HYDERABAD: Haleem is the delicacy of the Ramzaan month. And Hyderabad’s obsession with Haleem has only propounded its popularity. Haleem stalls crop up all around the city during the month of Ramzaan and people can be seen standing huddled in groups till as late as 12 at night, feasting on a hot pot of Haleem. This year however, the constant dispute over the demand for a separate state of Telangana has led to a series of bandhs. While regular trade through the city is reeling under the loss of revenue, Haleem stalls seem to be going along as usual, setting up by around four in the evening and running until close to midnight. Says Abdul Majeed, the owner of Pista house, “Our main restaurant is in the old city. Most of the political disturbances take place in the new city. So the Telangana bandhs don’t really affect us. Also, close to 40 per cent of our customers are not from Hyderabad. Since we keep our stalls open, business goes on as usual.” Places like Hyderabad house, Al Madina Cafe, Pista house, Paradise, Cafe Bahar, Baawarchi, Shadab and so on are the popular joints in the city. Some like Pista house even open outlets around the city to cater to customers who can’t come all the way to their shop. These outlets do suffer a bit on Bandh days. Says Moorthy, who helps manage Cafe Bahar, “These bandhs have been happening only this year. Besides Ramzaan is only for one month. Nevertheless, even when it does affect our business, who can we go complain to? So far, however, our sales are as good as ever. People come in from abroad also. We have clients from America, Australia and even Dubai.”All-in-all, the festive spirit doesn’t seem to be very deterred by the political disturbance. At the end of the day, the steaming serving of Haleem is all that seems to matter.
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