How to preserve the heritage of Telangana

Hyderabad: Experts on Saturday discussed the heritage in Hyderabad and Telangana in general and the debate between development and conservation and what could be done to educate people about it at ‘Living History: The Heritage of Hyderabad’ at Lamakaan..

Ms Anuradha Reddy, co-convener of INTACH’s Hyderabad chapter, said that while Hyderabadis took pride in the city’s heritage buildings, there were numerous sites elsewhere in the state that needed attention. Ms Reddy said that there were more than 200 sites across districts that were undocumented.

Answering a question on how important highlighting such sites was, Ms Reddy said, “People haven’t yet discovered that they have such a rich history. It’s time we stood up and said that we are here, we are knowledgeable and we can contribute.” It was important for the next generation to take up issues such as these.

Seeta Murthy, principal and director-education at Silver Oaks School in Hyderabad, said the school’s motto — The School Of Hyderabad — was evolved after she and her team were asked to rethink the school’s strategy. Saying that the school focused on historical, rational, environmental, ethical and sustainable education, she added that their inspiration was that “education is about civilisation — societal and individual”.

She said among the school’s activities to teach students of Hyderabad’s culture were writing a song about Hyderabad called ‘Salaam Hyderabad’, having students research and perform a play on the foundation of the city, as well as drafting a pledge for Hyderabad’s citizens to be more aware in the wake of the 2013 terror attacks in the city.

City-based architect Sneha Parthasarthy spoke on the development-versus-heritage conundrum and said the the two needed to work in tandem with each other.
“We’re battling between Hyderabad showcasing itself as an IT capital or Hyderabad as a cultural capital,” she said, “It’s never a battle of heritage versus development, they have to work in parallel.”

Using examples from around the world — London, Paris, Manhattan — she showed how different architectural styles dealt with the question, with each having their own merits and demerits. Interacting with the audience, she said, “To preserve heritage, we need to have public discourse while making tough decisions. We needed to learn from the mistakes of other cities, and not look towards just development as the way forward.”