MOHAMMAD ALI BAIG, 39, Theatre revivalist

“Hyderabad is special because it is the world’s first truly cosmopolitan city since four- and- a- half centuries. It was also the first active centre of performing arts. Under the city’s founder King Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, Golconda Fort, their citadel of power truly patronised the arts. Hyderabad was also a hub for multinational trade right from that era with the Arabs, Persians, Syrians, Africans and Chinese in active trade with the then rulers— the Qutb Shahs and later the Asaf Jahs. Another very important element I love about the city is its distinct character, a great blend of the traditional and the modern— like Delhi or Istanbul.