Hyderabad is a town with a population of 4 million people situated in south central India. It is the capital of Andhra Pradesh province, an area twice the size of Greece. This area is the biggest princely state of India and British conquerors allowed it to be ruled by the local sovereigns, without interfering directly. Its most impressive feature of the region is its geoformation, with big rocky formations scattered around many small lakes, as if meteorites had fallen from the sky.

The path of evolution

The state of Andhra Pradesh is located on the outskirts of a wider area known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, because it is where the best technology and computer science companies of the city reside. In the last years more and more residents of Hyderabad, men and women, staff the aforementioned companies, thus resulting in the decrease of poverty afflicting the population. The region's population however is so large, that even if thousands of companies existed, it still wouldn't be possible for everyone to get a job.

Even before you step outside the airport into the city, you are surrounded by people willing to offer their services for a small fee for European standards. Services such as showing you to your hotel, transportation, carrying your luggage, carrying you on their shoulders to the taxi station, polishing your shoes or even to massaging your neck in order to relax you from the tiring journey. Dozens of people surround you, looking to earn some rupees.

Privileged class

In Andhra Pradesh a large part fertile land is not cultivated, because the majority of the population does not own land. This has resulted to poverty and many lack the even the primary goods needed for their survival. In India there are some privileged people that possess most of the land, often without cultivating it. These social castes aren't easily disputed or affected, because they are tightly connected to a complex primordial tradition.

India's magic does not only lie in the unrivaled natural beauty and its people’s wisdom and perseverance, but also to the fairy tales about princes and heroic figures who emerged from the bowels of the privileged class. The required social and financial changes, that will redistribute the wealth and will bring growth, will surely help the poor, but they will also test the traditions, which play a very important role.

In neighboring China, the imperial traditions that wanted the people dependent on superstitions, were disregarded and eliminated, in order to free production, so that everyone can have food on their table. In India, with its long parliamentary tradition, radical changes are more difficult, especially in regards to the redistribution of land. Even if the country one day is transformed into a worldwide center of technological innovation, due to its truly great minds, the population's survival problem will remain unchanged.
TEXT-PHOTOS: GEORGE ZAFEIROPOULOS
SOURCE: www.greecewithin.com

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