Hyderabad

Also known as The City of Pearls, Hyderabad is ranked nineteenth in the world by The New York Times in The List of 41 Places to go in 2011. The city houses Microsoft's biggest R&D facility outside theUSA. In addition to the IT industry, various biopharmaceutical firms have their operations in Hyderabad owing to its established public sector in Life Science Research and Genome Valley. It is also home to the Telugu film industry, known popularly as Tollywood, and is famous for its national level Urdu mushairas. Hyderabad has developed a distinctive culture which is a mixture of Hindu and Muslim traditions. Pearls, silver, silk saris, Nirmal and Kalamkari paintings and artifacts, unique bidri handicrafts, lacquer bangles studded with stones, silk, cotton and handloom are unique to the city and every shoppers delight.