‘I cherish being a Hyderabadi’
As the city gears up to complete 425 years, we take a trip down memory lane with Raja Deen Dayal’s family, one of the oldest in the city
Raja Deen Dayal’s family is seeped into the history of Nizams. The family, since four generations, have been the official photographers for the Nizams. When Hyderabad was annexed into the Indian Union, the Deen Dayal family was there to capture it all.
Uma Jain Deen Dayal, the great-granddaughter-in-law of Raja Deen Dayal, came to Hyderabad in 1965 to meet her husband, late Sureshchand Deen Dayal, great-grandson of Raja Deen Dayal. “Soon after completing my masters in Delhi in May, I came here,” she reminisces. “I was mesmerised by the city. I stayed in Erra Manzil, which had lovely boulders and rocks; and in the first week of June, the weather was like a hill station. I fell in love with the city on my first visit itself. After meeting him (Sureshchand), it was very easy for me to take a decision. Ever since then, Hyderabad has been home.”
Speaking about the days of yore, she says, “Back in those days, Hyderabad was an enigmatic city and people were very warm. Going to Tank Bund was a pleasure; it used to be such a beautiful walk in the early mornings. All that has vanished now. A lot of turmoil has happened, a lot of traffic jams and the roads have turned bad. Back then, we had 24 hours of water supply, now there are tankers. All those things have changed for the worse.”
However, she asserts that one must see beyond the negatives. “As a senior citizen, I have witnessed how the city has progressed with the help of technology. So many things have opened up, which were not there in the olden days.”
Even though many things have changed, one thing that remains is the laid back attitude of people, however they are now more commercialised. “I wouldn’t say that I am unhappy that the city has become more advanced,” she says, adding that what makes her sad is that landmarks are being pulled down.
“Most of the landmarks have disappeared. Persis Hotel and even the beautiful Vasant Vihar in Abids, are no more. I think Golden Threshold, Sarojini Naidu’s birthplace, Secunderabad Club and the Trimulgherry Jail are one of the few places left,” she rues.