White Mughals

I had been reading White Mughals, by William Dalrymple (sent to me by Brent) over the last few weeks and getting to learn things that I had wondered about, but never had read before. From the cover, it seems the book is about a romantic relationship (and subsequent marraige) between the English Resident in Hyderabad and a Hyderabadi-Mughal noblewoman; however, it is anything but that. The romance is a just a faint backdrop of the political and social changes happening in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. How many cultures interacted together to form a complex political and social situation. How the British, slowly but surely (it took them almost 200 years to do that), took over the political power in India. How Hyderabad, Pune and Lucknow became big political players in India, but were unable to fill the void left by the crumbling Mughal empire; they eventually had to yield to the British. Finally, how the decisions of normal (even non-visionary) men (and women) affect the course of history. I had always wondered how it took the British 200 years to consolidate their power in India (~ 1650 to 1850), but that power could be kept for only 100 years. Even the Mughal Empire lasted longer.( ~1556 to 1707). As a child, reading history, I always wondered what really happened between 1707 (death of Aurengzeb) and 1857 (Queen Victoria becoming the Queen of India). [I think know now, but but I am too scared to show my ignorance]. This book gives some of the details of what happened in the middle. The transitional phases of history; the period between two big empires, ends up being more interesting than the actual empire. Thinking more about it, in the last 2500 years of the Indian political history, the periods under a unified central rule were really little (100 years of the Mauryas, 150 years of the Guptas, 150 years of the Mughals, 100 years of the British, 60 years and counting of the Indian Republic): not more than 600 years. Which means, the real history of India is anything but political: it is social, cultural, religious and dare I say, spiritual.

One week of IPL

IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket is off to a promising start. Eight teams from eight Indian cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh); multi-million dollar franchise; million dollar player contracts; add Bollywood to the mix, you have a recipe for success. (Dont forget the cheerleaders). Being the conservative that I am, I must still admit that I am actually enjoying this kind of cricket. I enjoy watching Test cricket and I am enjoying this T20 even more. My biggest attraction is the speed of the game and how much more this format needs the leadership of the captain; good thinking as well as team work. Ricky Ponting amazed me with the leadership he showed on the field as he run up and down cheering the Kolkata KnightRider bowlers. Add that to the already aggressive leadership that Sourav Ganguly was showing, you get a team that is all charged up. It is also giving exposure so much young talent and giving them an opportunity to play international standard cricket with the best players of the world. It is going to be an interesting month. My driver Akbar, however is really unhappy these days: three straight losses for the Hyderabad team. I am supporting the Knightriders.

The Books I have read in the last year

The Age of Kali, William Dalrymple
The Age of Turbulence, Alan Greenspan.
The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman
Presidential Courage, Michael Beschloss
The Google Story, David Vise
Built to Last, Collins/Porras
The Ottoman Centuries, Lord Kinross
The Baburnama: memoirs of Babur
The Mughal World, Life in India's Last Golden Age, Abraham Eraly
Mirza Ghalib, Selected Lyrics and Letters (Urdu/English), KC Nanda
On the Mahabharata, Sri Aurobindo
Rise and Fall of Third Reich, William Shirer (ongoing reading)

Move to India: one year later

We are about to complete a year in Hyderabad. No mean achievement, this! Akanksha is going to school, she is loving it. Akanksha is getting an average of one infection a month; she was even in the hospital for 7 days last month! But she handled it really well. Even I am not far behind: I am getting one infection a quarter. Madhumanti is doing definitely better. I found an unposted entry on Hyderabad; written last year.

 

Hyderabad The last time I visited Hyderabad, it seemed like a city of contrasts: culturally. One could find women in burqa’a and in mini-skirts side by side. Now the contrasts seem economic as well. Mercedes showrooms (and people buying and driving them), malls, multiplexes, organic grocery stores and beggars on the streets: true globalization! But still, it still doesn’t seem to have become a full fledged city yet: it seems the development is a bit random, patchy; parts of Hyderabad look like a western metropolis, and then there are parts that look like suburbs and then there are miles of rural emptiness. This is stark contrast from the uniformity and consistency of the US. But this is very different from the other Indian cities I am used to: Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Parts of the Hyderabad reminded me of Gurgaon in 1997; but Gurgaon was 20 kilometers from Delhi. Hyderabad still has a long way to go. But there is a good chance of getting there. It maybe have to go through some social upheavals in the process. Affordable housing seems to be slipping out of reach of even the upper middle class. A mini-version of the US housing cycle has also happened here. The interest rates were low, the banks would fund even upto 90% of the home (unheard of 10 years ago); the attraction of 50% appreciation a year drove demand up; a virtuous cycle! Things seemed to have cooled down slightly, with the interest rates rising from 7% to 11% over the last 12 months. So now, it is hitting the middle class the most. But the number of housing projects that have come up are amazing: almost copies of the US style apartment complexes. Long story short: housing is a problem. The traffic is like any other Indian city: the lights are just guidelines. Even with half a dozen cops at the intersection, jumping a red light is easy and usual. One difference from Kolkata: there are no rickshaws. Another difference: there is fewer public transportation and fewer taxis compared to other metros. So, traffic is better run than the metros: better roads, and fewer cars and buses. But then, as I said before, the roads are not consistent either. The main roads are wide with almost no potholes: but the narrower lanes are pockmarked. Exciting times ahead!