A New Tabloid for Hyderabad, Hilton becomes CCD

Hyderabad Gets a New Weekly Tabloid- 'DECCAN POST'
About a decade ago I happened to buy a copy of a tabloid called ‘Deccan Post’. I was happy to see a tabloid then in a scene dominated by daily newspapers and magazines. Unfortunately that was the only issue of the tabloid that saw the light of the day because it did not appear again. On Thursday I chanced upon the same tabloid-‘Deccan Post’ but with a redesigned masthead on the stands. It said it was the ‘Gen Next Newsweekly for Hyderabadis’ and the price was ten rupees an issue.

The production quality of the 36-page was good with a neat layout including color photographs. The content is a mix of local politics and entertainment. I liked the items about the Abids booksellers, the Jeep meet and articles about some things that are fading from the scene in Hyderabad.

Already there are three monthly magazines devoted to Hyderabad and 'Deccan Post' in tabloid format is a welcome addition. At ten rupees per issue it isn’t such a bad bargain but it would be better if there is more improvement in quality of the content.

Hilton Makes Way for CCD
I happened to be near the OU Campus on Saturday and saw that the shutters of Hilton were up. There was some work going on inside- a false ceiling was coming up. I was curious to know if Hilton was reopening in a new avatar but the person in the cigarette stall beside the hotel told me ‘Coffee Day’ is coming up. That was news. Irani Chai making way for CCD/Barista – this is the familiar scene nowadays in Hyderabad.

The tea joints are making way for plush, trendy CCDs and Barista outlets in tune with the changing lifestyles. Nodoubt there are patrons for such places who don’t mind shelling out big bucks for a cup of coffee but where does that leave the ordinary folks who don’t want anything more fancy than a simple cup of tea ? Maybe we should have our tea from the roadside ‘bandis’ whose number seems to be increasing by the day.

Bharat Petroleum’s Surprise on a Sunday Morning
Yesterday early in the morning I had to fill petrol in my bike. It wasn’t even seven in the morning when I rode into the Bharat Petroleum’s filling station- Sai Priya- at RTC X-Roads. I filled in two hundred rupees’ worth of petrol and was driving away when the attendant handed me the day’s ‘Deccan Chronicle’. I thought he was selling it but he told me it was complimentary. I was pleasantly surprised at this gesture. I wonder if it was the initiative of BP or the filling station guys. Whatever, next time I want to fill up my bike I’ll come here early in the morning on Sundays!