In what comes as a welcome change, thanks to the pandemic, the parents in Hyderabad have finally realized that it is time to change their children's schools. It is known that the new-age parents send their children to schools that charge exorbitant prices, even for kindergarten. But looks like that is going to change now.With salary cuts and high fees that the schools are charging for online classes, many parents opt for schools that charge lesser fees than the fancy ones. For instance, if a parent was paying Rs 40,000 for two children per term, they are now opting for schools that probably charge Rs 16,000 per term.Due to cuts in perks, many parents are now looking for quality-oriented yet budget schools to help their children get a good education while not being a burden on their purses. Suddenly, the parents question the reason behind high fees for school-going kids.The parents are also trying hard to get the schools to enforce the fee regulation norms but have failed in most instances. Many complain that education is just a business for most schools, and the management is reluctant to slash the fees despite the post-pandemic crisis.It was logical for some parents to take their children off from fancy schools as they had a new addition to the family. According to one parent, he could no longer afford to pay Rs 1 lakh for his son.

Post-Pandemic City Parents Turn To Budget Schools

Hyderabad seems to be having a variety of start-ups, and quite a few of them happen to be around food, given the city’s love for food. While many dream of turning entrepreneurs, very few actually become entrepreneurs. But Srujana Kanumuri, founder-turned-entrepreneur, did what she wanted to do. She is now the proud mind behind FoodHosts.Incidentally, Srujana had a background in culinary arts, and when she returned to India after doing her masters in Canada, she decided to start FoodHosts. In fact, FoodHosts is a new food tech start-up that connects local artisan Indie chefs to food lovers across the city. As of now, they have a few hand-picked chefs who specialize in unique and authentic dishes from different cuisines.Srujana shares that the concept is quite popular in Canada, and people there love to check out such apps from other countries. So, once back in Hyderabad, she decided to build something of her own, and this led to FoodHosts. The app is unique in the sense that it helps people enjoy personalized cuisine that is apart from what you get online or offline.Presently, one can order through their website www.foodhosts.in, where one can browse for various chefs and their dishes. The whole idea was to provide flavor and a superior taste profile experience. For now, the chefs are managing customized menus for parties of 5 to 75 people. And expect to get a variety of options – be it Goan, Mangalorean, Bohra, Hyderabadi, Rayalaseema, Telangana, and Andhra, apart from Thai, East India, Italian and French cuisines.

Unique App to Connect Artisan Chefs With Food Lovers

Don’t we all like the smell of earth when it rains for the first time during the season or when raindrops touch the earth on a scorching day? Well, petrichor, the earthy scent that is produced when rain falls on dry soil, makes each one of us yearn for monsoons.This love for smell made Shiraz Mehta a self-taught woodworker. To him, the smell of sawdust is intoxicating. In fact, he has spent a decade in Kodaikanal, mastering the various techniques of the woodwork to finally come up with his own.The 59-year-old who started woodwork as a hobby a decade ago has recently started his own Instagram page and launched Shiraz Mehta Studio in Trimulgherry. His furniture and wood artifacts are so sublime that they are a delight to one’s eyes. The beauty of them is such that they take you into a meditative trance.Shiraz has his signature style when it comes to work. He uses intricate, all-wood inlay techniques and marquetry to make artifacts. He explains that in his technique, different pieces of wood of different species are arranged and stuck together to form a single piece that is then turned into a piece of craft. While the final design pattern depends on his mood, he is mostly known for his geometric patterns. Shiraz shares that he can never make two similar pieces.The woodworker sources his wood from all over. He gets Wenge wood from Africa, which he points out is one of the best hardwoods in the world. He gets White Oak from Canada, apart from Black Walnut and Maple. But his all-time favorites are pine and teakwood.

Mesmerizing Wood Craft Is His Signature Style

Hyderabadis love their food, and nowadays, just about everyone loves their selfies. Combining the two interests might sound a tad bit crazy, but this is exactly what Punjabi Haveli Dhaba has done for its customers. The place has an authentic, old-world feel of a Punjabi dhaba, and it’s located in Shamirpet.The place has a colorful ambiance, just like in the movies, and ‘Aao Kabhi Haveli Pe’ is written in bold yellow letters right at the entrance. Well, as we had mentioned earlier, the dhaba offers more than food and a good environment.Usually, a lot of people eat at dhabas on highways. However, there is no good quality food in most places, and of course, the washrooms are not exactly how you want them. To fill the gap, Punjabi Haveli Dhaba was opened around Dasara. It happens to be the idea of Rahul Anand, an RJ-turned-entrepreneur.Coming to the selfie part, the Dhaba has the city’s first selfie museum where one can click innumerable pictures by paying Rs 300 for 30 minutes. And this gives the picture-crazy folks a whole lot of time to take pictures with various backdrops. There are creative backgrounds like a Barbie box which is done up in pink, a millionaire’s bedroom where one will find fake notes all over the bed, London telephone booth, among others. The place has both air-conditioned and normal sets. It also has a mini play area, so the kids are engaged.“I noticed that people eat for half the time and spend the remaining time clicking selfies. That’s how we got the idea of having a selfie museum,” says Rahul.As for the food, the place has some authentic fare like chole bathure, Amritsari kulcha, paratha, etc. But their specialty is surely their lassi glass, which incidentally is the longest in the city.

A Dhaba For Selfie-crazy Food Lovers

They were abandoned at birth and have been taken care of by a hospital. The conjoined twins of Hyderabad – Veena, and Vani – have stepped over all hurdles and are taking their 12th class examinations now.At the center where their exams were held, special arrangements were made for the conjoined twins, but they refused special facilities, saying they wanted to excel through their hard work and merit. They also refused to take any extra time to complete their exam.The invigilator at the center, Aruna, remarked that the twins completed the paper five minutes before time. When they were asked how they managed to write the exam on time, the twins said that they 'write pretty fast.'While some conjoined twins can be separated post birth, many either succumb to medical problems or remain joined like Veena and Vani. In their case, they share some critical blood vessels, which made it impossible for the doctors to separate them.But the twins say they want to become chartered accountants. They want to join a foundation post 12th and do a course to become chartered accountants. However, they share their little secret that they never talk to each other during exams as both of them are competitive.The twins were born to a couple in the Warangal district on October 15, 2003. Their parents could not make ends meet and abandoned the kids. Even recently, when they were asked if they wanted to take them back, the couple refused to do so, citing financial problems.

Conjoined Twins Refuse Special Privileges During Exams

Telangana Government is increasing the number of Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) in the city to make Hyderabad a pedestrian-friendly city. Accordingly, The Foot Over Bridge at the Hyderabad Central Mall at Panjagutta Junction is now open to pedestrians.The bridge was built at a cost of Rs 5 crore by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The bridge was inaugurated on Wednesday afternoon by GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender. Panjagutta Junction is always busy with traffic.It is the intersection point of traffic from Lakdikapool, Ameerpet, Banjara Hills, and Begumpet. The foot-over bridge has been set up here in view of the difficulties faced by pedestrians in crossing the road. Unlike the regular FOBs, this one is stylish and state of art as seen in the pictures here. Similar footbridge bridges are under construction at six other places in the city, which are expected to open in 4 to 6 weeks.
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Stylish, state of art Foot over Bridge (FoB) at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hyderabad?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Hyderabad</a> central Mall, Punjagutta being inaugurated today by <a href="https://twitter.com/GHMCOnline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GHMCOnline</a> Mayor <a href="https://twitter.com/GadwalvijayaTRS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GadwalvijayaTRS</a> garu. 6 more FoBs getting ready &amp; will be operational in next 4-6 weeks <a href="https://twitter.com/KTRTRS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KTRTRS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/YadavTalasani?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YadavTalasani</a> <a href="https://t.co/6iVTyYLoyb">pic.twitter.com/6iVTyYLoyb</a>— Arvind Kumar (@arvindkumar_ias) <a href="https://twitter.com/arvindkumar_ias/status/1524222351290019841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2022</a></blockquote>

Much-Awaited Punjagutta FOB Now Open For Public

A helpdesk has been set up at the Hyderabad International Airport for migrant workers who fly abroad for employment. The helpdesk was jointly set up by Telangana Overseas Manpower Company Limited (TOMCOM) and GMR which operates the airport.&nbsp;This helpdesk has been made available to assist migrant workers in their commute from Hyderabad Airport. The Help Desk was inaugurated by Special Chief Secretary Rani Kumudini. Workers from the Telugu states regularly travel from Hyderabad airport to Gulf countries such as Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Qatar, and Dubai.&nbsp;However, due to the fraud of the agents and lack of proper documentation,‌ many people are facing difficulties after going abroad. Unaware of their rights, they suffer big time in foreign countries. This desk will be very helpful in resolving such issues and giving appropriate suggestions.

Migrants Help Desk Inaugurated In Airport

We often avoid keeping cash in our houses. We deposit them in the bank and feel very safe. That is what we have been told by our parents and elders since our childhood. But then, it looks like even the banks are not safe. Cash got disappeared from Bank of Baroda, Vanasthalipuram Branch in the city.&nbsp;Bank officials complained to police that the cashier Praveen had taken Rs 22.53 lakh and is absconding. It said the cashier took the money and fled yesterday afternoon. Praveen, on the other hand, has not been available to family members since yesterday.&nbsp;They say they have no clue about his whereabouts and are claiming they are equally worried. A case has been registered and is currently being investigated as per the complaint lodged by the bank officials. The police department is checking the CCTV footage of the bank and nearby places. His mobile phone is also being tracked to locate him.

Bank Cashier Absconds With Rs 22.53 Lakh Cash

Think eco-friendly mode of traveling; one is bound to think of either an e-car or a bicycle. And Hyderabad is going one step ahead in its Quality of Life Index and is all set to introduce the cycle sharing system (CSS) on a pilot basis at about 20 locations in GHMC’s Khairatabad zone.The civic body says it has decided on the initiative to encourage people to turn towards eco-friendly and low-cost mobility alternatives. For those interested, the scheme will involve providing cycles in a closely spaced network of fully automated stations in which users can check out cycles at one station and return them to any other station in the network.Already, GHMC has invited proposals to develop, design, procure, install, operate and maintain the CSS at various locations in the Khairatabad zone. Alongside rolling out CSS, dedicated cycling facilities in the Khairtabad zone will be provided for 20 docking stations that will be accessible to the public, and each station will be within the range of a 2-3 kilometers of radius.The Hyderabad Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) system will be connecting key modes of public transport, including Metro stations and bus stations.

Connecting Khairatabad Zone via Cycle Sharing System

BYOB – Bring Your Own Belly – event that was organized at the Hitex Exhibition Centre In Madhapur was a huge hit with the youngsters of the city. At the first flea, food, and fun market of the season, people could be seen enjoying the ambiance despite the severe heat.The market had 150 food stalls, photo booths, a play arena, and more. Also, it was a pet-friendly event, so one got to see cute furry ones all over the place enjoying their day out. They also had a pet meeting place, which speaks of the popularity of such events with pet parents.BYOB was the perfect opening for the season as people totally enjoyed the drinks, food, games, and laughs, more so because it was a one-of-its-kind event after two years of pandemics. And when it comes to food, Hyderabadis are surely food lovers, and they binged on everything from ice golas to biryani. Also, the place gave the start-ups in the food and fashion domain a good platform to showcase their products.The place had something for all: jewelry, bags, footwear, stationery, lifestyle, and accessories. Shoyu and Frykiki were attention grabbers when it came to food, while there were a good number of bakers who satiated those with a sweet tooth.Local bands like Capricio and Rival Mob performed there, apart from artists like Lojal, Saachi, and Peekay. There were a couple of photo booths where families, couples, and friends got their keepsakes clicked with donuts, pineapples, burgers, and paper flower stalks as props.The place also had kiosks for guests to sit and enjoy food and music. In all, BYOB was just what the city needed.

Bring Your Own Belly: A Huge Hit With City’s Youngsters

In a bid to make Hyderabad a Global City, the Telangana Government, Formula E, and Greenko have signed a Letter of Intent to make Hyderabad a candidate host city for&nbsp;ABB FIA Formula E World Championship&nbsp;scheduled to be held between 2022 November and February 2023.&nbsp;If the city is given an opportunity, it will join the elite club of New York, London, Berlin, Rome, and Seoul which have already been hosting the event.The Federation of Internationale de Automobile holds the annual racing event for the most environmental-friendly cars. While this doesn’t guarantee Hyderabad a spot on the calendar, it is the first concrete step towards making an Indian Formula E race a reality. MA&amp;UD Minister K Taraka Ramarao took the initiative and ensured that it happens.Anand Mahindra's team is already a participant in the race and has been trying to bring India into the Formula E circuit. The team has suggested metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru besides Hyderabad. The Formula E representatives have already visited the cities and gave in-principle approval for Hyderabad, sources say. Unlike F1 races, Formula E will not need separate tracks and the racing would be done on existing city roads but they have to be widened a bit.The Government had taken the Formula E team to the Hussainsagar circuit of Tank Bund and Necklace road, the circular road around KBR Park in Jubilee Hills, and the financial district road in Gachibowli. We will have to see if this will be a reality for Hyderabad.