“I belong to a family which has been in Hyderabad for almost an entire century. My ancestors were practitioners of spirituality and it was only in the last few generations that we moved towards other professions. Our family also contributed to the heritage of this city. I remember bringing superbikes from Dubai to Hyderabad when I first moved here – it was a time when nobody really had superbikes here. My family was also among the first few to own cars, when they first started to appear in early ’90s. From my grandfather to me, we all love automobiles. Even today I try to buy the best ones available and enjoy driving on Hyderabad roads. My relationship with this city takes me back to my childhood and the fresh memories I continue to have.
The recent decision to demolish Errum Manzil for the construction of a new Assembly building shocked me. It is a monument, that we should all be proud of. It deserves to be celebrated and protected. I remember going to the site on the night after the Chief Minister set up the first foundation stone. It was in the heart of Errum Manzil and this decision would mean losing all of it. That’s when my friend and I decided to fight against it. It was a long struggle but we had all the evidence that Errum Manzil is a heritage property. What disturbs me is we have an entire executive and legislature severely compromising the very soul of our constitution and willfully so.
Our elected representatives know that heritage, be it our natural or cultural heritage, matters to large sections of society. And yet they choose to test their authority by willfully disregarding the identity of an entire society in the excuse of heralding development.
Once something is given that title, it can’t be taken away. Hence, the court gave a judgement in our favour. They have given a voice to millions of Hyderabadis whose identity is rooted in our rich cultural heritage. Things didn’t end there for me. With a few other friends and heritage activists, I organise clean up drives at monuments across the city. We need to understand the necessity and importance of protecting what’s ours. We need to take pride in it and that’s the only way we can save any heritage structure. This concern for age-old monuments is missing – and when citizens don’t feel responsible, the government won’t either.”
#ERRUMMANZILVERDICT #HERITAGE #HYDERABADI #CULTURE #MONUMENTS #HISTORY #FAMILY #JUSTICE #CARSLOVE #SOCIETY #AUTOMOBILES #PRIDE #LEGISLATURE #RESPONSIBILITY #ACTIVISTS #DEVELOPMENT #CITIZENS #GOVERNMENT #HYDERABAD #HUMANSOFHYDERABAD