https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Metamorphosis of a City

This opinion piece/book review has been written by retired IAS officer BP Acharya
Indian Masterminds Stories

The metamorphosis of Hyderabad, originally founded in 1591 to ease the congestion and water scarcity in the existing Qutub Shahi capital of Golconda, into a global hub of technology and industry is a fascinating journey that recently published the book “Beyond Biryani“ by Dinesh C. Sharma (Westland),  tries to capture with absorbing details. For the author who is a Hyderabadi himself (now settled in Delhi), Hyderabad must be a place in his heart and hence, he tries to recount its story with all the affection and sensitivity, it deserves.

As the author recounts in the introductory chapter-

“This book is an attempt to capture the remarkable story of the rapid transformation of Hyderabad from what was, at best a proto-colonial city in a quasi-Mughal princely state until the 1940s, to a modern and vibrant metropolis. Fortunately, I have been a witness to almost the entire journey, either directly or through collective family memories. “

This is paradoxically the strength and weakness of the book, which is the result of painstaking research sponsored by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. While it affords a ring-side view to the author, at times it is vulnerable to personal predilections and prejudices which he tries to avoid diligently, of course. There is also the tendency to miss the woods for the trees and references to persons and their roles in shaping the destiny of the City over the centuries, which was undeniably significant in this case. Hyderabad was lucky to have successive ruling elite from the Qutub Shahi, Asaf Jahis, and post-independence period that were forward-looking and ably assisted by competent Ministers/bureaucrats who were able to execute their visions into reality.

In this regard, one cannot overemphasize the contributions of Hussain Shah Wali (who made Hussain Sagar a man-made water source in 1562, which became a trigger for Hyderabad 30 years later), Mir Momin Astrabadi the Persian Architect who designed Hyderabad, inspired by Isfahan in Iran, Salar Jungs I, II, III, Sir M Vishweshwariah who introduced modern town planning after the devastating Musi floods in 1908, Edward Lawrie, Ronald Ross and  Sherwani who introduced modern scientific temper and education system prodded by British Residents to address the needs of the place during World War I and subsequent period. Similarly,  in the 1990s, coinciding with the liberalization of the Indian economy and the advent of the IT/ ITES boom that pitchforked Hyderabad to the big league, it was lucky to have visionary political leadership that wanted to take advantage of the circumstances, ably assisted by several competent bureaucrats viz, R Chandrasekhar, Randeep Sudan, J Satyanarayana, Sheela Bhide, Jayesh Ranjan, and Arvind Kumar. Yours truly was also fortunate to contribute a bit in Cyberabad, Knowledge City at Raidurg, Financial Dist, HICC, and Life Science cluster at Genome Valley, which has been a labor of love for over two decades.

What is important about this book, is that it faithfully and meticulously records these milestones in the evolution of Hyderabad, laced with interesting sidelights and anecdotes, not widely known, which makes it eminently readable.  It is not a cumbersome and boring account of events and dates but the lively narrative of the concomitant processes that are analyzed with the academic rigor, that makes it unique. A case in point is the chapter on Osmania University, originally based on the Japanese model of vernacular education, which subsequently spawned several research institutions in its proximity, such as IICT, NIN, CCMB, CDFD, NGRI, IDPL which made it the epicenter of a modern science cluster,  which promoted  Pharma and  Biotech industry around Hyderabad in later years. It was almost a catalytic process that led one thing to another, or a “chain reaction”, as the author calls it, and Hyderabad was fortunate to be part of this unique unfolding of the cascading ecosystem.

The author also tries to allude to the cost of development in terms of its effects on heritage and ecology and devotes the penultimate chapter entitled “The price of development” and highlights the need to address these concerns, shared by many old Hyderabadis like himself who bemoan the decline of the syncretic Ganga Jamuni tehzeeb of the place and its old world, laid back charm. Luckily, all is not lost and Hyderabad, at least some part of it, continues to exude the aura of a traditional city with a modern face, which prompted the famous National Geographic journal to name the city as one of the 10 most attractive tourist destinations in 2015!

All in all, this book is indeed a unique effort to document the recent history of Hyderabad and trace its evolution over the last 4 centuries, which faithfully records the milestones and processes that make it what it is today. A must-read for lovers of urban development and modern history and of course,  those who cherish Hyderabad and its cultural heritage. Kudos to the author for this remarkable endeavor.

(Review by BP Acharya, IAS retd, former Special Chief Secretary)


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
babita-kaler iAS
Gunfire Over Land Dispute: FIR Registered Against IAS Babita Kaler & Husband Following PSO’s Shooting in Jalandhar - Full Details Inside
Indian Police Services IPS Officer
Champaran to Get 6 SPs: Bihar Govt Approves New IPS Posts to Ease Police Workload - Details Inside
IAS IPS
Marriage Brings Top Bureaucrats to Rajasthan: 6 IAS-IPS Officers, Including 4 Women, Shift Cadres in 5 Months - Full Details Inside
IFS Dhananjay Mohan
Uttarakhand’s Top Forest Officer IFS Dhananjay Mohan Takes Sudden VRS Amid Sapling Procurement Row; Samir Sinha Gets Addl Charg
IFS Kshitij Saxena
Who Is IFS Kshitij Saxena, Appointed as the New DFO (Territorial) of Gangtok, Sikkim?
CM Vishnu Deo Sai - resized
Chhattisgarh: CM Vishnu Deo Sai Launches Chief Minister Bus Service Scheme; Push for Connectivity and Development in Bastar and Surguja
CM Pushkar Dhami-resized
Uttarakhand: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Unveils First Yoga Policy; Bhararisain to Emerge as Global Yoga Capital
IPS Laxmi Singh
UP: IPS Laxmi Singh, Commissioner of Gautam Budh Nagar Police, Cracks Down on Laxity, Suspends Officers over Crime Control Failures
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Inderjit Singh Interview Plane Crash
What ill-fated pilots of AI171 may have gone through in those 40 seconds before the crash? Intro:
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi’s 27-Year Odyssey with Indian Railways | Exclusive Interview
Monika Singh
The Civil Servant Who Finds Peace in Poetry
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Raju Wagh
When the Battlefield Became a Study Room and a Dream Took Flight
Amid IED blasts and anti-Maoist operations in Bastar, CRPF Commando Raju Wagh taught village kids, studied...
WhatsApp Image 2025-06-18 at 10.31
"I Just Wanted to Breathe Again": The Man Who Fought Death and Made It to UPSC
Struck by COVID at the peak of his UPSC prep, Devanand Telgote spent months on ECMO, unsure he'd live,...
Ravinder Nandal IDES
IDES Ravinder Nandal's Story of Self-Made Success
Balancing fatherhood, full-time jobs, and six UPSC attempts, Ravinder Nandal’s story is one of perseverance,...
Social Media
Tigress Arrowhead
The End of an Era: A Queen Falls - Ranthambore’s Iconic Tigress Arrowhead (T-84) Passes Away at 14, Hours After Daughter’s Relocation
Ranthambore mourns the loss of one of its fiercest and most beloved tigers, Arrowhead, the granddaughter...
Screenshot 2025-06-13 194001
Wild Elephant Disrupts Riverside Picnic, Sparks Debate on Human Encroachment; IFS Parveen Kumar Shares the Video - Watch Here!
Mr. Kaswan used the viral video, which has garnered over 1.5 lakh views, to highlight the risks of human...
Tiger jump Sundarban
Stunning Viral Video Shows Royal Bengal Tiger Making Spectacular 30-Foot Leap Across River in Sunderbans - See It Here
Retired Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda shared the clip online, which quickly went...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
babita-kaler iAS
Gunfire Over Land Dispute: FIR Registered Against IAS Babita Kaler & Husband Following PSO’s Shooting in Jalandhar - Full Details Inside
Vishwajit Singh
From Bureaucrat to Ironman: Vishwajeet Singh Sheoran, Haryana’s First HCS Officer to Complete the Ironman, Redefines Greatness
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Inderjit Singh Interview Plane Crash
IRAS Ananth Rupanagudi
Monika Singh
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT