Hyderabad
is like a delicious dish. Having tasted it once, the tourist or visitor is sure
to come back for more. Alas! The city’s glory is fast fading. The broad
roads then are crowded with heavy traffic today. The laid-back attitude of
Hyderabadis’ relaxing in cafes is no more the norm of the day. Chai and "Biscoot", which formed the daily delights of casual talk, are fast losing their
sheen. As it is the morning shows in small theatres have already stopped. The
slow-paced lifestyle is evolving to be a life in the fast lane!
However,
the legacy of Hyderabad’s richness cannot be fathomed. Like the proverbial saying the proof of the pudding is in the eating, Paradise hotel has classic
snapshots of a few places of 1960s and 1970s, which are hung inside the hotel. These
snapshots can easily transport to an era where famous places of the city
enthrall you with their beauty. The calmness ushers in an unknown peace. There
are lots of such nuances which refresh the memories with erstwhile glory.
For
instance, the Irani Cafés then had an aura of richness of Mughals. Cafes were
designed like western saloons. Chairs had oriental designs. Walls were
plastered with Mughal motifs and works. Women on murals wore thick jewellery with
eyes delicately touched up with Kajal. Surprisingly, cafes had huge sound systems.
Rolling out from these were Hindi classicals doled out by Rafi, Kishore and Mana
Dey.
The
city of pearls was also known for its rich Nizami legacy. The old city still
holds to an extent the allure of bygone eras. The multi-hued, rainbow tinged
bangles, the sarees with rich embroidery work, the sweet paan, which is a delicacy tasted after a sumptuous Biryani. Attar, the rich perfume which comes in sparkling colours and
in even more dazzling vials… are a few among many things that make Hyderabad an incomparable
abode.
Ironically,
how many are aware that Hyderabad was known as a city of Gardens? The
bio-diversity of the land had attracted many a traveller. The jubilee hills was
a jungle where tigers, panthers and snakes used to habitat. Uppal also boasts
of a similar story. In fact, I was quite taken back when I heard my boss, who
is hitting his 60; mention that Masab Tank was a thick jungle where his father
used to go hunting. Imagine all these places, which were once jungles, today
leave no traces of such wondrous glory. Slowly these interesting facets of
Hyderabad are fading away.
Where am I going with all this, well, I came across a book that had a few classic pictures of Hyderabad that instantly
struck a chord with me. I simply couldn’t resist sharing these snapshots, here
they go…
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