The birth of Hyderabad is rooted in two legends. One is the early teen love affair of Prince Mohammad Quli with Bhagmati, a beautiful singer and dancer. The other is the decree issued by him as the sultan of Golkonda that a new city should be constructed which should be replica of heaven. When the city was ready, he named it Bhagnagar after his beloved Bhagmati. Over the five centuries following its founding in 1591, numerous new legends have come to be associated with the city, its rulers, and people.\n\nLegends and anecdotes are generally considered as the gossip of history. However in some cases they are also the stuff of history. It is not easy always to separate chaff from the grain. It was not very long ago that oral history was acknowledged as a source of history.\n\nThe author has written extensively on the history and culture of Hyderabad. Here he presents a selection of some interesting legends and anecdotes relating to Hyderabad which, despite their traditional spice and flavour, are rooted in facts. The 'legendotes' as he calls them form a chain of gripping snippets from the history of Hyderabad.\n\nThis liberally illustrated volume thus provides an absorbing glimpse of the history of a city much celebrated for its romantic origin and composite culture. It will be of interest both to lay readers and students of history.