I guess in 3 years even though I may be living 20 kms outside Hyderabad, I am justified in developing a perception of Hyderabad. Well! so Hyderabad? The truth is that you can't perceive this crazy city. It's a city stuck between cultures and times, stuck between a typical conservative south indian society and the developing cosmopolitan culture (owing to the increasing industrialization and globalization). On one hand you have streets of Nalagonda where school students are still being groomed by their parents to succumb to the unforgiving preparation for engineering entrance examinations (where interacting with a person of opposite sex is considered to be derogatory); and on the other hand you have high-tech city, jubilee hills, and banjara hills which take me back down my memory lane to New Delhi. I believe what I am witnessing is a transition from a reserved and conservative society to one which is growing on Hard rock cafe and International concerts such as Jethro Tull and Bryan Adams (been hosted recently).
P.S.: My facts and figures are quite unclear about the above scenario, but I guess it's going to be an interesting topic for my next media article. Hope I manage to finish it, without failing in academics any more.
Well... what u r saying makes a lot of sense.. and Hyd is really in a major turmoil right now.. No im not talkin abt the damn telangana issue.. thts a whole odr story :|, but its about the dilemma it faces with regards to whether it should leave its roots behind and embrace the metropolis it is destined to become..
ReplyDeleteIt is not tht much of an ethical dilemma as it is fear.. fear tht becoming a metropolitan will mean the end of its distinctive position as the city of Nawabs and more so the challenge it poses to the largely conservative section to change its perceptions and views..
What you have captured is precisely this.. and going aorund the city reflects a city in transition.. a city in a dilemma.. my beloved city that is really a unique pearl in the ocean :)