HYDERABAD :The Republic of Turkey and Hyderabad, the erstwhile princely state are known to have special ties thanks to the marriages between Turkish noble ladies and the royals of the Nizam family (See Box). But other than the weddings, sheesh kebabs and Turkish coffee the city is soon going to see a Turkish language centre at Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU). “There are more than 100 Turkish people living in the city especially students.
We are soon going to launch a certificate programmes of learning of Turkish,” says Adnan Altay Altinörs, the Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Hyderabad. He along with his wife Kubra hosted a grand dinner at a star hotel in the city on October 29, the day when the country was officially declared as the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Pasha 96 years ago after a period of bloodshed which resulted in the overthrow of Sultan Mehmed VI Vahdettin.
The language centre at MANUU will be named after Yunus Emre, a Turkish poet and Sufi mystic of 12th century AD. Turkish literature is significantly influenced by his writings. He is a celebrated bard other than Rumi. Adds Adnan, who’s an aficionado of literature, “It’s only through literature you can preserve a culture. Turkey is known for its poets and schools of philosophy. We preserved our literature despite that language does get affected by other languages.
The establishment of our Republic has contributed much to the language. Ataturk brought significant changes especially when he changed the alphabet and based it on the script of Latin. A new wave of poetry came with the formation of the Republic. Back in 1930s people were reading a lot of poetry. They took deep interest in it. Such is the power of the written word.
The palaces during Ottoman Empire saw grand poetry evenings.” Though he holds a doctorate in engineering he’s a strong penchant for literature. He adds, “Way back in 1970s I used to attend poetry nights in different cities of Turkey where attendees would recite their own works or those of their contemporaries or from the old books. This needs to be revived as we are getting disconnected from our inner selves.”
Over a cup of Turkish tea he adds, “We need to strengthen the bilateral relations in fields of architecture, climate changes, water crisis, among other issues. A lot of people from Hyderabad visit Turkey and we look forward to promoting more tourism plans.” Ask him which city he loves the most in India since it’s been almost two years that he joined the office and he says, “Varanasi. That city speaks to you. I have visited several countries across the globe but haven’t experienced anything what I felt in Benaras. No other city in the world is as engaging as Varanasi.” He signs off, “ They say that cities call you. Yes, they do. Istanbul does the same to you.”
The Vows
Princess Durru Shehvar, daughter of the last Caliph of Turkey was the daughter-in-law of the last ruling Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan married to his son Azam Jah and mother of the last Nizam prince Mukkaram Jah, currently in self-exile, who later married princess Esra from Turkey. Another Turkish marital connection was princess Niloufer of Ottoman Empire, who was married to the second son of the last Nizam.