When joint director of Salar Jung Museum Dr A. Nagender Reddy moved to Hyderabad in 1978, he fell in love with the weather. “The city has the perfect weather. There was no pollution and no environmental concerns back then. Water was also abundant. Gandipet Lake and Hussain Sagar provided us with the required water,” he recalls.
Nagender misses the old single-screen movie theatres in the city the most. “I lived at Gowliguda near Koti. During my college days, I and my friends used to roam around the city as there was neither traffic nor pollution. We also watched movies at the single-screened theatres. Nowadays, it is all about multiplexes. I miss those old-fashioned theatres a lot. And, I definitely prefer the old Hyderabad,” he says.
Nagender joined the Salar Jung Museum as the director in 2001. “Around 7-8 lakh people visited the museum then. Now, more than 12 lakh people visit it every year. However, the attractions at the museum haven’t changed. The Musical Clock and Veiled Rebecca are people’s favourites even now. We are trying to add modern technology at the museum. The collections will be displayed online and touch screen facilities will be implemented soon. Mughal Empress Noor Jahan’s knife, Aurangzeb’s sword, and other priceless items from Persia, India and from the Mughal period, collected by Salar Jung III will be on display at the Islamic Art Gallery coming up at the Salar Jung Museum,” Nagender concludes.
