Hyderabad City looks as fresh after a shower of rains as we feel fresh after a bath. The green landscapes of the city look greener, the roads become cleaner, and the air feels cooler. The beauty of the rain-washed city appears as inviting as the crystal-clear water of sea on an exotic beach. Windy mornings, pleasant days, rainy evenings and cool nights during monsoons make Hyderabad a must visit in July and August. Here’s a walk through the things to do in Hyderabad during monsoon based on the inputs shared by NRIs of Hyderabad.

Paddling a racing bicycle along the wavy streets of Banjara Hills is one of the best things to do in Hyderabad during monsoon. Banjara Hills is the greenest part of the city, and KBR National Park spreading over an area of 400 acres is the oasis of greenery here. The sloping roads with swaying boughs of trees on both sides around outside the park deepen the thrill of bicycling on rainy mornings. The city is home to groups and clubs of bicyclers. You can join a group or club to have the company of passionate bicyclers during your stay on monsoon days.

The Hussain Sagar Lake is the pearl of Hyderabad. The beauty of the lake hangs over the surrounding Necklace Road too. Fed by the River Musi, it is an artificial lake with a maximum depth of 32 feet and sprawling over 5.7 square kilometers. The water level swells in the months of monsoon. The boundary of the lake is the most popular hangout for all age groups and in all seasons. Driving on the rain-washed Necklace Road is a pleasure to those who love going out and driving in the rains.

Then, there is Irani Tea to warm up your mornings and evenings in Hyderabad during monsoons. It is one of the things that the city is famous for and visitors must have. The typical Hyderabadi essence distinguishes the taste of Irani tea from that of regular tea. There are many popular Irani tea hangouts in the old part of the city. Though available round the year, Irani tea with a plate of Osmania biscuits is the best monsoon flavor of Hyderabad.

READ MORE Weekend Trips from Hyderabad

The Charminar is the most identifiable icon of Hyderabad. It is also one of the most famous historic monuments in India. The Charminar in the rains is an ideal subject for monsoon photography in the city. The area surrounding the monument is a bustling marketplace, one of the most crowded zones in the old city. When it rains, crowds disperse making it easier for the Charminar to breathe freely. So, go out on a photography spree and shoot the ways of life around the Charminar, in the monsoon season.

Hyderabadi snacks are among the best food to eat during monsoons. Apart from masala dosa, bonda and mirchi bhaji are favorites of the locals. These street side snacks are sold here and there in the city, two times a day – morning and evening. Bites of smoking hot, crispy onion bonda and mirchi bhaji make the joy of monsoon an overwhelming feeling on rainy mornings and evenings.

If you are from Hyderabad, you must fly to Rajiv Gandhi Airport and refresh your memory of the rainy days this monsoon. Discard your worries about current airfares because Indian Eagle is offering the most competitive deals from partner airlines for cheap flights to Hyderabad for a limited period.  

The post Traveling to Hyderabad This Monsoon? Here’s How You can Make the Most of Monsoon in City of Pearls appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The holy month of Ramadan is in full swing. The Eid festival is being awaited with bated breath. Preparations for the celebration, including shopping, are going on at a fast pace across India. Of the Indian capital cities, Hyderabad is overwhelmed with festive fervor right from the beginning of Ramadan.

The festive mood of the city is distinctly felt in the area around Charminar in Old City, the hub of shoppers and foodies during Ramzan. This part of the city has late nights because of a special night bazaar (market) that continues to throb till the wee hours of the morning. The bazaar comes alive with the glitters of bangles, the smell of Haleem, the flavor of Irani chai, the sheen of mehendi, the calls of vendors and the frenzy of shoppers.

Lets have a walk through the night bazaar around Charminar and explore its Ramzan special attractions. Lets start from Charminar to Madina Building.

Lad Bazaar famous for bangles is a favorite haunt of women shoppers during Ramzan. The bangle sellers sit with their merchandise in a row. The glitters of bangles of different colors and designs steal the show with each pair of eyes. If you move a little ahead in Lad Bazaar, the shops selling imitation jewellery will greet you. When Eid is around the corner, Hyderabadis hit the market in the evenings to buy bangles and imitation jewellery for gifting.

Glitters of bangles in Lad Bazaar near Charminar

In a corner of the market, you will be welcomed by mehendiwalis. It is a tradition to beautify the hands with mehendi designs on festive days in India. With Muslim women, the tradition is customary on the occasion of Eid. If you happen to visit Charminar during Ramzan, make sure to get your hands beautified with henna, another name of mehendi.

Besides bangles, jewellery and mehendi, there are many other things on sale that vendors will be inviting you to have a look at. Most of the items are suitable for women’s beauty kits.

Hands beautified with mehendi during Ramzan

Now, lets move closer to Madina Building in Patthar Gatti. Patther Gatti is a shopper’s paradise where you will get apparels for the newborn, children and adults. All sorts of apparels – ethnic, casual, regular and party wear – are available here. Shopping for beautiful crockeries is a pleasure here. Many locales buy new sets of crockeries to serve dishes to guests on festive days.

A festive delicacy to taste on Ramzan nights near Charminar

Hours of walking and shopping from Lad Bazaar to Patther Gatti will surely leave you hungry. With Charminar being cornerstone of Ramzan food culture in the city of Nizams, you will feel spoilt for choice over availability of varied delicacies. A single glimpse of Haleem and Dahi Wada (commonly known as Dahi Bade) – Hyderabad’s most popular Ramzan special delicacies – will make your tongue crave for bites. I am sure; one plateful of delicacies may not satisfy your taste buds.

READ MORE Life around Charminar on Ramzan Days

Ramzan shopping is incomplete without a purchase of Attar. Your olfactory sense will surely catch the fragrance of Attar (perfume) in the air. Popular attars like Jannat-ul-Firdous, Kashish, and Anam etc. are the most sought after perfumes. Attars with genuine essence can be found only in this part of the city.

Genuine attars on sale near Charminar

Hey, the walk around Charminar has not come to a circle yet. From Lad Bazaar to Patther Gatti, and from Patther Gatti to Chatta Bazaar, you have seen bangles, jewelry, clothes, crockery, attar and tasted Haleem as well as Dahi Wada. What is left on the list? Seewaiyyan…

ALSO CHECK Things to Do around Charminar

Let’s step farther from Chatta Bazaar, people sitting with baskets full of Seewaiyyan will be seen. Seewaiyyan is used in cooking the most delicious dessert, Sheer-Qorma, a must taste during Ramzan. Guests are served platefuls of Sheer-Qorma in Muslim households, on the occasion of Eid.

Sheer-Qorma, a delicious dessert to taste during Ramzan

Hope, you enjoyed this exploration drive with Indian Eagle. If you visit Hyderabad at other times of the year, the ambiance of Ramzan nights will be missing from the area around Charminar. However, you will surely feel the typical Hyderabadi essence there. So, when are you booking your flight to Hyderabad?

The post A Walk around Charminar on Ramzan Nights in Hyderabad can be a Lifetime Experience appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

Pilgrimage to the Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh is incomplete without a piece of laddu, the most sought after prasadam at one of the richest Hindu temples in the world. It has been more than 300 years since laddu was introduced in the naivedhyam to Lord Venkateshwara in August 1715. Surprisingly, this sacred prasadam never falls short of demand even during the peak season of pilgrimage to the hilltop Tirumala shrine. In 2018, Brahmotsavam, the biggest crowd-pulling annual celebration at the Tirumala Temple, saw a record-breaking sale of 5,13,566 laddus on a single day. This pre-pandemic sale is still a landmark event in the history of the temple.

The whole-year-sale of the Tirupati Laddu contributes minimum Rs 300 crore to the Tirumala Temple’s annual revenue of Rs 3000 crore on average. Travel Beats, a leading community portal for Indians abroad, shares with you some interesting facts about the Tirupati Laddu also known as Sri Vari Laddu.

The making and distribution of the sacred prasadam in colossal quantities makes an interesting case study for management students. The Tirumala Temple kitchen where a daily average of 3 lakh laddus and other prasadam are made is called Laddu Potu. Equipped with modern amenities, the Potu can produce 800,000 laddus a day. There are three conveyor belts for transferring ingredients from one end to the other. About 10 tons of gram flour, 300-500 liters of pure ghee, 700 kg of cashew nuts, 540 kg of raisins, 150 kg of cardamom, and 500 kg of sugar candy go into the making of the Tirumala laddu prasadam every day.

Interestingly, the Tirupati laddu undergoes rigorous checks on the index of quality, calorie count, and self-life at a dedicated testing lab before making it to the deity as part of the daily naivedhyam. Not just the final product, but also each of the ingredients used in the making of the holy prasadam undergoes multiple quality checks at the lab. It is said that the secret recipe of the signature laddu dates back to the Pallava dynasty that ruled the southern Telugu and Tamil regions for about 600 years (from 275 CE to 897 CE).

The Tirupati Temple laddu prasadam not only satisfies devotees’ yearning for divine bliss, but also supports the local economy. The daily making of 300,000 laddus or more and other prasadam generates employment for hundreds of local people. About 600 people, including 270 cooks, are employed in the prasad-making unit of the Tirumala Temple kitchen that works three shifts spanning 20 hours a day. Some of them are permanent workers, while some work on a contract basis. More contractual workers are roped in to ramp up the production of laddus for an influx of devotees during the Brahmotsavam. Some volunteers from the Vaishnava community come forward to offer free service in the temple kitchen on festive days.

Until before the pandemic, the world renowned Tirupati Temple laddu used to be made and distributed in three categories: the prasadam laddu, the big laddu, and the small laddu. The Tirumala Temple’s Potu (kitchen) used to produce some 3000 ‘big laddus’ weighing 700 gram each and 75000 ‘prasadam laddus’ weighing 25 gram each on a daily basis, in addition to the continued production of 3 to 3.5 lakh ‘small laddus’ weighing 175 grams each. Among devotees, the VVIPs would get one big laddu free of cost. The special ‘darshan’ ticket holders would get the same for Rs 200 each before the pandemic. Rs 170 was the cost of making a big Tirupati laddu back then. The temple authorities would spend Rs 39 for making a single unit of the most sought after small laddu.

Until the end of 2019, the temple administration offered two small laddus at a subsidized price of Rs 10 each to ‘Divya darshan’ and ‘Sarvadarshan’ devotees. A maximum of two extra laddus were available for Rs 25 each. Devotees wishing to take more prasadam home, in addition to the aforementioned quantity, they would have to pay Rs 50 for a single piece of the small laddu. The complexity of making laddus in three different categories, and the subsidized pricing under different ‘darshan’ systems had been incurring an average loss of Rs 250 crore every year until the entire system, from production to distribution, was simplified by removing multiple size categories and differential prices, right from the beginning of 2020.

Also Check: Tirupati Balaji Temple’s New VIP Darshan System

Now every devotee receives the blessing of Sri Venkateshwara Swamy in the form of a Tirupati laddu (free of cost) after darshan of the deity in the temple. In addition to the free prasadam, any number of laddus can be availed for Rs 50 each in the open counters.

The Tirupati laddu got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2009, which prevents sweet outlets of all sizes from selling counterfeit versions of the laddu. In 2013, the Madras High Court banned the sale of laddus with the brand tag ‘Tirupati’ at a Chennai-based sweet store, in an effort to preserve the sanctity of the Tirumala prasadam as it is touched at the holy feet of Lord Venkateshwara being distributed to pilgrims.

In August 2021, the Tirupati Temple administration took a step towards the green future by replacing single-use plastic bags with biodegradable bags for devotees to carry the prasadam all the way back home. There is a dedicated counter on the premises where devotees can buy these eco-friendly bags before moving on to the laddu counters. Made of corn starch at a lab of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in Hyderabad, the bags are not harmful for both environment and cattle. The temple authorities had distributed the prasadam in about 10 crore single-use plastic bags during the period from 2014 to 2019.

In the 2022-23 budget for the Tirupati Balaji Temple, the governing board expects an estimated income of Rs 4000 crore, including Rs 365 crore from the sale of the legendary laddu prasadam, Rs 670 crore from the interest accrued on fixed deposits in several banks, Rs 360 crore from the sale of darshan tickets, Rs 126 crore from the sale of devotees’ tonsured hair, and Rs 1000 crore from devotee’s direct contribution to the hundi.

How to reach Tirupati Balaji Temple 

About 560 km is the distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati. The distance from Bangalore to Tirupati is some 250 km. 155km is the distance from Chennai to Tirupati. Tirupati Airport (Renigunta) is a short flight from Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad International Airports. Tirupati Town is a 15km drive from Renigunta Airport.

The post A Sneak Peek into the History, Production, Sale of Tirupati Laddu: Interesting Facts about Holy Prasadam appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

After reopening the doors of the Yadagirigutta Temple following months of large-scale renovation for INR 1800 crore, Hyderabad is all set to woo visitors with a 216-foot statue of Sri Ramanuja, a social reformer and saint from the 11^th century. Scheduled to be unveiled on February 5 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Statue of Equality is located in a 45-acre complex near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad.

Funded with donations worth INR 1000 crore, the Statue of Equality and the complex are aimed at eternalizing the legacy of Sri Ramanuja’s teachings and deeds. Deemed to be one of the tallest statues in a sitting posture, the Statue of Equality in Hyderabad commemorates the 1000 years of Sri Ramanuja’s birth. The statue is made of five metals – gold, silver, copper, brass and zinc. The idol housed in the inner sanctorum of the complex is made of 120 kg of gold signifying the years of his mortal life on earth. The idol faces a grand meditation hall where devotees can soak themselves in tranquility.

Born in 1017 in Tamil Nadu, Ramanuja was a beacon of socio-cultural, socio-economic and socio-religious equality. Hailing from a Tamil Brahmin family, he was a staunch Vaishnavaite. Being a social reformer, he saved millions of downtrodden people from the harms of discrimination on grounds of lineage, education, economy and gender. Driven by the revolution that had built up on his philosophy that every human being is equal irrespective of caste, creed, gender, and community, the temples opened the doors to those subjugated to inequality, untouchability and discrimination.

The Statue of Equality in Telangana is a brainchild of Swami Chinna Jeeyar, a globetrotting ascetic on the mission of propagating Vaishnavism, Vedic wisdom, religious tolerance, non-violence, joy of sharing, and power of equality. He laid the foundation stone for the statue dedicated to Ramanujacharya in 2014. He has been visiting the United States, Europe, Canada, Singapore and other countries since 1994. He has delivered keynotes on a country’s cultural sustainability and students’ role in it at the United Nations. Born in East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh, Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji strives hard to empower the disadvantaged communities with seamless access to quality education, healthcare and other civic facilities.

Some 2700 sculptors from Rajasthan, Madurai, Tirupati, Srirangam, Mahabalipuram and other parts of the country, worked hard to concretize Hyderabad’s Statue of Equality the way Swami Chinna had visualized. The outdoor statue is seated on a lotus base (27-ft high) with 54 petals – which is supported by 36 exquisitely carved elephants. A fleet of 108 stairs runs up to the lotus base from the ground.

The 45-acre complex welcomes devotees with 18-ft-tall standing statues of Lord Hanuman and Lord Garuda at entrance, and features a 42-ft high musical fountain in the sprawling courtyard. There is a grand corridor with larger-than-life statues of global leaders who stood and fought for equality. The complex houses an educational gallery featuring gripping exhibits that walk through the life and journey of Sri Ramanuja. Devotees can immerse themselves in ancient Indian texts, including Vedic scriptures, in a digital library on the Statue of Equality complex. There is also an Omnimax theater where shows will bring alive glimpses of Sri Ramanuja’s life and work through immersive technology.

What is the most interesting about the Statue of Equality is that 108 Divya Desams – the temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and His incarnations – have been recreated here with attention to their architectural details and ornate beauty. Those who cannot visit any or all of the 108 Divya Desams across the country can pay their regards to and seek blessings of Lord Vishnu and His various incarnations surrounding the Statue of Equality in Hyderabad.

Located at a 15-km drive from Hyderabad International Airport, the State of Equality will see the inauguration event span 13 days from February 2 to 14. The 120-kg gold idol of Sri Ramanuja will be unveiled by President Ramnath Kovind on February 12. The 108 Divya Desams in the complex will be inaugurated and consecrated amid the chanting of slokas from the four Vedas. Maha prasadam will be distributed on all days of the inauguration.

The post Statue of Equality in Hyderabad is India’s New Wonder with a 120-kg Gold Idol in a 45-acre Complex for Rs 1000 Cr appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

India is on a temple construction spree aiming to harness the economic potential of religious tourism. These days, temples not only draw pilgrims but also fetch tourists in general. With new temples coming up as tourist attractions, India is all set to redefine pilgrimage as socio-religious tourism.

A 1000-year-old cave shrine in the scenic hills on the outskirts of Hyderabad City, the Yadagirigutta Temple is getting a makeover as grand as the Tirupati Tirumala Temple in Andhra Pradesh. The estimated cost of the makeover comprising wide-scale renovation and expansion of the Yadagirigutta Temple is INR 1800 crore, which is nearly three times more than the cost of the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir in Mathura, the world’s tallest temple under construction.

It is said that the ongoing inch-by-inch and brick-by-brick transformation of Yadagirigutta into a Tirupati-like temple town and spiritual capital is Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s pet dream. A 2-hour drive (60 kilometers) from Hyderabad, the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple of Yadadri is a hilltop shrine dedicated to the half-lion-and-half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Yadadri is surrounded by eight other hills and lush forests.

The Telangana government came up with the plan to develop the Lakshmi Narasimha Swami Temple of Yadagirigutta into into a world-class pilgrimage hub, in 2015. The Yadagirigutta Temple Development Authority (YTDA) headed by CM K Chandrasekhar Rao is at the helm of this multi-crore project. YDTA roped in renowned architects, sculptors and builders from across the country for the historic transformation of not only the temple, but also the temple town.

The government of Telangana formed a special body of advisors including S. Sundara Rajan, an eminent temple builder and Anand Sai, a renowned art director. S. Sundara Rajan, who is the Engineer-in-Chief of the 1800-crore project, has the rare distinction of constructing 4500 temples across India, including the Gopuram at the Sri Kalahasti temple in Chittoor of Andhra Pradesh.

Highlights of Yadadri Temple Complex

The upcoming Yadadri Temple Complex will spread over 14.5 acres on the top of a hillock in Yadagirigutta. The new complex of Yadagirigutta Temple will have seven temple domes (Gopuram) with wooden roofing, including a 100-foot dome which will command views from a considerable distance. A 1,400-acre part of the complex will house tourist facilities including cottages for tourists, a multilevel parking lot for 7000 vehicles, and housing for the temple priests. The construction of the domes was completed early this year.

Notably, more than 500 sculptors have been employed to carve delicate sculptures and designs on pillars in the Yadadri Temple Complex. They are also engaged in carving statues out of stone. The whole temple complex, including the interior and the exterior, has been made of black granite stone as per the temple architecture of the Kakatiya Dynasty in Telangana. Black granite stone has very small pores. The stone becomes strong and hard when milk, curd, oil and other liquids get into pores, according to experts.

A 2.7 km road has already been constructed around the hillock named Yadadri, where the Lakshmi Narasimha Temple complex is coming up, for devotees to do pradakshana (circumambulate), a sacred ritual. Four-lane roads are under construction in the downhill area for smooth connectivity. The project, which was supposed to be completed in 2021, is currently currently getting a finishing touch. Reportedly, 2022 will see the inauguration of the new temple complex.

Explore Temple Trail from India to USA with Indian Eagle 

Besides the Yadadri Temple Complex under construction on the top of the hillock, the downhill area is undergoing complete transformation to be shaped as a temple town. Several different structures and facilities including a lake, marriage halls, food courts, a shopping complex and a bus depot will come up across 2,000 acres in the downhill area. The temple city of Yadadri will get VVIP quarters on a hillock adjoining the Yadagirigutta hillock, and a 25-acre horticulture park where different flowers will be cultivated for daily puja at the temple.

“Once the project is finished, Yadadri is going to be as big as Tirumala, with even better facilities and structures. The footfall will go up from 10,000 to 30,000 a day.” said G Kishan Rao, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Yadadri Temple Development Authority.

With an expected rise in the number of daily visitors, the annual revenue of the Yadagirigutta Temple is likely to shoot up from INR 80 crore per year to INR 200 crore per year, according to the temple authorities. The critics of Telangana government opine that it is next to impossible for Yadadri Temple to make even 10% of the Tirumala Temple’s annual revenue which is an average of INR 2600 crore.

However, there is no doubt that the Yadadri Temple Complex and City project, once completed, will trigger a commercial boom in and around Yadagirigutta by catapulting religious tourism to new economic heights.

How to Reach Yadagirigutta or Yadadri Temple from RGI Airport   

Yadagirigutta is some 92 km from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad. It can be reached via road from the airport and by train from the city. Many foreign tourists, pilgrims and NRIs rely on Indian Eagle for cheap flight tickets to Hyderabad International Airport.

The post Yadadri: A Tirupati-like Temple Town is Coming up near Hyderabad for INR 1800 Crore in 2022 appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The 13^th century Ramappa Temple journeyed from being listed on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2019 to having become India’s 39^th World Heritage Site. The 44^th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee conferred the heritage status on the 800-year-old Ramappa Temple of Telangana yesterday, July 25. Originally known as the Rudreshswara Temple and located about 200 km from Hyderabad, India’s latest UNESCO World Heritage Site is unique to the great Kakatiya culture and heritage.

Picture Credit: Wikipedia.org

With Ramalingeswara Swamy being its presiding deity, the Ramappa Temple is a religious site with historical attributes among the most popular Lord Shiva shrines across the country. It stands tall in the walled complex of Kakatiya Temples and Gateways, as a living testament to the era when the Kakatiya dynasty flourished across most of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, southern Odisha and eastern Karnataka from 1123 to 1323 CE. It is said that the temple took 40 years to be built.

Interesting things to know about Ramappa Temple

The Ramappa Temple, India’s 39^th UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a time-tested manifestation of the Kakatiya architecture and technology. The pillars placed with mathematical precision on a 6-foot high star-shaped platform support the roof, the bricks of which are so light in weight that they can float on water. The most amazing fact is that the pillars when tapped in certain places churn out musical notes to the surprise of visitors.

The foundation laid using sandbox technology early in the 13^th century helped the temple survive a massive earthquake in the 17^th century. The enigmatic technology continues to baffle scientists to this day.

Specific to the Kakatiya art known for delicate carvings, mythical animals, mythological figures, musicians and female dancers are intricately sculpted on the pillars, walls and ceilings of the temple. The sculptural carvings, though a little worn due to the decaying effect of time, do never cease to mesmerize historians, archaeologists, sculptors, and tourists in general. The universal appeal of the monumental architecture is still intact.

Captivated by the sculptural magnificence of the Ramappa Temple, Marco Polo, a European merchant and explorer who visited the Kakatiya Empire during the reign of Rudrama Devi, a warrior queen, remarked, “Ramappa Temple is the brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan,” in his book titled ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’.

Located amid fields, hills and monsoon streams in Palampat, a small village near Warangal in Telangana, the temple was named after its chief sculptor Ramappa. Most probably, this is the only South Indian temple to have been named after its craftsman. Telangana’s Ramappa Temple is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for being an “exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition, which is living or which has disappeared.”

The post Amazing Things to Know about India’s Newest UNESCO World Heritage Site: Telangana’s 800-Y-O Ramappa Temple appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

A 21-month-old child named Aadith Vishwanath Gourishetty has joined the elite club of prodigies from the Indian state of Telangana. Hyderabad, home to the second Silicon Valley in India, has given the world some of the best talents, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and the world’s fastest human calculator Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash. Telangana came to the global media spotlight when 20-year-old Neelakantha won the gold medal in London’s Mind Sports Olympiad, broke ‘Human Computer’ Shakuntala Devi’s record, and earned the title “World’s fastest human calculator” this August 2020.

Picture Credit: Facebook

21-month-old Aadith Vishwanath Gourishetty from Karimnagar, the city of granites in Telangana, has made it to the World Book of Records for his extraordinary memory skills. Before earning international recognition, he secured his name in the Indian Book of Records and the Telugu Book of Records. While kids of his age listen to grandparents’ lullabies and watch nursery rhymes on the Internet, Aadith is strengthening his cognitive abilities.

At this tender age, Aadith can easily identify birds, animals, fruits, flags, colors, body parts, English alphabets, household appliances, professions, logos, among many other things by just seeing their pictures. The toddler’s grandparents were the first to discover his natural ability to recognize pictorial objects from images. One day they noticed him identifying images of gods and goddesses with no difficulty. One evening when he was sitting beside his grandmother in the puja room, he readily recognized the deities, including Venkateswara Swamy and Sai Baba. He effortlessly recollected the names of various gods several other times.

Then, Aadith Vishwanath Gourishetty’s parents decided to test his inborn memory power. They showed him a picture of the Indian Tricolor. A few days later when PM Narendra Modi was hoisting the flag at Red Fort on August 15 this year, Aadith started giving salutation to the flag while watching the program on television. The moment not only took them aback, but also filled them with pride. They realized that their son was born with sharp memory as an innate quality as he was able to identify the flag only by seeing its picture once.

Aadith Vishwanath Gourishetty, who has earned the prestigious titles – ‘Super Kid’ and ‘Mnemonist Wonder Kid’ – can recognize and recollect 272 pictorial objects from 17 categories. Interestingly, he can identify sounds of animals, complex color patterns, and different vehicles from their shadows.

His parents started showing him the national flags of other countries. Aadith did not disappoint them. He effortlessly could identify the flags. It was then his journey began towards securing his name in the Indian Book of Records, and the World Book of Records. “At this age when a child finds difficulty in remembering all his toys, Aadith could recognize the flags and logos, a task which is tough for even for adults,” Aadith’s mother Snehitha told ANI.

“Early in 2020, 5-year-old Aashman Taneja from Hyderabad set a Guinness World Record. This extraordinary Taekwondo player is a USA World Open Taekwondo Silver medalist too. He earned the Guinness World Record for making more than 1200 full-contact knee strikes nonstop in one hour. Indeed, Hyderabad is a cradle of prodigies,” said the Editor of Travel Beats, a leading overseas Indian community portal.

This story is part of our continued effort to promote achievements of Indians in USA, at Travel Beats – a subsidiary of Indian Eagle Travel. Subscribe to our free newsletter for latest community news, exclusive stories, US immigration policies, and first-hand US-India travel updates.

The post This 21-month-old is an Indian Prodigy of Global Fame. He Makes it to World Book of Records appeared first on Travel to India, Cheap Flights to India, Aviation News, India Travel Tips.

The season of Haleem is back to Hyderabad with the holy month of Ramadan which commenced on May 5 this year. Hyderabad celebrates the season with its cosmopolitan populace every year. Haleem festivals are organized at different places in the city. Last year, the city’s brand restaurants including Pista House, Paradise, Sarvi, Shah Ghouse, Shadab, and Bawarchi treated the natives and the expats to the authentic taste of Haleem garnished with nuts and raisins amidst soulful notes emanating from a live Ghazal concert, which lent a feel of the Arabian ambience to the venue, Shilparamam, the handicraft village market. The season of Haleem in Hyderabad is the season of culinary bliss for foodies.

Why do the foodies in Hyderabad go gaga over Haleem during the Ramzan month? Why does Haleem in Hyderabad rule the taste buds? We at Travel Beats explore when and how the City of Nizams developed a bond with Haleem.

If the origin of Haleem is traced, it is found to be an Arabian dish. Hyderabadis owe their love for this festive delicacy to the Arabians who introduced it when the Nizams were in power. Mehbub Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of the then Hyderabad Princely State, added the Arabian dish to the royal menu. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, made Haleem a part of the traditional Hyderabadi cuisine. Then, Saif Nawaz Jung Bahadur, an Arab chief from Yemen and a courtier in the regime of Mir Osman Ali Khan, popularized Haleem as an authentic flavor of the city. Then it evolved into a taste of Hyderabad with a blend of local spices and ingredients, which is different from the Arabian recipe.

Ingredients used to garnish Haleem

With the time passing by, Hyderabadi Haleem became a unique delicacy of meat, lentils and pounded wheat. Today, Haleem is as popular as biryani in the city. Much like biryani, it has been integral to the culinary identity and food culture of Hyderabadis for years. It is mostly consumed as an evening meal after the day-long fast in the month of Ramadan. It is available in the market only during the Ramzan month of the year. It was the first non-veg item to be granted Geographical Indication Status for its mounting popularity.

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Hyderabadi Haleem is a great hit with the taste buds of not only the Muslim populace of the city but also the people of other communities. A high-calorific and nutritive dish, Haleem is the most common thread of harmony among several different communities in the social fabric of Hyderabad.

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Post the US elections 2016 and the rise of Donald Trump to the supreme Presidential power of America, India witnessed the birth of a new human god. Before and after Trump ascended to the hot seat of US President, some sacred Hindu rituals including yagna (holy fire) were performed in honor of the newborn god in some parts of India. The new god does even share space with traditional Hindu gods and is worshipped daily in a rural India household. He is none other than US President Donald Trump himself.

While President Trump might have invited flaks for his rigorous take on US visas and immigration, his wellbeing is prayed for and his birthday is ceremonially celebrated in an Indian village. While he has critics and opponents within and outside the US, he enjoys divine stardom in rural India. The sincerest of all his fans, followers, admirers and well-wishers is Bussa Krishna in Telangana, thousands of miles away from the United States.

A 31-year-old farmer in Konne Village in Telangana’s Jangaon district, Bussa Krishna worships Donald Trump, offers prayers to him and adorns his photograph with flowers, vermilion as well as turmeric every day in his humble abode. He has installed a framed picture of Trump on a wooden altar just as effigies or imageries of gods are reverently placed in most Hindu households. He does also clean Trumpâ€s photograph with milk before worshiping it with an ignited lamp, a ritual called aarti that Hindus perform for gods and goddesses.

What made Bussa Krishna attribute divinity to Donald Trump and worship him became a universal question when it grabbed social media attention and made headlines the world over.

Worshipping eminent political figures is not an uncommon phenomenon in India. In addition to memorials and museums, brick and mortar temples have been consecrated to political personalities like former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, and Mahatma Gandhi. Even Sonia Gandhi, former President of Indian National Congress, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been idolized for worship in temples built for them. Political pilgrimage is an emerging trend in India.

Not only politicians but some actors and cricketers are treated as demigods by common people, especially in the southern states of India. A new Narendra Modi temple with a 100-foot idol has been proposed for Rs. 10 crore in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Surprisingly, Telangana’s villager and farmer Bussa Krishna does not know much about the US President Trump. Far from the most common act of political sycophancy, he admires and worships Trump out of his simplicity, values and faith in Trump’s invincible leadership. Media quoted him saying, “I only know that he is the strongest invincible leader in the world. What I liked about him was his bold attitude.”

Another reason why Bussa Krishna revers Trump as a god is his steadfast belief that his prayers to the US President would reach Americans one day and make them understand the ‘greatness of Indians’ post assassination of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer from Telangana, in Kansas City. Krishna was deeply pained at the unjust murder of Srinivas Kuchibhotla in an abominable act of hate crime. He believes,

“Indians can win over anyone with their spiritual powers. When you cannot take on a mighty person directly, you can win over him with love and worship and that is what I am doing.”

When he was being laughed at for his efforts to reach out to Donald Trump thousands of miles away from India, social media saved him from being an object of ridicule in public. Some of Trump’s fans in the US responded to Bussa Krishna and thanked him on Facebook. One of the Trump supporters wrote to him, “I am glad to see that there are people like you who recognize what a great President we have.”

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Hyderabad reached a milestone in infrastructural development, with the spectacular inauguration of the much-awaited Hyderabad Metro Rail today (November 28, 2017). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the 30km stretch of the total 72km Hyderabad Metro Rail network. The 30km stretch from Nagole to Miyapur via Secunderabad, Ameerpet and Begumpet will be open for public use from November 29 onwards.

The inauguration of Hyderabad Metro Rail is a heartening sigh of relief from traffic trails which choke the city life during peak hours of the day. 57 trains having three coaches each will be running along the 30km stretch from 6 am to 10 pm for initial days. The Hyderabad Metro Rail schedule would be changed to 5.30am-11pm following an increase in traffic and demand. Each of the metro train coaches can accommodate 330 passengers. More coaches would be added to each of the 57 trains if daily traffic increases.

If you are a visitor or a daily commuter in the city, you should know certain rules and regulations before riding the metro. The following Hyderabad Metro Rail rules and regulations are to be strictly followed:

The permissible weight of luggage is up to 40 kg per passenger, but charges will apply if one passenger’s luggage weight exceeds 10 kg. The allowance is one rupee per kg beyond 10kg of luggage. Gunny bags of rice or wheat are strictly not allowed at Hyderabad Metro Rail. Metro riders can carry proper travel bags measuring up to 65cm in length, 45cm in breadth and 25cm in height.

Hyderabad Metro Rail tokens (tickets) are valid for only 30 minutes from the time of purchase. If a passenger takes more than 30 minutes to be on the platform from the time he purchases a token, the token will be automatically cancelled without any refund. Entry to the metro train will be denied to the passenger without a new token. The premises including platforms are under surveillance 24 hours.

Only smart card users or token holders can stay up to 2 hours within the premises of Hyderabad Metro Rail (excluding the platform). Once a smartcard is swiped, the system will automatically detect how long the smartcard holder has been within the premises.  Non-passengers or mere visitors will not be allowed to hang out there. One having no smart card or token will be asked to leave the premises immediately or pay a fine.

Those who are not daily commuters can avoid long queues to the ticket counters during peak hours. A metro staff member with a Portable Ticket Analyzer (PTA) machine will be there to issue tokens in hours of rush.

There are three areas – Platform, Private and Public – at each metro station. Public areas are accessible to all, but only Hyderabad Metro Rail smartcard users and token holders are allowed in private areas and on platforms.

Passengers can sit in the metro train compartments depending on seat availability during their journey. Or else, they have to stand while traveling. Those who do not get seats and are not eligible for the seats reserved for women, senior citizens and the handicapped must not sit on the floor of the compartment. Otherwise, the Hyderabad Metro Rail authority may levy a hefty fine on them.

Matchboxes, lighters, petrol, kerosene, gas cylinders, stoves, any kind of inflammable or explosives, knives, scissors, and any kind of objects with sharp edges are among the prohibited items at Hyderabad Metro Rail.

Some Interesting Facts about Hyderabad Metro Rail

The inaugural ride on Hyderabad Metro Rail for PM Narendra Modi, Telangana CM KCR and other delegates was operated by a woman loco pilot today. Over 35 women loco pilots have been employed to operate the metro trains, according to KT Rama Rao, Telangana’s IT minister.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) announced to introduce feeder services for Hyderabad Metro Rail. The Hyderabad Metro smartcard for daily passengers, which was launched last week, would be allowed in different modes of transport in the near future. People would also be equipped with a mobile app named “T Savari” to facilitate transportation for them.

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport may be brought within the Hyderabad Metro Rail network. The feasibility of linking the metro rail to the RGI airport is currently under review.

The second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project includes construction of sky-walks between the metro stations and key public facilities like shopping malls, commercial complexes, government buildings and stadiums. The project may be completed by the end of 2018.

The Hyderabad Metro Rail authority has deployed as many as 546 security personnel from private agencies to man the metro stations along the inaugurated 30-km stretch.

Interesting Hyderabad News: 

• Hyderabad Embraces Wall of Kindness to Help the Poor
• Tirupati-like Temple Town near Hyderabad City 
• Hyderabad to Get New US Consulate General Complex in 2020

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