The city of nawabs – Hyderabad isn’t just about Charminar or biryani. The city is a perfect blend of traditional and modern, and boasts of top education and civic infrastructure.
If there’s any city in India with the charm and vibrancy of Venice, Istanbul, St. Petersburg or Delhi, it’s undoubtedly Hyderabad. A perfect blend of the past and present, old and new, traditional and modern. Centuries-old minarets, domes, edifices and towering high-rises fill the skyscape, side-by-side. The world’s finest palaces Falaknuma and Chowmahalla, the impregnable architectural wonder, 450-year-old Golconda Fort with its boundary wall spreading over 5 km share space with Asia’s longest flyover-expressway and a state-of-the-art airport rated top of the rung.
While you can get traditional meetha paan or naan ki roti, haleem and sheekh kabab, dosa or Irani chai by the roadside, you get steaming cannelloni and sushi, delicious baklava and gourmet caviar in multiple fine-dines with liveried service in five- and seven-star rated hotels. Its roads are dotted as much with gleaming Phantoms and Maybachs as much as easily available cabs and autos. Kiosks and malls stocking attars and colognes, bidri ware and kalamkari, lac bangles and haute couture fashion wear vie for attention.
For a city to be ‘liveable’, it ought to have a few basic attributes in place, which, over a period of time – in this case a few centuries – are elements that make it a preferred destination for natives, travellers, businesspersons and investors from all around the world. Geographical location, temperate climate, ease of commuting, cosmopolitan culture, warmth of people, top education and medical facilities, civic infrastructure and safety.
All these would comprise the inherent character of a city to be able to claim the coveted title. Being the north of south and the south of north, Hyderabad is virtually the centre of India. Its cosmopolitan culture, developed over four-and-a-half centuries now, salubrious climate, famed hospitality (so warm that you start suspecting your host’s motives!), a progressive and development-oriented government and a dedicated bureaucracy would win Hyderabad the title easily. Topped with its world-famous cuisine.
In 2019, Hyderabad was named by the UNESCO as a “creative city of gastronomy”, and it is one of the 246 cities worldwide committing with the UNESCO to place culture and creativity at the centre of their development strategies and to share their best practices. And it’s not just the Charminar, pearls or biryani that make Hyderabad. Over the years, Hyderabad has been called ‘the emerging IT capital’, ‘pharma capital’, ‘capital of medicare’, and recently, ‘sports capital’ (with sportspersons, irrespective of gender and game discipline, emerging as world champions from the city). But, it has always been deprived of the deserving title of ‘most liveable city in India’.
Free of the power-laden troubles of the capital, snarls of over-population of the commercial capital, linguistic hurdles of popular southern metros, Hyderabad is certainly an easier place to work and live in.
Its pluralistic essence, the ‘Ganga-Jamuni’ tehzeeb, is known globally. Arts and culture, tourism, the massive film industry and India’s biggest privately-run theatre festival add to the city’s charm. Abundant opportunities in every economic sphere, a great work-life balance, and affordable housing make Hyderabad an ideal job environment. Add to that a comparatively high safety rating for women, not just with ‘She Teams’ in place and an inclusive society with a history of communal harmony, you have a city that prioritises quality of life and symbolises an ideal global city.
Hyderabad stands out just as much as it assimilates. #KhabarLive #hydnews
