
(check out the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali's pic to the left)

We somehow made our way through the traffic, crossed the road leading to Charminar towards Badshahi Ashoorkhana, where we got some peace and quiet and some standing space. Sibgat explained stuff about the Badshahi Ashoorkhana and we headed off to our next food stop.

An interesting building - no idea what it is

At Hotel Shadab where there was no space to stand, we bought ourselves some haleem and tried it (pretty good) and we got a free coke with it. In all that crowd and mayhem the boy who took the money from me at the counter on the road, somehow remembered that I had paid more and called me back and gave it to me. I insisted that I had not and he kept telling me I had. Since I was so insistent, he gave up and said that "at some point, if you remember, anytime, please come back and take your change". I was amazed he could keep track of that little exchange in all that madness and by the time I was done with my haleem, I realised that he was right, I had paid twice while he returned change once. When I was walking out I tapped him on his shoulder, and he smiled and gave me the extra two hundred bucks. I don't think I will forget that ever. He was so good.

Old buildings in Mahboob ki Mehendi area 

Everyone tried a bit (or more, depending on their inclination) of haleem and then we walked past the mad crowd. The police were constantly warning the crowds over loud speakers that there were pick pockets (or rather pick pocketers) and that we should watch out for our mobiles and hand bags and wallets (and even people I feel). Anyway, we walked across and soon came to Bismillah hotel where we stopped for chai and where Vasu indulged us with some hard khajoor. 

Deewan - For Pathar ka Gosht and other kebabs

Off we went from there and turned off into one of the lanes to the left, which was running parallel to the Pathergatti road (that leads to Charminar). We stopped some place which was Mehboob ki Mehndi, the famous red light area of yesteryear. (Perhaps this was where Mandi the film was shot or at least was made believe to be shot.) I saw one beautiful building that appeared to be a Qutb Shahi structure. Didn't check what it was. We walked on, past the Govind Dosa, ran into crazy traffic jams near Mehboob Chowk and stopped there to try Pather ka Gosht and some chicken kebabs - delicious stuff - at a place called Deewan Chinese, right on the road behind Mehboob Chowk. Apparently he goes Chinese most of the year but serves delectable kebabs during Ramzan. Good stuff.

Charminar at 1159 - the lights on Charminar (behind) went off at 12 sharp

Then we walked around a bit towards a mosque close to Mehbook Chowk clock tower and tried a bit of the dahi bada which I had always been interested in trying but never did. It tastes different. And then we were told we should try to power our way through the crazy crowds in Laad bazaar and head towards Charminar, hope to get to Milan Fruit Juice and some dessert plans etc. 

Can never resist taking pics of Charminar

However all our major plans did not transpire and we ended up at Farasha Hotel which is next to Nimrah Restaurant and much quieter. So we could speak a little. But what was interesting was that the hotel's interior work, made of mirrors and stuff, was designed by the same person who designed the mirror work sets for Mughal-e-Azam. Another chai and we bid goodbye.

The Mughal-e-Azam work

Finding a cab needed us to walk a couple of kilometres down Laad Bazaar, away from the crowds and traffic. The crowds were still surging even at 1 am. Shops were open and doing brisk business. We finally made it back home by 2 am. Tired, but what an experience.