Hyderabad Blues....

This is the article I wrote for one of the inter-hostel competitions and is quite closer to my heart as its about my hometown,Hyderabad and more so because I am no longer a regular resident of this beautiful city....

City life-essentially a metaphor for opportunity, quintessential optimism, unbridled imagination, hectic activity and values, modern and bold to the core. It’s a wonderland for many dreamy-eyed Alices with aspirations to make it big. The greater availability of diverse forms of entertainment like theater, cinema, amusement parks etc. never fail to attract more and more immigrants to a city. The most striking feature of a typical city is that it never stagnates and is true to the adage of change being the only constant parameter. Hyderabad-the city I grew up in and with, always occupies a special cozy spot in the heart of my hearts. There is this unmistakable and uncanny Hyderabadi spirit in me which curiously guides me in my day-to-day thought process and it is with nothing less than great pride and joy that I proclaim myself to be a hard-core Hyderabadi.

Hyderabad is a true testimony of resilience and co-existence which makes it stand out among the galaxy of other cities in the country. She is a truly enchanting beauty perched on the top of Deccan plateau epitomizing the phenomenon of evolving cities. She has come a long way from being an abode of Indo-Persian culture to being the most happening metropolis in India. It is a rare blend of traditional and ultra-modern values. Though it is slowly turning into the proverbial concrete jungle( which is ought to happen) people are still more than willing to walk that extra mile to strike an amazing balance between their family and professional lives. The spirit of Hyderabadis which drives them to bounce back every time they stumble is highly infectious. They work with verve and walk with a spring in the step. There are clustered apartments, congested traffic, irritating pollution all over. Yet, there is a certain degree of old world charm and openness in transactions among the people. This is the most endearing trait of the city which makes visitors go gaga over. You need to be a visitor to get the flavor of the city’s hospitality.

The city owes its ethnic and rustic beauty to the Nizams who ruled over it for a long time and added most of the beautiful buildings and monuments to this jewel. Juxtaposed bylanes of old city, the roadside paanwalas and chaiwalas stood the trying tests of time and urbanization but never gave up. The rustic charm of Hyderabad never fails to enchant you. This is a city of great artistic connoisseurs. My nostalgic memories of the city are entangled in the curves of jalebi and folds in the stony cloak of Buddha on theTank Bund . Haunting stink ofMusi , multitude of bangle stores that dazzle your eyes, unique and ethnic scents which never fail to tingle your nasal buds near Charminar (400 not out),piled-up match box like book stores in Koti etc., are very strange landmarks that evolved over course of time. Its charm is instead increasing by the day .Ancient monuments like Golconda , Qutb Shahi tombs , Salarjung museum etc. add that touch of royalty to this city patronized by Asif Jahi Nawabs. The sober milieu of the Secretariat of Andhra Pradesh doesn’t intimidate the frolic mood at neighbouring Lumbini park . Gokul chat-a one-stand stop to all the golguppa lovers to unwind from the tiring day at work still reminiscent of the scary bomb blast which did leave an ugly scar on its face yet duly up and about with the solidarity displayed by the city dwellers. An evening whiled away at the Tank Bund is always well-spent but never complete without the roadside bhelpuri and palli or sugar candy and sweet fried corn. You are always left craving for more. The marble marvel, Birla Mandir is another big crowd puller.

Hyderabadis are great patrons of art, literature, theatre and cinema (not only Tollywood which time and again managed to churn out unabashed scripts with larger-than-life heroes.Believe me, I am no big fan of them). Taramati Biradari, revived recently is hosting jewels of theatre plays and music concerts on a regular basis catering to the tastes of connoisseurs. This is a city cosmopolitan to its core thanks to world class companies like Microsoft, Dell, Infosys, Infotech, IBM, Novotel, HSBC etc. setting their regional offices up here increased the Hyderabadi soft power all over the globe. It is tipped to be the most happening software hub in India next only to Bangalore. It is a hub of sports which produced gem of players who made India proud on a host of occasions like tennis ace,Sania mirza,baddy champs Pullela Gopichand,Saina Nehwal, cricketing wizardsV.V.S.Laxman ,Mohd.Azharuddin , hockey pro,Mukesh Kumar etc.

Hyderabad, shaped up by rich history has been an inspiration for many a literary masterpieces. Be it William Dalrymple’s White Mughals which brilliantly captured the scintillating romance between East India company’s official James Kirkpatrick and Nizam princess Khair-un-Nisa or The Jewels of Nizam which accounts for the incalculable wealth of Hyderabadi emperors, they did manage to strike a right chord with the readers around the world. Summing it all up, Hyderabad is such a tantalizing blend of ironically contrasting features which makes it come across as a fully decked up bride making it all the more irresistible to the insiders and outsiders alike.