HYDERABAD: Songs from the past such as ‘I love livin’ in the city’ and a more recent one by the very versatile Priyanka Chopra on the lines of my city, my life, makes me want to sing too and I often do in my own way about ‘mana city, Hyderabad, mana life, mana janm bhoomi, mana karm bhoomi, Hyderabad mein jhoomi, Seema mastani…’! I think this would make for a good song too, for in my heart, Hyderabad will remain my home, forever!
So,what makes Hyderabad a desirable place to live? ‘Gandipet ka meetha pani, Biryani, double ka meetha, chaotic Charminar ka mela….the ever growing cosmopolitan population….the past, the present, the future, all of which is integral to those who have chosen this city to be their home, a city once as beautiful as Rome!.....I know I’m rhyming! Well, this city and the life it brings, makes many a poet!
I can’t forget the glory of the Nizams from the past, the present is truly filled with energy, and with the hot topic of ‘intolerence’, this city teaches and shows the intolerance for intolerance! It’s got the world at its doorstep and you can walk through it and never be the underdog. The future will see a mammoth rise in mordernisation; the city itself makes you feel literally large.
My life in the city, has given me a production house, the opportunity to share platforms with people of higher expression on stage and film, to care for children and women in meaningful ways, to coach and foster leadership among the netizens, to communicate in Hyderabadi. Ok how’s this for an eternal Hyderabadi phrase “motebhari ki intehan hai baap!!”
‘What this means is simply, Unbelievable ishtyle of anyone or anything that one shows off with and our city has its share of high energy show-offs and why not? This needs a new paragraph for it’s got to do with our food. I contribute as a consumer, who consumes half of Hyderabad’s delicacies, today a phone call away! In our 64 billion food industry we boast of, mana city Hyderabad is a major contributor, undoubtedly. Who likes to have a choice only between a grim burger in a pub or a subway at the back of a derelict mall? Not me. I have choices between cuisines; I have choices in abundance, enough to say I can get something different everyday of the year to satiate my palate, my soul!
I remember this song by John Lennon, ‘All you need is love and I do’ have this for my city as does all who have chosen to embrace it. If I were to say a shaayari in adoration of my life in my city I could go on writing till there is no tomorrow…Hyderabad, mana city and mana life in it is like living it like there is no tomorrow! Cheers!