Hyderabad's future in its past

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if one passes by the Cyber Towers in Hyderabad, one is bound to look back at it for another glance for its sheer beauty and design—more so after sundown when it glimmers with lights.

- AKANKSHYA ABISMRUTA

With N Chandrababu Naidu's rigorous efforts to make Hyderabad more advanced than Bengaluru, the Cyber Towers were the first twin-tower to be constructed in the city for the promotion of information technology (IT).

In his book Beyond Biryani, the science journalist and author Dinesh Sharma traces the transformation of the place from "a proto-colonial city in quasi-Mughal princely state" to "a modern and vibrant metropolis".

The book traces the history of scientific development from the days of the Nizams, who were open to Western medicine and encouraged learning English for students to excel in the field of medicine, to Mr Naidu's ambitious attempts to make Hyderabad a city at the forefront of scientific and technological advancement.

The book has three sections. The first meticulously showcases early-20th-century modern city planning and development following the devastating 1908 flooding of the Musi River. This project, led by India's foremost civil engineer M Visvesvaraya, gave the city a new skyline by raising a hospital and court on the riverfront. The second section deals with the development of various establishments beyond Osmania University for research and development as the city merged with post-colonial India. The third part shows the city's physiological change into an IT hub after liberalization.