Friday, July 17, 2009

Hyderabadi Limericks!


A famous explorer once reckoned
She’d visit Hyderabad in the Deccan
After just one week there
She was heard to declare
“I find the rest of the world, a poor second.”

Minars, Palaces and Nawabs
Double-ka-meetha, Biryani & Kababs
Pearls and bangles too
Lakes of shimmering blue
“Ah Hyderabad Tera kya jawab!”

Hyderabad, the Pearl of the Deccan
Is a paradise on earth I reckon
Its jewellery, its pearls
Sumptuous food, lovely girls
Each of these independently beckon.

Boti Kabab and Double-ka-meetha
Better than Gajar-ka-halwa & Agra-ka-petha
Biryani sublime, Haleem divine
Shorbha supreme, Murgh Saleem
Whatever anyone serves, we can serve better!

Some seekers come to Hyderabad for pearls
Prospective grooms for marriageable girls
Gourmets flock for food
Far renowned, so good
Small wonder, the traffic here swirls.

Synonymous with Hyderabad, is cuisine
Its Biryanis, Kababs & Haleem
The list is unending
With no end to spending
Add to these, the desserts and the cream.

You can hear the ‘Yemandi’ in Telugu
And the saying ‘Kya hai miya’ in Urdu
The Gujrati ‘Kemchi’
The Sindhi ‘Vadi Saayi’
The word ‘Cosmopolitan’ is perfectly true.

I love Hyderabad from Charminar to Monda
From Moula-Ali right up to Golconda
Of each nook and cranny
Of which there are many
I’m growing fonder & fonder & fonder.

To Visit the beautiful Charminar
And the tempting gullies of Laad bazar
More often we’d go
If only, we’d know
We would find place to park our Car.

Built on the Naubath Pahad is Birla Mandir
There are no words to speak of its grandeur
Lord Venkateshwara’s holy Shrine
Conspicuous from any area in line
Every devotee is granted his wish here.

Hyderabadis are always late
Loosely defining both time and date
You may say, “Oh, please hurry”
But it’s useless to worry
Things will just move at a leisurely rate.

A wonderful city is Hyderabad
A place where few ever work too hard
There is always tomorrow
Today let us borrow
And have fun, for we hold that in high regard.

Hyderabad hai bas ek kahani
Once you have come here & sampled Biryani
You can’t stay away
You’re drawn day by day
By its people, its Khana & pani.

Menus in Hyderabad are unending
On food everyone is over-spending
Be it meats or baghara
Meetha or khara
To one’s palate one is always attending.

When the beautiful bride of Saleem
Made Mirchi-ka-salan & Haleem
He said, “You look good
But this food that you cook
Really makes me want to scream.

Hyderabadi Cuisine is divine
Cause it’s cooked without count of the time
Marinated at leisure
Hand-pounded with pleasure
Ingredients are at their prime.

When you ride in an auto in Hyderabad
It’s like being in a storm or a blizzard
Your bones go clutter clatter
Your teeth they do chatter
If you arrive in one piece you’re quite glad!

On the day when it starts to rain
In a narrow Doodh-Bowli lane
You can swallow a fish
With that magical wish
From Asthma never to complain!

Quli built Charminar in Hyderabad
Everyone thought the King was mad
They didn’t know why
He built it so high
But we are proud of it, Char sau saal baadh!

1 comment:

  1. Hello Mr.Raghu,

    I am looking to get hold of a book called "A Collection of Hyderabadi Limericks (SAMHITA. Rs 125, 204 pages)" , Can you please advise me on where I would be able to find one.

    Thanks,
    PC

    ReplyDelete

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