Big Bazaar, Tarnaka is attracting crowds in the locality though it started very recently. It is a four level mall, located on the main road of Tarnaka just opposite Aradhana theatre. Big bazaar chain is run by the most prestigious, Future Group, which has its branches all over India. Future Group has many branches in the city too. However, Tarnaka is a special one among all of them as it is strategically placed. Tarnaka area never had a big mall prior to Big.

Big Bazaar Super Centre is a four storied building with valet parking facility. Big Bazaar chain has brands like One Mobile and DJC, which are only seen at Big Bazaar outlets. Mall has both escalators as well as elevator facilities. Mall is very well maintained and it’s on constant CCTV survelliance. Big Bazaar is very well known for some of its interesting stalls like Electronics bazaar, Furniture bazaar and One Mobile Shop.

Personal care, Home care, Cosmetics, Staples, Grocery, Bakery and Confectionary are a part of ‘Ground level’ in Big Bazaar, Tarnaka. This whole level is always found packed with lads and ladies walking in and shopping for personal and home needs. Revathi, a home maker says, “I find Big Bazaar very comfortable to shop because various range of items are available at reasonable cost”. ‘Upper Ground level’ includes Mens’ accessories, Footwear for both men and women, Watches, Sun glasses, Sports accessories, One Mobile etc. Various offers and sales are always there to attract customers. Ramesh, a B Tech student, thanks big bazaar saying, “I would not be an owner of such cool sun glasses with out Big Bazaar”.

‘Level-1′ of Big bazaar is ever crowded because this floor has Exclusive Ladies’ and Kids’ acceessories. Toy and sport goods, Kids wear, Ladies wear, Imitation Jewellery, Books and Music are the main attraction on this level at this Super Center. ‘Level-2′ and ‘Level-3′ include Crockery, Plastics, Utensils, Auto accessories etc. The most exciting Electronics Bazaar is present on these levels. Different brands of various varieties are seen in Electronics bazaar. Music systems, LCD Televisions, iPods, Cameras etc., make people go ga-ga for them. Harish says, “I just love coming to Big Bazaar because the shop appears new every time I visit”.

‘Level-3′ is the best place to hang out because it has Chowpati – Food court, Furniture bazaar, Video games palace, Star Sitara Beauty Saloon etc. Havisha, a working woman says, “I just love having Dahi puri and Samosa at Chowpati”. Chaitanya, a third year B Tech student says “Chowpati offers good food combos, which are really exciting and mouth watering”. The food available is served hot and the range of food price is very affordable. Star Sitara – beauty saloon is very famous for its offers and beauty packages. Anuradha a home maker says, “I just come to Star Sitara for those exclusive packages, which are really worthy”.

Men’s wear is really good and the offers on them are very worthy. Big bazaar is very known for its Wednesday market. Big bazaar offers many attractive gifts for its customers through various programmes. The staff is very friendly and very well receiving. On an average 500 members are employed at the mall. Special offers are available on Personal needs and Home needs sections. Many people just walk in to Ground level and spend hours together to shop because the shop has such a great variety and such a huge range. Prasarna says, “I like to shop at Big bazaar because the shop is too big and has many varieties available”.

Present on the main road of Tarnaka, Big bazaar has many window shoppers, who just peep at the quality and range available in the shop. Abhilash, a young B Tech student says, “When ever I feel free, I just walk casually in to Big bazaar and have a look at the brands and quality so that I can suggest some of my friends when they want to shop”.

On the whole the mall is great! However, it needs to be maintained the same to keep on with its existing customers. More and more interesting offers have to be introduced and facilities like providing drinking water need to be improved.

Having started in the month of December, 2008 HMT Nagar Lake Park has become pretty famous in the locality. The park is present on the Main Road just opposite street number five (5) of the colony. The best thing about this HMT Nagar Lake Park is its location. HMT Nagar is very close to places like Tarnaka, Habsiguda and Nacharam. So, people from all these places along with their younger and older ones come here to take a breather and enjoy the cool breeze. Entrance in to the park is free and the park is open from 5am – 7am in the morning for the joggers. It is open from 5pm – 8pm in the evenings. The park is very well maintained and proper care is taken in maintaining the plants and the saplings. Krishna, a student of seventh standard says, “I love playing chain cut (a game) with all my friends in this park”.

This park has many attractions – just adjacent to the park is a beautiful lake which enthralls every body at the first sight. The lake is also very well maintained. The park authorities have arranged two security guards to take care of the park. The park is maintained by HMDA (Hyderabad Municipal Development Authority – formerly HUDA). Special care is taken in not allowing eatables and plastic inside the park. Sreekant, a student from Aurora Engineering College says, “I would like to spend at least ten minutes of my daily routine in this park just to enjoy the view of the lake”.

Another attraction of this park is -The presence of Lord Sri Venkateshwara’s temple just next to it. The temple is very popular in the locality. Standing crowds are observed during weekends in the temple premises. Now that this park has been developed, people from different places come all the way and enjoy their evenings here. Sarath Chandra, a B.Tech student says, “I come all the way from Anandbagh (Malkajgiri) just to enjoy in this place and have some good food available here”.

“HMT Nagar colony association has taken up many efforts in achieving the park for the colony”, says Sukendar, a local Youth representative. Also the colony residents have put up a proposal of starting a Boat club in the lake. Madhusudan Rao, a resident of the HMT Nagar says that  the park is an additional attraction to the colony, while Siddheshwara Pani Puri stall is already very popular at this place. Ram (name changed) the owner of this stall says, “I market nearly up to two thousand rupees a day”. Also, there are many ice cream and balloon vendors, whose market is nothing less than fifteen hundred rupees a day. Harish, a young engineer says, “The place is awesome and the environment in the park is really romantic”.

HMT Lake Park Credit: Cool Conqueror

The place has now turned out to be a hang out for both young and also the older people. Many of the college going guys and girls have made HMT Lake Park, their chill out place. Also, all the aunties in the colony meet everyday and discuss about their TV serials and tasty recipes at this meeting place. All retired employees of the colony also meet here to discuss the most happening topic ‘Politics’. All age groups walk in and enjoy the environment of the park. Ramesh, a young employee says, “My day starts with yoga in this park”.

Comparable to any other park, HMT Nagar Lake Park is no exception to the love birds. Lakshmi Narayana, a frequent visitor to the park says, “These people are seriously disturbing the environment of the place. Many people, who walk with their families complain about this but no one finds a serious solution to this particular issue”. Sheetal, a student of St.Pious degree college says, “I just love spending my time in the park along with my friends. We just love to have Channa masala at this place”. Vinay says, “This is the best place in the city to view sun rising and setting”.

So guys if bored with busy schedules and heavy work tensions, then take a chill pill and step in to HMTNagar Lake Park to relax, recreate and reload your senses.

Located on the Main road of Sneha puri colony, this place is the most happening one and has die hard fans in the colony and surrounding places. Gopal Chat Bhandar is very popular for Bread Bajji (yummy!) and Aloo Masala Mirchi (very spicy!). The snacks are very well made and served hot. People get really excited eating them and jump out saying that they are awesome. Having started in the year 1994 by a Rajasthani family, this place is very much popular for the snacks made of Bread and Hara Mirchi. Rahul, a young B. Tech student, says that this place is the best ever to have mirchi because the taste is just awesome and the size of the snack is really big, which gets the belly full with just one or two. ”Samosa Ragada is also very tasty”, says Srikant, a friend of Rahul.

Other snacks like Samosa, Pani Puri, Bhel puri, Samosa Ragada, Pakodi, Jelebi etc., also occupy a special place in the menu. Special interest is taken in preparing Bread Bajjis and snacks related to Bread. Prasarna, a pharmacy student says, “I just love having Bread bajji with Meetha (sweet sauce)”. “The food here is really good and the cost is also very nominal”, she adds. Pani puri and Bhel puri are really good and especially Masala puri topped up with onions, carrot, katta (spicy sauce), meeta (sweet sauce), is really mouth watering.

”We normally market up to three thousand rupees a day”, says Ramesh (name changed), the owner of the shop. “Children love having meeta Pani Puri“, says Ram a worker in the shop. Sree ram says, “Samosa here is worth eating because it’s really stuffed with good amount of aloo and tastes better with mirchi”. At least hundred to one fifty customers walk in and enjoy the food at this place.

Sheetal, a student from St.Pious Degree College says, “This place is an usual adda for all the students of St. Pious”. She also says that she just love having lots and lots of Pani puri at this place. Lakshmi friend of Sheetal says that she likes having Bhel puri and Samosa at this place. Another set of girls doing B.Sc from St. Pious Degree College say that they love this place because it is the most happening place in the locality and also because this is the nearest food court to college. Zara, a student from the same college says that she likes having Jelebi and Pakodi as they are not as oily as other delicacies. “Special care is taken in selecting the ingredients like chat masala, oil etc.”, says Ramesh. He also says that very healthy oil is used for preparing the items and specially filtered water is used in preparing Pani Puri. The cost of the food items available at this place varies from five rupees to fifty rupees depending upon the quantity.

“We also receive special orders for items like Samosa, Mirchi and Jelebi”, says Ramesh the owner of Gopal Chat Bhandar. As the shop is present very much on the Main road people just walk in and enjoy the food. Subbarao garu, a retired employee from HMT Company, says that he loves having Masala Mirchi and he chuckles saying, “Pakodi at this place is really worth munching”. Vinay, a young graduate says that this place has now turned out to be a landmark in identifying the addresses. Vinay also says, “I can’t complete a single day of mine without a Bread Bajji from Gopal”. Though the shop is not so big, people park their vehicle in the streets and come all the way to have the snacks.

Ramesh says that many people from different colonies of Tarnaka and Habsiguda come and have food here. They also entertain home deliveries. All the food items including Pani Puri are packed safely and delivered as ordered. On the whole, the food is good but one thing that has to be kept in mind is that these type of junk foods are deteriorating factors to health. So, having them not more than once a week or twice a month is suggestible.

“Oh! Isn’t life a terrible thing, thank God?”. This statement was quoted by an earthling by the name Dylan Thomas. How true its essence is in today’s times! For the average citizen, activity is the norm of the day. We wake up, we slog, we sleep; We roar, we fiddle, we meddle; We spurt, we dream, we conquer; We forget, we fret, we cry; We punish, we pester, we persist, we exist. So lost are we in an imaginary illusion that we, sometimes, curse our relentless endurance. So obsessed are we with our savoir-vivre (social ambition) that we, more often than not, abstain from undemanding pleasures of life. At this standpoint, the inevitable query pops up – ‘How are we to unwind?’ ‘Where do we find solace?’ The inhabitants of Dr. AS Rao Nagar have found an answer.

Mammoth play area Credit: Surreal Gaze

Inaugurated on 8th April, 2002 by the then Chief Minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, AS Rao Nagar HUDA Park (as it was then known) provides an incredible escape from the hustle – bustle of mundane city life. One look at the park shall suffice to satiate your senses and reassure your spirits; the 300 paisa (Rs.3/-) spent for the entry ticket won’t go down the drain. However, the entry ticket is valid only for a 2-hour stroll inside the park, after which, we were told, the watchman would be waiting near the gate to levy a ‘fine’ on the unassuming visitors. Deepak, a frequent visitor quips, “That is mere speculation. The watchman hardly bothers about the duration of one’s stay in the park. There have been instances where my friends and me stayed put for more than 4 hours and never been penalized”.

Significantly, the inauguration of the park signaled the launch of ‘Green Hyderabad Environment Programme’ by His Excellency Mr. P.F.C. Koch, the then Netherlands Ambassador to India. Under the aegis of this program, the onus was on the creation of a number of parks in Hyderabad as part of the ‘Green Hyderabad’ initiative (the number of parks that actually came up is anybody’s guess!). AS Rao Nagar Park is located at a stone’s throw’s distance from the busy Sainikpuri-ECIL stretch, yet, in a serene, dainty surrounding. The park is not as seductive, infectious and prevailing as some of the other famous parks are but it yields an indigenous charisma over the indifferent visitor, who’s willing to indulge in a gracious, soothing paraphernalia.

Figurines as these dot the pool Credit: Surreal Gaze

Lush green cover dots its landscape and the hordes of trees in the vicinity reinforce a hint of calmness. Ramachandran, a visitor proclaims, “I drive down all the way from Warasiguda to spend a placid evening with my family. We throng this park almost every month”. Anali, an engineering student asserts, “My day starts with a stroll in this park. During weekends, I hangout with my friends beside the pool; we squat in a corner and gossip for hours on end. I even catch up with many of my relatives over here”. The park boasts of a gargantuan play area coupled with a skating rink. Anurag, a fifth grader, who stays in the adjoining colony squeals in delight, “I love this place. I’ve been coming here every evening since I was six. My friends and I always quarrel over who should mount the swings first”.

Come summer and the park springs to life; its precincts teeming with activity as people of all age groups flock its confines. Srinivas, who ekes out a living selling ice creams on a push-cart in the park muses, “Usually, I earn around 200 rupees per day. But, during summer season, sales peak and I end up earning around 400 bucks a day. That’s when I reap huge profits”. Conspicuously, loyalists who visit the park frequently decry its maintenance. V.Kameswara Rao, one such resident who’s been frequenting the park since its inception whines, “This place was synonymous for its tranquility and hygiene in the beginning. As time continues to fly, the park is turning increasingly filthy, thanks to the shoddy maintenance of the Kapra Municipal Corporation (KMC)”. Incidentally, KMC owns the responsibility of maintaining and cleaning the place.

Perfect spot for relaxation Credit: Surreal Gaze

When asked for their comments, none of the officials of the KMC opined their views, although, many of them couldn’t be contacted for obvious reasons. Curiously, the person sitting behind the ticket-counter refused either to budge from his seat or allow us into his office! Parks anywhere in the world are notorious for love-making couples and AS Rao Nagar Park is no exception. We actually caught a few couples off guard when we snapped them in the course of our footage. Sheetal, a housewife frets, “I come to this place to pass time with my kids. But, the presence of these couples in every nook and cranny of the park is totally unasked for”.

So, if you stay in Secunderabad or happen to drive down to its environs; if you were looking for that impeccable getaway from the smothering heat and moronic survival, head straight to AS Rao Nagar KMC Park in Dr. AS Rao Nagar. You could wrap up your day sipping cool coffee in serene locales, all the while gazing into the eyes of your loved ones!

Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Puma et al, these are not found there but what you can find there is comfort, style and fashion! Yes, we are speaking about the one and only footwear industry – Nacharam Chapal Factory. Nacharam area is very popular for industries, but there is another speciality of this area and that is footwear. There are nothing less than 65 footwear shops present at this place. People from different areas walk in to the place to get themselves a good pair of footwear.

The owners of footwear shops have formed in to an association. This association is called Nacharam Footwear Association. Saleem Siddiqui is the Joint Secretary of the association and speaking to him brought into light, many interesting facts related to the market. Saleem bhai says, “There are sixty five members as of now in the association and the association is looking after the welfare of the shop keepers in the place. Any controversies in the market are solved in the association meetings”. Association is also taking special care in providing facilities like ESI and insurance to the shops and shop owners. Also, owners association is now planning to open a school for their young children.

Nacharam Footwear Factory Credit: Cool Conqueror

According to various shop keepers, at least seventy five customers walk in to the market and a revenue of about Rs.Twenty Thousands is generated in this market daily. Shop keepers themselves manufacture and sell because of which the prices here are very cheap and comfortable. Saleem tells that on an average when compared to other markets, 40% variation is seen in the prices because of the transport and mediator charges. “Special care is taken in selecting the raw materials and all the materials are imported from various places”, says Krishna, an employee in the market. Anwar an employee of local industry says, “Nacharam is the best place to shop for footwear because this is the place where lot of variety is available at comfortable prices”.

Saleem says, “The market is very popular in the locality and people from many places like Secunderabad, Uppal and Kukatpally come all the way and shop for slippers, sandles, boots, shoes, socks, polish and what not!”. “Everything related to your feet is available here”, says Rehman, another shop keeper.

Customer is God Credit: Cool Conqueror

Special shoes are designed and manufactured for the physically challenged people and specially designed matching foot wear is also available in the market. Special care is taken in designing the bridal wear and shoes are specially designed for people who possess uneven sizes. Market also receives bulk orders from various industries for safety shoes and special wear for the workers. The range of sandles available in the market varies from Rs.150 to Rs.500 depending upon the quality and in the case of shoes the range is from Rs.250 to 1000 bucks.

Special care is taken in designing heels and sandles for ladies. There are also special shops available exclusively for ladies and kids wear. Funky offers are introduced in order to attract the customers during the seasons. Special offers like ‘one pair of socks free with a pair of shoes’ are always there in the market during ‘back to school’ season.

Rahul and Vinay two friends pursuing their graduation say, “We would prefer purchasing at nacharam than any shop because the quality is too good and the prices are very much affordable”. Saleem also says that this market has constant customer flow. People from different colonies like military campus and Alcazar come all the way hiring buses and shop at this place. Around 75% of Osmania students shop at Nacharam.

Footwear shops in Nacharam Credit: Cool Conqueror

Nacharam chappal factory is a very good source of employment too. Two hundred members are filling their bellies with the help of this market. Both men and women are present and share their work. On an over all view if comfort and cost is taken in to consideration keeping brands and brand names aside, Nacharam chappal factory will be a better place to shop for footwear. Shop keepers here are very cordial in receiving the customers and providing them with the best available in the market.

A perfect footwear haven, where one must go!

Twists ‘N’ Turns! For all those who’ve dreamt of being a part of one of the best dance institutes in the city, and have backed out considering the cost factor..! Here comes the best place for u to be… “Twist ‘N’ Turns”, Secunderabad, one of the very few dance institutes based completely in Hyderabad. This famous dance institute was started in 2006 by Aaryan, a guy with great passion and drive for dance! It was a lone adventure for this young man, who was an instructor at Shiamak’s for more than 5 long yrs! Now isn’t that reason enough for being able to start off on his own!? Yes indeed!

The first branch was opened at Ranigunj which is now the main office cum studio. The first batch to blossom consisted of more than 25 students and Aaryan was the only instructor. Well then the thought struck, of training these students to be co-instructors and the instructor- training program started right away! This was a great strategy to grow the institute so that more number of students could be trained. The first batch included the present instructors Karthik, Chaitanya, Nitika, Abhilash etc.

Abhilash a B.tech student of CMR college while sharing his views about the institue says, “T ‘n’ T has proved to be one of the best dance institutes for sure as it has bagged lot of awards and offers in the recent past. The people who come in with lot of expectations never leave disheartened, or atleast i never did!”. Right now they have more than 15 instructors working around different centers and also co-instructors assisting them, as told by Aaryan. The main targets or rather say the ‘focus group’ of this institute is not the high profile crowd but the middle class people, and the fee structure is accordingly designed. For a beginner’s level the fee is not beyond Rs.2000/-. The focus is not inclined towards certain age groups as people of all ages are entertained depending on their interests.

‘Twists ‘N’ Turns’ has various other branches at Sainikpuri, Narayanguda, Begumpet, Jubilee Hills, Begum Bazar, Banjara Hills, Abids, Dilshuknagar, Kukatpally etc. Generally, certain auditoriums, halls, schools, health clubs are hired as venues for these classes. The count of students trained till date is beyond 5000… Wow!!!

The institute organizes two shows per year: ‘Spirit of Summer’ and ‘Spirit of Winter’.These are among the main events organized by this institute. Students participating in this show are awarded certificates at the end of the show which they consider is of great value. And here comes the biggest event ‘DREAMS’ the annual dance show held usually during the end of the year. Students whose overall performance has been par excellence are selected for this huge dance show. The main aim of this event is to bring to light the various dance forms and the versatility within a dancer of passion!

And that’s not it…War of Dance, another event, is one of the biggest dance competitions in Hyderabad held at Hari Hara Kala Bhavan every single year. Participants from various colleges, other dance institutes are also entertained. Winning an award here is quite a prestigious issue. Colleges like Bhavan’s, Loyola Academy have bagged this award in the recent past. Aaryan has been a judge for various other dance competitions around the city, and has also been fortunate enough to receive offers from various movies and reality shows. But yet Aaryan expresses that his only interest is in training and stage shows. This troupe has also performed at the ‘CISM World Military Games’ 2007 at Gachibowli Stadium.

Many believe that Shiamak’s and T ‘n’ T are the biggest rivals in the city, but yeah T ‘n’ T has an edge as it is based completely in Hyderabad, the reason being that the institute has never hired any instrucor or choreographer from any part of the country. All the instructors, co-instructors, including the head of the institute hail basically from Hyderabad.This institute has also helped lot of companies and MNCs, like Microsoft, Dr. Reddy’s, Google ,Dell, HSBC etc., in their annual cultural events.

Mohit, one of the trainees at the institute says, “The institute has been a great help for me to better my dancing skills. I’ve been associated with T ‘n T since the past 3 yrs and it’s quite flexible. I’ve always taken a break during my exams and stuff and haven’t reallly faced a threat of being out of this place of fun!”. Namrata adds to it saying “As I am a student of sciences and belong to the coporate education system, dance was like out of quesion? But it was through T ‘n’ T and its flexible nature that I took my first step towards becoming an instructor and here I stand finally  as an insructor at the Best dance institute in town according to me”.

T ‘n’ T’s instructors Karthik and Nithika also do a show for a Telugu Channel, ETV 2, where they teach how dance can contribute to good health and fitness. The institute is more inclined towards developing the Western Dance Styles like Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock n Roll, Salsa, Modern, Filmy Jazz, Waltz, Cha Cha Cha, disco and on and on and on… but Salsa is one dance form that attracts lot of crowd these days and this includes every age group. This dance form is one of the easiest and is believed to burn calories quicker than any other form.

Finally, “Dance can be more than just a hobby”, says the young man Aaryan, and T ‘n’ T is the best place to make your dancing dreams come true! This indeed is one of the best dance institutes in town.

Find the official blog of Twist n Turns at http://twistnturnsonline.blogspot.com/

For registrations please call: 9290303844 / 9290303855

Yeah, it’s a two-in-one word, but pretty apt. You will know what I am talking about if you go and check out Bank Street in Koti. Bank Street plausibly hosts the city’s best pirated DVDs and VCDs sale. Go to Koti and ask anyone on the road about cheap DVDs, they’ll usher you to Bank street. The entrance of the street is dingy and dirty, but you will be spellbound by the crowd there. You will not generally, even find place to stand. Every shop here owns and sells the latest movies to the most expensive games at the cheapest price. You don’t have to worry about your pocket money because piracy sure is one of its kinds here.

Customers buying CDs at a shop.

People from all over the city come to buy their favorite movies and games. Movies which haven’t released to movies which will not release are sold here. Ask them for any game, literally any game, from the GTA to NFS to Counter Strike, they’ll have it, and you might just buy it. After all who will say no to a CD which costs around Rs.20? You will find your favorite game in a VCD and also with other famous games in a DVD. Each VCD costs around Rs.15 to Rs.20 only and DVDs range from Rs.50 to Rs.80 depending on the number of games it has. You might just get it for a lesser price if you bargain. The most well known shop here is Ambrit where a wide variety of CDs are available. Ambrit is so popular that it even has a branch at the Panjagutta circle. Gowtham, a student says, “ I stay in Panjagutta so going to Koti every time to buy CDs is a pain considering the traffic these days. I buy them here, near my house. It is closer and more convenient. It is pretty cool.” Karthik says, “ Sometimes the CDs don’t work, since they are pirated, but its not that it isn’t worth it. The price is so less that you can always buy another CD.” Some shops even sell Play Station games which is famed by young students and school kids.

The owner of Lakhi Electronics and Games at Bank Street says, “These CDs are all manufactured in China. They import them to us and we sell them at cheaper prices. We get a lot of business.” Sources have revealed that these CDs originally are imported from China but many are manufactured and distributed from Dhoolpet. Torrents come very handy to them, since you find the latest movies and games online for free these days. These movies are downloaded, wrote into CDs and sold to the shops at Bank Street and several other places. Many sites like mininova, isohunt, torrentpond, demonoid, desitorrents, etc are famous for free movie and game downloads. Few sites like torrentpond are tracked online, and users of this site are sometimes booked against piracy. Sites like mininova and demonoid are comparitively safer and have better torrents.

When the police are around, these shops are shut down for a while. After they are gone, they are re-opened and customers flood in. Though illegal, this “pirated lane” is so in demand! So next time you realize you can’t afford your favorite game and want to watch movies at a cheaper price, check out this place. But there is no promising that the CDs will or will not work!