Features

Mirror of India

31 Mar 2014 by Tom Otley

The rise of Hyderabad echoes the ascent of the country as a whole, says Tom Otley
 

Arriving in darkness on an overnight flight from Europe into Hyderabad’s impressive Rajiv Gandhi International, it’s not difficult to buy into the India success story.

Immigration is swift, and the waiting taxis make little fuss over taking you to your final destination. Unlike most Indian cities, the route into the centre is straightforward, the 28km journey made simple on the approach by a 19km flyover. Free of traffic this early in the day, it whisks you over the suburbs into the centre, dawn lighting the horizon and the temperature already shirt-sleeves comfortable.

Hyderabad is the capital of Andhra Pradesh, India’s fourth-largest state in terms of area, and fifth-largest in terms of population. Hyderabad itself is home to almost ten million people, 8 per cent of the country’s total population.

The city is a mirror of India in many ways, and a flattering one at that. Andhra Pradesh’s gross state domestic product grew on average by 7.9 per cent during the years 2007-08 and 2010-11, almost matching the country’s GDP growth of 8.2 percent for the same periods. The business community credits one man with spearheading the city’s success – Nara Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of the region between 1995 and 2004, and a catalyst for its development.

Hyderabad’s attractions are many (see below), but the magnificence of its palaces alone would not have enticed overseas investors. Naidu styled himself as CEO of the region – someone that foreign companies could do business with – and leaders such as Tony Blair and Bill Clinton seemed to agree, meeting him and praising his vision.

Naidu’s focus was on showcasing the cities of Andhra Pradesh, and particularly Hyderabad, reasoning that foreign investment would flow into the capital and cascade down to the rest of the state.

His policy was to begin a huge push on infrastructure – a clever move as many Western companies were tiring of the rapid and frequently chaotic expansion of Bengaluru, some eight hours’ drive to the south. Hyderabad promoted itself as the better alternative, with Naidu identifying areas where development could take place outside the city centre – including the Hyderabad Information Technology Engineering Consultancy City (HITEC) – and building the airport and roads necessary to attract investment.

To many, it seemed at first that there was an element of hubris in some of the “build it and they will come” projects, although Naidu was quickly proved right. As one local told me: “In the 1990s, there were more flyovers than there was traffic. The cars came, though.”

Many international visitors will head to HITEC before even entering the city – taking the impressive Outer Ring Road – which means, at times of light traffic, it is only 30 minutes from the airport. Familiar names such as Novartis, Infosys, Accenture, Deloitte, Oracle, Microsoft (the largest campus outside the US) and Facebook are all gathered here.

To service them, global brand hotels such as the Westin and the new five-star Trident, part of the Oberoi group, have opened up. There is also the vast Hyderabad International Convention Centre (hicc.com), jointly owned by Dubai’s Emaar Properties and the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, and managed by the Accor group, which has a Novotel hotel as part of the development.

Then there is the airport. Rajiv Gandhi International is one of the best in India, opened in 2008 with a domestic terminal and room for expansion. As far as international airlines are concerned, Emirates dominates, with three flights daily. Others include Qatar Airways, Etihad (one daily flight each), Saudia, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways and Silk Air, as well as British Airways, which went daily on the route last October.

All of this is allied with natural advantages, ones shared with other cities nearby – a young, educated, multilingual workforce, good international schools, and a safe environment. I was also told more than once that Hyderabad was more bearable to live in than the alternatives – more tolerant and less aggressive than Delhi, for example; less expensive and frenetic than Mumbai.

UK investment in India is never far from the headlines – Marks and Spencer plans to make India its largest international market outside the UK and double its store count by 2016, for instance – but it works the other way as well, with Andhra Pradesh companies such as Mahindra Satyam, Infotech Enterprises and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories all investing in UK plc, according to the UKTI (UK Trade and Investment).

On a more general scale, the huge success of Indian conglomerate Tata with Land Rover and Jaguar means you see plenty of them on the roads. Taxi drivers always seemed disappointed that I didn’t drive at least one of these brands back at home – by the end of the trip, when asked which I drove, I answered “Bentley”.

The transformation that has taken place over the past two decades can’t be denied – although, as with many Indian cities, much of it is not pretty. Relax on the elegant terrace of the fashionable Park hotel, overlooking the central lake of Hussain Sagar, and it can seem like it’s all worked out just fine. Against a soundtrack of chill-out music, you can enjoy a sundowner with an elegant young cosmopolitan crowd gathered around the infinity pool.

Behind you is one of the most architecturally stunning hotels in India, the exterior designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the lighting designed to reflect and remind you of the jewels of Hyderabad. In front of you is another impressive piece of infrastructure – the lake. It was built by the Nizam (monarch) in 1562 to supply water to the fields around the new city.

Yet the view conceals as much as it reveals. The elevation of the terrace provides perspective, but it is the position of the hotel, upwind of the lake, that makes it palatable, and largely free of the smells coming from the polluted waters. Of course, all development comes at a cost and, the week I was there, the government declared it would clean up the lake by dredging it.

However, the solution was to dump whatever came out of it on nearby People’s Plaza, where Hyderabad’s locals come to relax and celebrate festivals, leaving it there until it had dried out before taking it elsewhere. Sipping a drink while watching the sunset, it was hard not to see this as symptomatic of some fairly short-term thinking.

You see it also when being driven around the city – and for Westerners, there still is no viable alternative to driving. There are many new buildings only half-finished, waiting either for money to return or for the economy to recover, though they also look like they are simply staking a claim on territory.

Naidu and his party won a second term because of the success of its policies, and its legacy is clear. However, as in the rest of India, it increased the divide between town and countryside to breaking point. Andhra Pradesh is among the largest producers of food grains, fruits, vegetables, cotton, maize, dairy and poultry products in the country, and has been a net exporter of many agricultural products, but Hyderabad is still responsible for 84 per cent of the revenue of the state.

Marry that with different growth rates – average growth in agriculture is less than half that of industry and the service sector (around 4.5 per cent compared with 9 per cent) – and it is a recipe for trouble. A series of droughts caused waves of suicides among farmers; Naidu’s second term ended in one such water shortage, and his Telugu Desam party lost power.

This year is likely to be a deciding one both for India, with its general election starting this month, and for Andhra Pradesh in particular. On June 2, the state will be split into two, forming a new one (India’s 29th) – Telangana.

The decision has been controversial but will see Hyderabad remain the joint capital of both for ten years, with a new capital eventually being built in Andhra Pradesh, when Hyderabad will become the sole capital of Telangana. This may potentially present further opportunities for investors but, at present, it is causing businesses much uncertainty.

Nevertheless, Hyderabad will bounce back. A reflection of the modern India, and a vision other Indian cities aspire to, it’s a genuinely pleasant place to spend a few days, whether working or sightseeing.

On my final evening I had dinner at the Falaknuma Palace, built on a hill above the city by the prime minister of Hyderabad at the end of the 19th century. He wanted to show what the region was capable of achieving, and spared no expense, using fine marble, jade and precious stones, and implementing the latest technology – the place had one of the first fridges in the country, and as well as one of the first telephones.

Perhaps inevitably, the prime minister over-reached himself, and was brought to the edge of financial ruin by the project. The palace was bought out by the Nizam of the day, and used to receive important visitors, such as King George V in 1911. Now renovated by Taj Hotels, it’s a fabulous place for a romantic evening meal with a loved one.

Falaknuma, I learnt, means “Mirror of the Sky”. It is intriguing how the opulent building takes both European and British style and elevates it into something uniquely Indian. As a reflection of local aspirations, the structure is a dizzying achievement.

Looking down from the palace’s private dining terrace at the city lights glittering like thousands of tiny jewels below, it’s easy to believe that Hyderabad – and India as a whole – will achieve similar heights in the years to come.


WHERE TO STAY

The Park

Deliberately styling itself against more established hotels, the 270-room Park is unashamedly trendy, with a glass panel in the basement nightclub giving a view up to the outdoor pool – where, on special occasions, supermodels may swim over your head.

The lakeside position is fabulous, though it can get a little noisy with the nearby railway. Aish is a wonderful Hyderabadi restaurant. theparkhotels.com


Park Hyatt

In the Banjara Hills area, the stunning 185-room Park Hyatt is centred around a giant atrium with a ten-metre-tall white abstract sculpture and water features at its centre.

It has a residential feel, helped by the large room sizes (45 sqm-plus) and the quiet within – only one wing faces the main road outside. There are an additional 24 suites and 42 serviced apartments on the top two floors. hyderabad.park.hyatt.com


Trident

Trident is Oberoi Hotels’ five-star business traveller brand.

Located in HITEC City, the property has 323 rooms starting from 41 sqm, and achieves a serene calm with its water features, high ceilings and white marble, as well as the 27-metre pool on the tenth-floor terrace. Click here for a review. tridenthotels.com


Vivanta by Taj – Begumpet

The Vivanta brand was introduced by Taj Hotels in 2010. This 181-room property opened in 2012 and is aimed at younger corporate guests.

It’s colourful, stylish and well thought-out, from the ergonomic workdesks with special “task lighting” and designer chairs, to the high-speed internet, 40-inch LED TVs and suites offering surround-sound home theatre systems. vivantabytaj.com


Taj Krishna

The 261-room Taj Krishna is established as one of the city’s finest five-star hotels, and sits in mature gardens in the Banjara Hills.

The property is firmly focused on business travellers, with a fully-equipped business centre, large meeting facilities and Firdaus restaurant for fine-dining Hyderabadi cuisine. tajhotels.com


ITC Hyderabad Kakatiya

The ITC has been one of the top five-star hotels in the city for years, with a calm confidence, coming in part from a great position in the Begumpet and some lovely lush grounds.

There’s a sleek grandeur to the place, with liveried staff and plenty of marble in the lobby and hallways, but it’s a friendly place, too. Dakshin serves food from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. itchotels.in


Taj Falaknuma Palace

There is nowhere quite like the 60-room Falaknuma, once one of the Nizam’s palaces, now restored over a ten-year period at unbelievable expense.

Marvel at the Italianate exterior – approached by horse-drawn carriage – the dining table for 101 guests, marquetry using rare woods from vanished forests, chandeliers of Italian glass, and the library frozen in time with its 5,000 volumes.

More than 500 employees ensure this is luxury on a scale of the Nizam’s times. tajhotels.com 


WHAT TO SEE

Hyderabad is famed for the opulence of the monuments left by its ruler, the Nazim, and the mineral wealth of the region – the Kohinoor diamond, now part of the British Crown Jewels, comes from here.

Almost unknown to holidaymakers in the UK, it is a hidden gem (pun intended), with magnificent palaces, forts, gardens and tombs of emperors that are little visited by foreign tourists yet easily accessible from the city. The climate is kind, with temperate weather most of the year, and the cuisine is a marvellous mix of Mughal and south Indian spicy vegetarian.

Sites outside the city include the granite outcrop topped by Golconda Fort, which has stunning views back to Hyderabad from its 120-metre elevation, and looks over the delicate domes of the Qutb Shahi tombs.

In the city, the fabulous Charminar monument, dating from 1591, and surrounding Laad Bazaar is a draw for anyone wanting a taste of the “real” India, with packed alleys of shops selling everything from bangles and wedding saris to peacock feathers and jewellery.

Muslims and Hindus coexist around the Mecca Mosque, while a few minutes’ walk will take you to the Chowmahalla Palace and its gardens, where you can spend a few hours before waiting for dusk to draw in and heading for drinks on the terrace of the hilltop fairy-tale Falaknuma Palace. 

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