Hyderabad is the rapidly growing
capital of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Roads are
being widened, new apartments and shops are coming up every day. One
striking aspect of
the city for visitors are the sign boards on street lights, stores and
restaurants. Compared to most cities in India, signs in Hyderabad are
mostly in English. I get the impression that this is because store
owners are eager to show that they are moving
with the times. Presumably a sign in Telugu or Hindi is not
sufficiently modern.
Some of the signs are quite entertaining. Most of the photos in this article were taken in 2003. I have included explanations of some of the photos for the benefit of outsiders.
(Click on image to see bigger version)
We start with beauty and marriage in the first photo. One presumes that becoming beautiful is a prerequisite for marriage :-) While "Ratna" appears to be a conventional beauty parlor, "Unique" is probably aimed at middle aged men - obesity is definitely on the increase in India. Kaakateeya is evidentally a marriage broker - these are very common in India and Hyderabad in particular. Incidentally, the Kakatiyas were a dynasty that ruled Central India in the 13th and 14th centuries.
(Click on image to see bigger version)
Observe that there are five completely different kinds of businesses in a single building!
Some of the signs are quite entertaining. Most of the photos in this article were taken in 2003. I have included explanations of some of the photos for the benefit of outsiders.
(Click on image to see bigger version)
We start with beauty and marriage in the first photo. One presumes that becoming beautiful is a prerequisite for marriage :-) While "Ratna" appears to be a conventional beauty parlor, "Unique" is probably aimed at middle aged men - obesity is definitely on the increase in India. Kaakateeya is evidentally a marriage broker - these are very common in India and Hyderabad in particular. Incidentally, the Kakatiyas were a dynasty that ruled Central India in the 13th and 14th centuries.
(Click on image to see bigger version)
Observe that there are five completely different kinds of businesses in a single building!
- Dignity Electronics Annexe:
A consumer electronics store. I love the name "Dignity"!
- Apollo: A pharmacy
- Hotel Abhilasha A/C: A
restaurant. confusingly, all over southern India, restaurants are often
called hotels! Any restaurant that offers air conditioning tends to
advertise this fact rather loudly.
- Best Engineers: A training and placement agency for civil and mechanical engineers.
- The Gym World: A gym
probably on the roof top.