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Developments:
Globalisation doesn't necessarily mean westernisation. Hyderabad is competing hard with Bangalore to be India's new economy capital. Microsoft chose the city for its first overseas base, and dozens of other multinational firms have either set up shop here or contract work out to local Indian companies.
Unlike Bangalore, however, Hyderabad wears its new-found wealth with restraint. Both cities have five-star hotels, glossy office blocks, busy airports and foreign cars, but Hyderabad has few of the cinemas, cafes, restaurants and pubs that set Bangalore apart from the rest of India. Its people, too, are different. Instead of jeans and T-shirts, they wear saris, veils and shalwar kameez. Where Bangaloreans pose in pizzerias, Hyderabadis walk in parks and eat street food.
The different responses to globalisation are rooted in history. Bangalore is a newish city, popular with the British Raj for its benign climate. Modern Hyderabad, on the other hand, grew out of the bustling bazaars of its Muslim old city. The ascetic, hardworking spirit of commerce has been passed on to its modern entrepreneurs - as one young Muslim insurance software designer, working for a Boston-based firm, put it, "there is work, there is family, and there is religion."
For those concerned about the effects of globalisation on Indian culture, Hyderabad should offer hope. The distinct paths chosen by India's two most rapidly globalising cities show that westernisation is not an inevitable by-product of modernity. Rather, people and cities have a choice. Hyderabadis have adopted those aspects of Western culture that suit their needs and neglected those that don't. Their city, as a consequence, remains a very Indian place.
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