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Charminar anew

Remembering the times Harsha Bhogle

Syeda Imam, the editor of the book, writes in the preface, “I do not apologize for the different spellings writers choose… if reference to the local dialect is Deccani, Dakhani, Dakkani or even Dakhni there is a pleasure in exposing the reader to all the nuances preferred in a certain locale. Especially since the object of this series is to evoke a place in its many very particular, even peculiar ways.”

This line perhaps summarises what “The Untold Charminar - writings on Hyderabad”, published by Penguin, is all about. The anthology is not about celebrating the luxurious past of the Nizams or about waxing eloquent about the new ‘tech-savy’ Cyberabad. The book skims beyond the usual myths and tales, and brings out the unknown or even the lesser known aspects of the city. Through 38 different articles, by writers like Narendra Luther, Mark Tully, Bilkiz Alladin, Shyam Benegal and others, it brings out the diversity that is the essence of Hyderabad.

Narendra Luther

“The Untold Charminar” was launched recently at Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi in presence of Dr. Karan Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyer who read out excerpts from the book.

The book cover

Having spent her formative years in Hyderabad, Syeda has a soft corner for the city. Despite being a Delhi resident now, it is the fascination for her childhood city that got her into editing this book. Here are excerpts from the interview.

There are enough books on Hyderabad. Why another one?

Shyam Benegal

My first question to Penguin was just that. Why yet another book on Hyderabad? But I was also conscious of how time-starved the reader is, no matter how avid he may be. I wanted to do justice to Hyderabad and not have the world sated with the usual myth and tale of the languorous princely state. The new Hyderabad is critical. The ‘other’ Hyderabad is less touched upon and also new. But in the end an unknown gem from the past, a well told reminiscence was not ruled out.

Syeda Imam

Bringing together an anthology is not easy, especially if you have well-known names writing for it. How did you manage to bring so many people together?

An anthology is a far tougher proposition for an author than doing her/his own book. Daunting actually, as one discovers, especially if one isn’t easily pleased. But all the writers were wonderfully forthcoming and, yet often, the better they were, the busier they were. And yes, there were certain subjects that were unmissable for a book meant to evoke Hyderabad and so some topics were given. The relish for food, the fantastic eruptions of poetry, the primeval rocks, some iconic visionaries, the compulsive cosmopolite aspect that the Nizam had infected his people with, the obsession with elegance and ornament, the cricket heroes, the Telugu origins... there certainly were umpteen non-negotiable ingredients.

William Dalrymple

Most books tend to glorify a particular period over others? How did you keep both past and the present in equal space?

I wanted the newly awakened energies of Hyderabad juxtaposed with its laid-back grace and very emphatically. Which meant trying to discover the new magic that is stirring the younger writers as much as the delicious savouring of the untold past. I wish the lives of the young were not such a clutter... discovering writers among them was far more onerous.

Marl Tully

Yes, there could have been more: A glorious read could be the vivid journey of slang from court to corporation to university to pub and ‘dhaba’. Or indeed an excerpt from the quirky brand of Urdu of Asha Hyder Sahab (father-in-law of the Nawab Mir Moazzam, who William Dalrymple interviews in the book). But the bias was getting rather heavily in one direction – of Hyderabad’s preoccupation with language, poetry and that purple phrase.

Nagesh Kukunoor

Is there a particular reason you got outsiders to write as well?

I think it was important to use the outsider’s view. It churns up realities seen anew and seen from elsewhere. Nothing gets taken for granted. Omkar, Mark Tully, Yezdyar... it works.

Meenakshi Mukherjee

Are there stories you couldn’t accommodate but really wished to? Similarly, is a writer you wished has written as well? Yes definitely, there were many. Telugu Lore and Legacy by Narsing Rao would have been great but he was not well enough to have it ready. I would have been delighted in including Vikram Seth, but he was busy finishing his last book.

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