Adaptation of cuisines made Hyderabad palatable

HYDERABAD: The delectable haleem and biryani have once again earned global recognition for the Nizam’s city — this time by catapulting it into UNESCO ’s coveted ‘ Network of Creative Cities ’ list, announced on Thursday. The only other Indian city that made the cut in 2019 is Mumbai. While Hyderabad walked away with the laurels in the gastronomy category, Mumbai shined through in the films section.The two will now be part of a 246-member-strong network of ‘creative’ urban settlements, 66 of which have been added this year.Previously, in 2010, haleem was honoured with the Geographical Indication (GI) status, making it the first meatbased product from India to win the prestigious tag. Hyderabad’s biryani, on the other hand has been repeatedly recognised as one of the country’s best gastronomic offerings.Making the announcement, on the occasion of World Cities Day, UNESCO’s DG Audrey Azoulay said, “All over the world, these cities, each in its way, make culture the pillar, not an accessory, of their strategy. This favours political and social innovation and is particularly important for the young generations.”Apart from Hyderabad’s haleem and kalyani biryani, nine other international destinations found a spot in the gastronomy category of the network, which brings together cities “that base their development on creativity, under the categories of music, arts and folk crafts, design, cinema, literature, digital arts or gastronomy”.That Hyderabad pitched its dishes as an “adaptation of world cuisine”, made relevant in the local context, is perhaps what helped it bring home the honour.“My heartfelt congratulation to the city of Hyderabad on this excellent news. The department of municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have worked hard to this end,” said Junhi Han, chief of culture, UNESCO, New Delhi.Sharing the news on Twitter, an elated MAUD minister K T Rama Rao stated, “Glad to announce that Hyderabad is selected as @UNESCO creative city in Gastronomy category on the occasion of World Cities Day today. It’s among the 2 cities from India in list of 66 cities, other being Mumbai in Film category.” He congratulated MAUD principal secretary, Arvind Kumar and his team for the achievement. “This is the result of six months of quiet hard work,” Kumar later told TOI.