There are not many cities in the country like Hyderabad, steeped in mystique and captivating stories. No matter how many years you live here, it never fails to excite you. More so, if you are a history buff.
But for most Indians, Hyderabad is synonymous with biryani, pearls or bangles. Locals are never tired of this dish, while those who stop by try not to miss a biryani rendezvous. But the city, which was founded in 1591, is much more than biryani.
Dinesh C Sharma’s Beyond Biryani - The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad attempts to dispel the misconception and presents to the world the building blocks that transformed the city into a modern, global city.
While retaining the charm of the yesteryears at one level, the city studiously worked over decades to become an indispensable player in a variety of fields, including science and information technology.
Inflexion point
Sharma, a Hyderabadi to the core, revisits the Hyderabad of 1908, which marked the watershed moment for the city. A devastating flood had ravaged the city, prompting the Nizam Mir Mahbub Ali Khan to lay the foundations for a rock solid Capital.
The book vividly captures this crucial phase in the city’s history where the rulers called upon the best minds in various parts of the country to lay a foundation for a modern city. Over the next few decades, the skyline began to dot with majestic buildings, including the grand High Court building, the City College, and Osmania General Hospital.
While seasoned Hyderabadi history enthusiasts might already be familiar with this narrative, this part of the book reflects a crucial aspect for others: Hyderabad’s modernity wasn’t an overnight transformation, particularly after the 1990s. It was a meticulously crafted vision, the blueprint of which was laid a century ago. It helps in putting things in perspective.
The whole episode of the Musi River Front development of the early 1900s comes alive 115 years later as the present Congress government in Telangana comes out with the controversial ₹1.5-lakh crore Musi River Front development project.
Ironically, the plan is to revive a lively river which was turned into a drainage canal as the city became global.
Laced with interesting anecdotes and references from various accounts, the author records the ups and downs that the city faced. The scientific and medical research milestones; and the stories behind the establishment of some institutes that put Hyderabad on a global map make the book a must-read one.
Key institutions
Instead of narrating the history in a blow-by-blow account, the author chooses an interesting way of building the narrative around various key institutions and people who made them possible.
The book comprises detailed accounts of how the legendary engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya and others laid the blueprint to build perennial water resources, which still provide ample water to the city; how the city built its medical facilities; how the culture of science was nurtured; how institutes like Nuclear Fuel Complex and Electronics Corporation of India were established; and how the city emerged as a global hub for IT and vaccines, including Covaxin.
The author has also captured the story of Ronald Ross very well. Ross’ path-breaking research on malaria, which won him the Nobel Prize in 1902, had a Hyderabad connection. The book charts the travails of Ross in his research journey. A similar story of the invention of the ‘Hyderabad technique’ of administering chloroform too interests the readers.
Scientific institutions
he well-researched and well-referenced book offers a fascinating story of the city. It convinces an outsider that the city is indeed much more than biryani, bangles or pearls. But insiders quickly notice that the science reporter in Sharma casts his shadow. While he successfully argues that Hyderabad is well beyond biryani, an insider would say the city is much more.
There’s no second opinion that scientific, technological, and educational institutions played a crucial role in the city embracing modernity. But there are a few other building blocks that brought colour and texture to the city’s unique fabric of life. For one was Bhagya Reddy Varma, the social reformer whose life synchronised with the birth and rise of modern Hyderabad in the early 19th century.
Several such leaders and institutions, who worked tirelessly to clean up the underbelly of the city, also played their role in its making. They shaped the people who built the city and helped it retain its soul.
While research and development, academic institutes, and information technology helped create a powerful economic engine that made Hyderabad what it is today, the ‘Ganga-Jamuna Tehjeeb’ (a well-synchronised culture) helped the city gel well with Cyberabad.
But for this missing link, the book offers interesting insights into the city and proves the point that the city is much more than just biryani.
While Sharma’s role as a science reporter has dominated the focus of the book, this attribute also helps him provide insightful and in-depth profiles of institutes, including the interesting stories behind their establishment.
Find the book here.