BEYOND BIRYANI: THE MAKING OF A GLOBALISED HYDERABAD
Author: Dinesh C. Sharma
Publisher: Westland Publications
Pages: 314
Price: 799
That there are so many different facets to Hyderabad becomes clear in the latest offering on Hyderabad-Deccan: Beyond Biryani: The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad by Dinesh C. Sharma. It is a loving tribute paid by a true Hyderabadi whose meticulous and painstaking research re-creates a princely state that had a glorious past, yet metamorphosed into a modern 21st Century city. A city that transformed and moved ahead with the times, led by innovators who built scientific institutions backed by policies that helped successive governments shape Hyderabad the way we know it today.
The book takes the reader down a path less travelled, or rather never trodden before. With extensive insights into the fields of science and technology institutions that formed a very important part of the cityscape and growth but were never really written about, this book is a treat for lovers of Hyderabad. A science journalist alone could have done justice to the rich history of a city that plays host to several reputed science laboratories, educational institutions and technological giants that have made it a hub of technology, vaccines and pharmaceuticals. Dinesh Sharma, a senior journalist who has contributed immensely in the areas related to science, technology, innovation, medicine and environment, seems just the right person for bringing to the fore the giant footprint that Hyderabad has made in these fields. So far, the majority of the books written on Hyderabad were of its rich historical tapestry, culture and social dimensions, but no one has really entered this realm of looking beyond biryani and the Charminar.
Mapping the journey from the 1940s when the last Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan dreamt of making the princely state of Hyderabad into a modern city, to the chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, in 2000s who dreamt of making Hyderabad a global city, the author walks the reader through an astounding and exciting, at times frustrating, path that the scientists and technologists that this city produced took to build national research institutions like the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Nutrition, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics; educational institutions like Osmania University, International Institute of Information Technology, Indian School of Business; pharmaceutical companies like Dr Reddy’s, Biological E, Divi’s Laboratories, Bharat Biotech; and software and knowledge parks like STPI, Genome Valley and T Hub, to name a few.
Hyderabad or Baghnagar (the author feels the city could have been called Baghnagar due to its several beautiful gardens) has it all – factors such as skilled work force or human capital, finance and appropriate policies for regional development, and robust institutions, all of which came together to blossom and drive a city to develop specialised clusters. As the author mentions, there are nearly 200 such institutions that are spread across Hyderabad. The city, although not under British rule directly, was influenced greatly by Britishers who shaped developments in science and technology even as Osman Ali Khan’s dream of a vernacular university (Osmania University) became a centre for knowledge creation and dissemination. It also led to a talent pool formed of locals and migrants choosing a city that had “amenities, social infrastructure, a culture of diversity and government policies”.
The almost seamless shift and transition from researching on chloroform and malaria in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries under British India, to the T Hub under the Bharatiya Rashtriya Samiti in 2022, Sharma has made reading about chemistry and biology romantic and exciting as we try to grapple with chemical formulations and extracts and their reactions. The simple language and the easy journalistic style which he employs, coupled with his eye for detail, evokes fascinating pictures, a sort of mental mapping throughout the book, more so for those who are familiar with Hyderabad. Nuggets about renowned scientists with educational qualifications from premier universities abroad, who were invited to build scientific institutions, the entrepreneurs who studied abroad but came back to build institutions in India, are inspiring, to say the least. It is all the more interesting to see the exhaustive list compiled by the author.
The book is divided into three sections: Section I deals with the early part of the 20th Century until Hyderabad merged with the Indian state, titled ‘Science and modernity in a princely state’ (1908-1948), Section II covers the timeline until India’s foray into economic liberalisation, ‘A knowledge cluster on the horizon’ (1948-1991), and Section III is a ‘A window to the world’ (1992- 2022), showcasing the global city. The book is definitely an ode to the city that fuelled technological growth and spurred scientific curiosity through its vast repertoire of research institutions. However, what happened to these institutions after liberalisation when exports and collaborations with foreign companies became so much simpler, or as many of the top scientists left to start their own enterprises, especially in the pharmaceutical industry? The book does not elaborate on those that failed or closed down despite seeing heady days – like Hyderabad Allwyn Limited, IDPL and CSIR Tech did. In the chapter ‘The price of development’, such issues could have been included.
Finally, one cannot forget that Hyderabad has become one of the centres of growth for medical tourism. Corporate hospitals have sprung up across the city, started by doctors who returned from the US; equipping them with the state-of-the-art technology seemed a natural extension for the pharmaceutical companies. With corporate hospitals showcasing the best available technology, highly qualified doctors, no waiting time for treatment, and cost-efficient compared to the West, Hyderabad has become the preferred destination for many overseas patients. This is one area of development that has definitely placed Hyderabad on the global map that was not covered in the book.
The attractive cover design and the good printing quality makes reading a pleasure while the content is a treasure trove of information for students of History and for all Hyderabadis who appreciate the city of Nawabs or Baghnagar or Bhagyanagar aka Hyderabad.
Note: Dinesh C. Sharma is an award-winning journalist, author and media trainer with over 36 years’ experience in reporting on science and technology, health and environment. He was the Science editor at Mail Today (India Today Group) and founding managing editor at India Science Wire. His other books are The Outsourcer: The story of India’s IT revolution, and Indian Innovation, Not Jugaad – about 100 innovations that have transformed India in the past 75 years.
(Review by Naga Mallika Gudipaty, professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.)
from Webdoux