My last post was about my cousin Mohammed's wedding in Bombay, and you got to meet the whacky members of my father's side of the family. Now meet the Hyderabadis. My mother's side of the family resides in Hyderabad, India. She has 5 brothers who run a very successful chain of framing and glass works specialty shops.
Named 'Royal Frames', these shops are spread all over Hyderabad with my eldest uncle's shop situated in the twin city of Secunderabad.
My mom with her older brother {my uncle} Zoher at his shop.
This isn't your regular framing shop. Oh no. These guys are super-creative when it comes to frames. They even use small, waste pieces of frames to turn them into gorgeous gift items such as boxes with compartments, tissue boxes... {picture below}
...and trays.
These imaginative ideas are the brainchild of my cousin Ali, uncle Zoher's son, who manages the shop with his dad and is also a talented photographer.
Ali and I with a photo of his that won him a prize in a city-wide contest.
Me with my aunt Nuzhat, uncle Zoher's wife, who also happens to be my mom's childhood best friend. She was the friend that fell in love and got married to her best friend's brother. And their friendship has lasted through the years.
A painting by my uncle Zoher who's a renowned artist. Talent spills and gushes out of this family like a geyser.
My mom with her younger brother Shabbir, at his shop. If you've noticed, both uncle Zoher and Shabbir have a comical expression on their faces. That's because they're hilarious and are constantly making witty remarks having us laughing our hearts out
Me with my mom's aunt, or 'Phuppi' {Aunt in Urdu}, as she's lovingly called by the whole family. She raised my mother and her blood siblings when my grandmother passed away. The epitome of strength and grace I've known my entire life, she never married because she was raising four children while my grandfather remarried and had children of his own with his new wife. The most amazing thing? She's touching 85 years now and still lives alone, unaided, takes excellent care of herself and has no debilitating diseases. She's the true 'man' of the family.
Portrait sketches of two of my cousins, Batul and Sakina, that I had done several years ago and promptly forgot all about. Batul, who's all grown up now, showed these to me when we visited them. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of them or my other cousins as we were so pressed for time. I didn't even get to meet all of them. :(
Gluten-free gourmet cupcakes gifted by a friend. They got a little smooshed since I carried them in my hand all the way from Hyderabad to my connecting flight in Bombay to Bahrain, but ohmigod were they delish! {And I've asked him to send me some more. Hehe.}
My trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to my favourite book shop A. A. Hussain. This is a tiny book shop crammed chock-full with books on alllll subjects. I try very hard not to drool when I'm in here.
And that concludes all my blog posts about my recent trip to India.
Regular style and outfit posts coming up soon! xxx
Thanks Shabana for this post.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I saw word "Hyderabad" in the title, I clicked the link, and I'm pleased I did so.
The nostalgia took over me.
The smiling faces of my cousins, Zoher bhai Shabbir bhai, Nuzhat bhabhi and my Khala Jaan Kulsum Maasi reminded me of those long summer vacations I spent with them in Hyd'bad. Those were the most wonderful days of my childhood. I had learnt a lot from them. Their grace, hard word, dedication still inspires me.
My Nanaji Taher ali Bhai with the help of his son (my Maamu Jaan) Mulla Tayyeb ali setup this empire of Royal Frames & Glass. This started with a humble little shop at Royal Frames (https://www.google.co.in/search?q=Royal+Frames+Hyderabad), and now has 5 branches in twin city.
I used to play at the workshop behind Sultan bazar shop and learnt so much from Shabbir bhai. At the shop when customers were around he was so attentive and sincere, and the moment they left he would crack a joke or pass a hilarious comment.
Many a times i thought as a child that Kulsum khala jaan is too harsh on us, but as I grew up and noticed that she is the most caring and affectionate for us all, I developed great respect for her.
I have so more to say but don't have words to express my respect and heartfelt feelings for these nice and hard working family.
Thanks again, Keep in touch.
Hi Moiz bhai! Thank you so much for the comment! I'm glad it brought memories of back good times for you!
Delete