Celebrating 425 years of Hyderabad: Young or old, the city is ours

The city of pearls may not be perfect, but many agree that there is a certain charm to it that makes it unique. Both, people who are originally from here as well as those who have moved to this place and settled here, have an opinion on what makes Hyderabad so special, apart from the usual food and good natured people.

Lived in the US, but heart is in Hyderabad: Adivi Sesh, actor
I  was born in Hyderabad but grew up in the US. I moved to India five years ago. Since then, I have travelled all around the country but by far, Hyderabad has been the most livable city for me.

The infrastructure is designed beautifully and there is no congestion. When I first came here, the Jubilee Hills checkpost didn’t even have a traffic light. The metro is coming in for us a lot earlier than it did for other cities.

A lot of other places were developed completely before the metro work started. Whereas, we are still developing and we have already incorporated the outer ring road and the metro into our structure. So, for somebody from the US, it is nice to see modern amenities done the right way, along with the culture being retained.

Unique topography: Suresh Babu, producer

I  was brought up in Chennai and was working there. As a Telugu, I wanted the Telugu film industry to shift to Hyderabad. My father (D. Ramanaidu), the government, and others from the industry wished the same. So, in 1986, I moved here. I disliked the humidity there. I felt Hyderabad would be the perfect place.

The city  is special because you can actually see the stark difference between the old city and the new city. The lifestyle, the dressing, everything still has the old charm to it. Apart from that, I think Hyderabad is one city with a great view.

I can see the Gachibowli area from one window and Golkonda Fort from the other. No other city has the kind of variation in topography that we have. We have hills, ponds, and plains, all in one city — I think that is unique to Hyderabad.