Hyderabad is a city romanticised. It is an eternal love story that every Hyderabadi feels for their city. It is dreamy and poetic. It is awash with tales and folklore that you cannot escape from. And it is these intangibles that you can see, manifested in the tangible forms of the city. Just a stroll down Pather Gatti, the historic bazaar that leads you to the iconic Charminar, will transport you back in time, disconnecting you from your urban reality; and so will a gaze at the Nizami Chowmahal Palace complex. When I stepped into the city first, I couldn’t look beyond the immediate urban limitations that I was made to face every day, limitations typical to other cities of the world. But then I began to explore the city in my own way and in my own time, walking the streets, interacting with the food vendors, haggling with the auto-rickshaw drivers, and now and then visiting the origin of this settlement, that is, the old city. The myopic veil that I was wrapped in slowly began to drop and I began to see the city for what it truly was – a quintessential city with a blend of cultures, traditions, architecture and mannerisms that have now become uniquely Hyderabadi. Hyderabad grew in many layers with time, right from 500 BC. But it was established as a true city in the 16th century under the Qutb Shahi Dynasty. From then on it expanded socially, culturally and economically under the various administrators and ruling dynasties. It was a centre for trade with its renowned pearl production, diamond trade, and many colourful bazaars that exist even today. The old city is built on a grid iron pattern, with the Charminar at its centre. The city is influenced by the Indo-Saracenic, and later, the Neoclassical styles of architecture. Some of these exquisite structures still stand tall and are functional even today.
Hussain Sagar Lake, Hyderabad Image credit: https:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Hussain_Sagar_lake,_ Hyderabad.jpg
But Hyderabad in all its grandeur and magnificence is incomplete without its people. This struck me when I noticed that even in grim urban environments, people found their way to make the urban space livable. People found a way to channelize the building discomfort. And this is the underlying factor of a resilient city. This also helps understand the people’s movement patterns between invisible nodes. We can track where the magnetic points really are. If observed and studied carefully, we know what aspects need to be developed. And this is the crux of human centric planning. So here is an assortment of lessons from the city and the people who make the city livable.
June 2016 | CITY OBSERVER
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