Born and bred in Hyderabad, I had the best of both the twin cities which have different and in many ways opposing cultures. Now there is a third culture in the newest part of the city which is even more different. Secunderabad Cantonment was all about cleanliness, discipline, punctuality, huge bungalows, tree-lined avenues, open spaces, colonial ambience and a pan Indian culture. Hyderabad, which I got to know much later is endearing, welcoming, laid back with time moving only at the pace one ordered, and an unmistakable live-and-let-live attitude. Hyderabad is now moving on, which is also a good feeling. In spite of its unmanageable traffic and complete lack of urban planning, it manages to be one of the best cities to live in, which is remarkable.
When I was a student Sangeet cinema was my favourite hotspot. It screened the most-awaited English films, sold the best sandwiches and cut-mirchis, and had the coolest young crowd. Shamirpet Lake and Gandipet served as the romantic rendezvous, not too far out, yet away from prying eyes. Today’s Hyderabad lacks interesting places to hangout – every place is so crowded. There isn’t a place where one could stretch one’s legs on the grass and just watch the glorious sun dip into the horizon. When I was young all you had to do was to sit on a bike and just ride into the outskirts in any direction for a date with the setting sun.
La Makaan and the Gallery Café are great additions to the city as hangouts. Malls seem to be a favourite with people but that’s not my idea of a hangout.
Kaiku, hau and nakko ji have become a part of my DNA – I think these words will remain in my head even if Alzheimers were to strike. Once you get used to the flavourful Hyderabadi cuisine or the strong Andhra food, every cuisine in the world would seem bland.
With apologies to all my muslim friends, the one reason I wouldn’t miss a muslim wedding is for the biryani, bagara baingan, and haleem, cooked by the fast disappearing tribe of khandaani khansaamas. That quality no restaurant or hotel serves. Shikampuri kebab and badam ki jali are to die for.
No doubt, Hyderabad lacks much. It pretends to be a metro, but is really an overgrown village. Yet I love it, precisely because it has retained the niceties of a small place and people are warm and loving.
My association with Hyderabad is all encompassing, from my childhood memories to my professional days. Having travelled a great deal, I would associate Hyderabad with unprecedented transformation and pace of development.
Can one imagine Hyderabad had paddy fields in the middle of the city next to the lower Tank Bund road, and that there were no tar roads beyond Somajiguda till as recently as the eighties.
And today Hyderabad has transformed into the intellectual capital of India with perhaps the largest number of academic and research institutions of any city in the country. It is also the medical capital of India and the bulk drug capital of India. I can be taken out of Hyderabad but Hyderabad can never be taken out of me!