Sec’bad’s Hyderabadi daughter-in-law

“My soul is in Hyderabad, but somewhere along the way I began to fall in love with Secunderabad,” shares senior journalist and activist Akhileshwari Ramagoud.

“As teenagers, we only knew of the existence of Secunderabad. We used to stay in an area called Birban Bagh, near Langar Houz in Hyderabad. We used to go to Tank Bund, but never ventured on the other side. My father, however had this habit of travelling all the way to MG Road to buy dry fruits from Variety Store (that is still around),” she shares.

As a young bride in her late 20s Akhila shifted to her husband’s house in Lalaguda, Secunderabad. And she was in for a mild culture shock. She shares her memories, “There was nothing Hyderabad about Secunderabad despite being referred to as twin cities.

The culture, people, and language – everything was absolutely different. So much so, when once I spoke in my fluent Deccani to a bus conductor (It was in early 80s; I used to travel all the way from NIRD, Rajendranagar, to the Secretariat, take a bus for the station from where I would go home in yet another bus), he said, ‘Aap Bahut Accha Hindi baat kar re hain’ – ‘Hau Hyderabadi hain na,’ was my reply.

Later, I realised that Secuderabadis spoke Telugu, English and Tamil, but not Hindi. In those days Lalaguda continued to be anglicised, and you remembered how the famous Hameed Sayani (brother of Ameen Sayani) at times used to announce an English song request from South Lalaguda, eloquently on Radio Ceylon.”

She adds, “What I also found interesting was that Secunderabad had a huge Tamil population. Especially, Marredpally was a Tamil stronghold where you found the crème – the elite. The working class would settle in areas like RK Puram, Karkhana, Trimulgherry etc. In fact, a Telugu grocer in my area could speak Tamil. It is such a beautiful culture of diversity and inclusiveness that makes one feel so good. Where else would you find the majority of population adapting to a migrant language.”

It has been several years since Akhileshwari has been living in Secunderabad; yet she says, “What I miss most is to speak in Urdu, and my soul continues to be in Hyderabad even though I have been staying in Secunderabad (RK Puram) since decades now. What makes my life beautiful is of course the greenery. The beautiful ancient trees, the vast green cover that the Defence has protected, preserved and continues to maintain in the cantonment area. I walk around the trees, go to Safilguda lake, visit the Moulali Darga and Ammuguda Hill and enjoy the views. When compared to the concrete jungle that Hyderabad has become, Secunderabad still has the charm.”

“But I feel sad that the Defence has decided to give away the vast Bison Grounds, even while it refuses to go back on the decision to close their roads to public. The closure of the roads will increase the congestion and travel distance adding to the pollution, and building the Secretariat on Bison Grounds will further worsen the situation, and add more concrete structures. I am pained by this thought,” she ends on a reflective note.