Beyond Biryani: The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad

Beyond Biryani: The Making of a Globalised Hyderabad, is not a book about other foods one can try in the city. It is a book where author Dinesh C Sharma attempts to break the stereotype about Hyderabad. In his book he portrays the city as a hub of science and technology. The non-fiction narrative delves into Hyderabad’s journey from being a proto-colonial city under a quasi-Mughal princely state in the 1940s to a thriving, modern metropolis.

Dinesh is an award-winning journalist and author with over 30 years of experience in reporting on science, technology, innovation, medicine and environment-related issues for national and international media outlets. Though he has lived away from the city for the past 34 years, Hyderabad is his home as he was born and educated here. 

This is Dinesh’s fifth book, the idea of which germinated while penning his first book about Bengaluru. Dinesh says, “In my first book The Long Revolution (2009) on the tech craze, Hyderabad was not a significant chapter, it was a story in the passing. As someone who wrote about science, I couldn’t stop thinking of Hyderabad beyond biryani and presenting its other lucrative and technological side. My book challenges stereotypes, and talks about Hyderabad’s evolution from being a heritage city to a technological hub. The book aims to create a new perspective on Hyderabad, one that transcends the stereotypes of the Nizams and biryani and presents an alternative history. I see Hyderabad as a preferred destination for leading scientific and technological institutions and companies around the world.”

Dinesh mentioned that he started working on the book in 2020 after he received the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. Even though he had been collecting information and doing his research since his first book, he started working full-time on this one in 2020. “From missiles and satellites to affordable HIV drugs and COVID-19 vaccines, Hyderabad delivers everything that today’s India is known for. These successes are a result of a long journey of building key institutions over the decades. Despite all this, any mention of Hyderabad goes straight to discussions on biryani.”

Another reason that prompted Dinesh to focus on the new avatar of Hyderabad is the exponential growth that one could witness and the reasons that made Bengaluru and Hyderabad develop a knowledge-based industry, and giant tech clusters, something that other cities with similar trajectories could not.

He adds,  “My research was never-ending. Every time I visit, I chance upon something new; every month, there is something new coming up. In the process, I also discovered interesting facts and facets: how the Nizams laid the foundation for inculcating a scientific temper under British rule; how they set up India’s first vernacular university in the city; and how a newly independent India pushed forward on the path of industrial laboratories as well as nuclear fuel and missiles. The book also looks at the last 30 years when Hyderabad has taken a giant leap towards becoming a modern preferred destination. An alternative history.

 Why did the author choose the title? “No one refuses biryani,” he laughs.