Begumpet, until the mid-2000s, was one of the most happening areas. Begumpet Airport, Lifestyle building with Music World, My Home Tycoon, Country Club, Ramada Manohar, Bottles & Chimneys (often featured in Deccan Chronicle Page 3), 10 Downing Street, Coffee day, Green Park Hotel (Club Escape), and ITC Kakatiya(Dublin), everything was centered here.
I also remember software companies like Intergraph, Sonata Software, Satyam Computers, and Virtusa (in My Home Tycoon) operating from this area.
One of my favorite restaurants was Malgudi in My Home Tycoon, with great ambience and very good South Indian food, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala dishes.
Begumpet gets it's name from Basheer Ul-Unnisaa Begum, the daughter of the 6th Nizam who got this land as part of her wedding dowry.
Much before Cyberabad took shape, this was Hyderabad's IT Hub. Most of the early IT firms set up shop here. During the 80s, 90s and early 2000s this was the Madhapur- Gachibowli of those times.
It had cafes, restaurants, ice cream joints, clubs.
Country Club was a happening place for all kinda functions. Before the Mall explosion, you had Lifestyle and Shoppers Stop. And this was where you boarded your flights before Shamshabad happened.
Even now it still remains a commercial hub. Not to mention all the iconic landmarks here Hyderabad Public School, Paigah Palace, Spanish Mosque.