Articles
Has Rap Found its Home in the Deccan?
The Deccan is a place of unlikely arrivals and departures – cultural practices from every possible region of the world have found home here and gotten reinterpreted and gifted back to other regions. One such recent arrival is hip hop from Black and Hispanic...
A God, A Pirate and the Birth of a New Urban Religion in the Deccan
Who was Vavar? There are many strands to this story.
The After-Lives of Historical Figures in the ‘Pan-Indian’ Telugu Film
Contemporary film history of the Telugu people has at least one instance of a hyper masculine superhuman celluloid figure that appears time after time to establish territorial order: Alluri Sitarama Raju. The source for this celluloid figure was the leader of what...
Telugu Modernity and the Curious Case of Enlightened Privilege
In 1907, Vijnana Chandrika Mandali, a Telugu publishing house, began their operations with the goal to ‘improve Telugu literature’.
The Mulki and the Mulk: How Belonging Is Layered in the Deccan
The categories of Mulki and non-Mulki began to appear on the Hyderabadi political scene from the mid-19th century onwards as a response to the influx of Urdu-speaking North Indians being recruited into the state administration.
The Uncanny Sisterhood of Deccan’s Languages
‘Pora khaalli? (Have the children eaten?)’ These are two utterances in Marathi spoken in Osmanabad and Solapur districts. But a speaker of Marathi from the central or western parts of Maharashtra may be perplexed at what is being asked of them. Is ‘Kaa karlaalaav’ the...
Deccani Identity: Instrumental Logic or Deep Love of Land?
The diverse ways in which the Deccani identity is invoked in textual sources and oral traditions indicate that newcomers to the Deccan adapted to the ways of the land, developed strong affinities to local landscapes, and adopted cultural practices and markers.
What an 18th-Century Sale Deed Reveals About Language and Territory in the Deccan
The documents hint at more give-and-take in the scribal environment than the one-way “imperial” narrative premised on modern mono-linguistic identities.
Afterword: Who does the Deccan belong to?
On September 17, 1948, more than a year after India became independent, the Hyderabad–Deccan state was integrated into the new Indian nation-state ruled from Delhi. This event, celebrated by some as “liberation,” set in motion decisive processes of integration,...
Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Hyderabad: When poetry triumphed over politics
The September 17th anniversary of the ‘Police Action’, which led to the integration of the princely state of Hyderabad in 1948, has become increasingly contentious with selective use of history by political parties to further their current polarising agenda. Lost in...
Hyderabad’s distinct Chaush community has roots in Yemen
At a time when Muslims in India are constantly asked to display their nationalism and explain their choices of food, love and profession, it is important to remember that identity is not a monolith. It is historically constructed and multidimensional. Neither can it...
How the Dakhni language defines cultural intimacy and regional belonging
In mid-2019, I embarked on a month-long language homestay program in Jaipur to train myself in spoken and written Hindi. After which, I confidently journeyed to Hyderabad to commence my fieldwork for my PhD dissertation in anthropology. To my dismay, I found it...
Chand Bibi, a queen from the multi-ethnic medieval Deccan
Where in the historical record and in historical consciousness does Chand Bibi (1550-1600) – the queen regent of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar – belong? Chand Bibi Sultan is well-known in India for valiantly defending her natal kingdom of Ahmadnagar in 1595, from the most...
Becoming a Deccani artist: Tracing the history of Hyderabad’s School of Art and Crafts
In the 1930s and 40s, debates on education across India focused on designing job and industry-oriented technical and vocational training. Against this backdrop, Hyderabad nurtured a second focus — that of preserving and promoting its artistic heritage from ancient...
Search for the past: Stories from the dusty archives of the Deccan
As I sifted through some administrative reports of the Asaf Jahi state at the Telangana State Archives in Hyderabad, the archivist/official, a very patient man, sat there trying to match the details written on a small piece of white paper with the endless lists from a...