Two Telugu States, Capitals and Films - A Source of Eternal Strength

 It has been few months that I had been relocated to U.S. The journey thus far has been nothing short of dream-come-true moment for me. That I had reached the grandest of the world stage and working from over here has been quite a change. If someone ask me if I believed back then, this will come to pass one day, I didn’t imagine anything would ever pan out this way. I don’t see good days ahead in future back then. It has been as such since very long. I always see trouble every single day with little hope for tomorrow. The same perspective couldn’t see these bright days of 6 months anytime ever. That I reached a top nation and could work my way through thus far is definitely a bright image in hindsight, regardless of hundred other plaguing problems. I hope the good days lasts longer in the same manner for the good of everyone.

I mentioned I couldn’t envision these days back then. It is plainly the people around me that strengthened me to this point. The present moment has the backdrop of mission mode work of 5 years. I hoped to change my underlying working canvas, for long, during this interim 5 years. But I couldn’t and stuck in a single location working above and beyond the space orbit. What sustained me for this long back then and where did I worked during this time – it is none other than my hometown, Hyderabad. While I would have liked to work in any other place as well, it so happened that I was chained to the home city among our own people. With the scale of work, I couldn’t escape from my family either. As a result, I was stuck among the people and the place where my very roots lie. When you are with the people, places which are your very own, it makes you a much better person, makes you do better work and brings great outcomes. I am stuck with my own ilk in the home nation which has definitely helped to amplify the potential by leading an unbridled run. I wonder if this kind of work will happen in any other setting.

While the stay, canvas of the home city can be a good factor, I am afraid of the lengthy duration and a nagging thought of a change constantly creeping within. But I am little helpless, and things didn’t happen for long. At last, there is a change for many months now and a good one. While I reached this height, the strength of the home city and the working canvas is which has bolstered me for these moments, which I never imagined. The people definitely saw good times for me more than I saw for myself. The people definitely outpaced me with their enthusiasm while I mechanically wander around in a low-lying state. I thought many a times, why are they behaving like everything is fine, great - which didn’t occur to me about myself. It is more about what they destined for me that what my destiny has in store. Even earlier, the city provided a great canvas when I visited U.S. for three straight years.

Whatever you do in a nation’s capital, the whole country will get the fruits. Sometimes, whatever you do in another important city in an incremental way, the whole nation will bear the results. I had written a post, a month ago on the eve of 75th Independence Day, about the progress India has achieved and what a run it has in the recent past. It is advantage India by virtue of work done by its huge populace and common men. For me, India is an extended playground which feels the ripples whereas the actual play happened in Hyderabad. It is the cities like these which shape the nation.

While the city provided for the country, it has provided in ample for itself. You can see the face of the city getting uplifted by each passing year. The old Hyderabad is famous for Charminar and the modern Hyderabad began to expand at the same time Hitech city came into emergence 20 years back. Hyderabad is an example to show how much a city can grow in merely two decades. The fast-paced growth is set in motion in the last few decades. As I had witnessed over the last few years, there is a tremendous inflow of companies, investments into Hyderabad or Telangana signifying a great period for the jobseekers, employers and everyone concerned. As a student growing up, I always felt the potential of Telugu speaking people was under reached or never reached the full scale. With the progress seen in the recent past and the contributions made, we can say the people of these Telugu speaking states are on the right track. We work for ourselves; we work for others, and we work to inspire everyone.

The great churning out in the recent past can be seen by some statistics. Just last year, one in three jobs created in the IT sector across India is in Hyderabad. At the country level, about 4,50,000 jobs have been added in the technology industry during the financial year 2021-22. Of them, about 1,53,000 jobs are created in Hyderabad alone. Hyderabad stood in the first position in the country in giving out the most number of tech jobs last year. Remember, these are high-end jobs with decent pay scale. The place is not just good for kids, students but also great for employees or adults. The maturity of the nation is measured in how well its matured population is faring. When the matured adults lead a decent, good life without struggles, you can definitely perceive it as a great sign. The struggles of the few to enable a smooth sailing for the most is highly commendable.

I remember a decade ago when I started new, there are some companies which started operations, but the story of the last 7 years is nothing short of stellar. What has been accomplished over these seven years with all the new brands that came to Hyderabad is a great story to tell. Each investment is a story by itself and a significant milestone. The city attracted over 20 marquee Fortune 500 companies, all of them being global leaders in their own space. Many existing companies have significantly expanded operations and many new ones have set up their business. Whenever I follow the local news in past few years, each day or week there is a news of a company setting its shop. Such is the momentum and the advantage of momentum when it is working in full swing.

The pace of work should continue for many more years and should provide a compass to the entire nation. Given the importance of the city in the last many years to the state and country, there is little surprise in asking Hyderabad to be made second strategic capital of India. This will not only relieve the huge burden on New Delhi in ruling the billion plus, entire country but also provides many centers of power and focal points in disseminating the central governance. When you leverage the dynamics of Hyderabad the nation will be propelled much better, farther, and faster. Two engines can pull the nation easily, effortlessly without putting the heavy lifting on either one. This is very much required in a country like India where top-down governance will alone work. If what we do in Hyderabad should reverberate across India, making it a second strategic capital of the nation is the best choice.

It has been nearly a month since Hyderabad liberation day has passed and let there be much more fervor in pushing the city to far greater heights and pulling everyone from the ground all along. While I helped in pushing the city, it definitely pulled me from the ground and place in unimaginable heights. Let the people benefit, the entire nation benefit from the city which has potential to play such a role. Simply, the city needs to play a national role in disseminating its position of advantage to the wider spectrum. When there is a catalytic reaction in a breeding ground, it should not be confined to islands of isolation, but the federal republic structure should draw its strength to build a great nation in return.

This is all about the city in which I worked till 6 months back. Though there are good strides made in the last decade or two, there is still a gaping space to fill as far as progress is concerned. While this is about the capital city of one Telugu state, the capital city of its sister state – Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh is lying with much to be desired. I draw strength from both the places – one being the birth or childhood place and the other workplace. With the Hyderabad as capital of united Andhra Pradesh, there isn’t much to be worried. But the separation in 2014 brought its own constraints with no capital to the newly formed state. Hyderabad was declared as common capital for a period of 10 years and that period is also soon lapsing with hardly any improvement in the status quo of capital city of residual state. The first five years are the best with lot of plans, ambitions, designs, and execution for the new capital – Amaravati. With the change in government, its growth has been at a standstill since last three years.

Why am I bothered about these all now. I am married to this place since my marriage took place over there and both the capital regions beautifully acted in sync for me in laying out the future trajectory. Their relevance is huge, and I visited the sister state every now and then over the past year and half. The places were behind me, the people are behind me and the Telugu speaking groups are the ones who are the most connected to me. Even after reaching, I am mostly living with this group personally, professionally, and everywhere. With so much connected to me and giving me unequivocal support, I am all for the glory, grandiose and pride of these two states. Hyderabad is an unmistakable entity for which I worked and which worked for me. I had the deepest bond with the capital region of Andhra Pradesh. Just like how they had interlaced with my life and crisscrossed my path in creating this destiny, I need to be supposedly destined to add strength to my strength. Hence, once again, I am all for the success, progress and greatness of the Telugu race and Telugu people of the two states.

In the same spirit, a grand capital – Amaravati, needs to be built to symbolize the golden days of these people. A capital that has no death, a capital that is there for the people, a capital that is there for the nation and a capital that gives hope for the world needs to be built. Else, the time will not pardon us if we did not rise to the occasion and the world watching closely. When the onus is on us to act, we need to act with purpose and decisiveness. Let us all leave the reasons that are against, reasons that are dividing and unite, re-dedicate to bring the great city of Amaravati from the nether world. Let us all usher a great era for the state by using the opportunity, time and inner-drive of the people.

Hyderabad has become a magnet for the Telangana, let us build a bigger magnet in Andhra for the welfare and prosperity of the people. This is not just my ideology but the aspirations of people projected by the farmers of Amaravati who have been on the Gandhian path of fighting for the capital city since the last 1000 days. The people should win, the farmers should win and a capital city should emerge in our lifetime.

It will not be just a stretch of 50 or 100 square kilometers of concrete but will become the stretch which will redefine the entire state. Hyderabad was just called the stretch of 50 sq km of development at the expense of entire state in late nineties. What followed thereafter is pure magic for the next two decades. It redefined the entire landscape of Telangana which needs to be taken as a cue in Andhra as well.

Now, as there are two regions which are intertwined with me, there is another entity within them that is also very close to me. It is none other than the Telugu Films. It has to be noted that the main protagonist of the Telugu Film Industry – N.T.R. has not only destined the film industry but written the destiny of the whole population of the two states by his political leadership. That is just an example of prominence of films and the stars within those. Most of the reel world heroes transcend into the being of real-world heroes. Due to some genetic injection, I think about films, stars for better part of time. I cannot tell if it is imaginary, but the films and stars have a protracted, abstract influence upon me.

Many of them go to great lengths in keeping the people entertained, educated, enlightened and make a positive difference. These include losing close people and yet continue as business as usual. Just in this year, the super star of Tollywood, Mahesh Babu lost his own Brother and Mother and yet films are made, films are released, and everyone is happy except the person who knows the pain. This is not it and many tragedies have occurred in his family. This is the sad state of affairs to be treading the dangerous path. But that is what these people need to go through in pursuit of bringing laurels to films. Leaving it aside, I wish them to make great films with minimal loss and bring great narratives to the audience which are enchanting, enthralling and engrossing in equal measure.