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Narendra Luther’s tryst with Hyderabad inseparable

Even as the city mourns the demise of one of the most authentic authorities on its history and culture, Luther has left a legacy, which in his own words, is to be celebrated

By Telangana Today

Published Date - 19 January 2021, 07:09 PM

Narendra Luther’s tryst with Hyderabad inseparable — Narendra Luther

Hyderabad: For almost 65 years, the name of Narendra Luther has been synonymous with that of the city of Hyderabad.

Even as the city mourns the demise of one of the most authentic authorities on its history and culture, Luther has left a legacy, which in his own words, is to be celebrated.

In a touching summing up of his account on his early life in ‘My Hoshiarpur Days’, Luther notes: “…I have seen a thousand moons. For those who have accomplished that feat, there is no mourning when they cross over. There is only celebration of their life.”

According to the same work, written as part of the Panjab University Oral History Project, Luther was born in Hoshiarpur on March 23, 1932. His family was in Rawalpindi during Independence and moved to Amritsar on October 21, 1947. He joined the Government College Hoshiarpur for BA in 1949 and stood first in the university, during which he also started writing for the daily, Tribune, then the only English daily in Punjab and located at Ambala. For MA, he changed from Economics to Political Science.

Soon after completing his IAS training, he married Bindi, who he calls his “old girlfriend from the university days”.

Luther, among the first of IAS officers in India, was allotted to Andhra which soon after his arrival became Andhra Pradesh on November 1, 1956. In 1959, he was awarded a British Council scholarship to do a postgraduate course at Leeds University. In 1972, while working as Director of Industries, he was deputed to Libya as an advisor for development of small-scale industries. As head of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, Luther’s project for slum improvement was funded by the UNICEF and adopted by it as a worldwide model. He retired in 1991 as Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.

Luther wrote four books in Urdu, for which he won seven awards and later wrote on the history and the culture of Hyderabad, ending up with 12 books, besides numerous articles and essays. His writings have been translated into Urdu, Hindi, Telugu, Odiya and other languages. Luther, an expert on the rock formations and geology, especially in the Banjara Hills area, has also made six documentaries including ‘Rockumentary’.

His works include A Bonsai Tree: An Autobiography; Alif Tahasha; Prince, Poet, Lover, Builder, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the Founder of Hyderabad; Hyderabad: Memoirs of a City; The Nizam Who Wasn’t: A Souvenir of Bella Vista; Raja Deen Dayal: Prince of Photographers; The Rockitecture of Andhra Pradesh; and Hyderabad: A Biography, to mention a few.

Man who donned many hats

Hyderabad: Narendra Luther donned more roles than many could do in a lifetime. From bureaucrat to writer, historian, columnist, translator, documentary maker and biographer.

Talking about his journey after he came to Hyderabad in the mid-50s, Anuradha Reddy, convenor for the Hyderabad chapter of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), shares: “It’s a great loss. When I first met him, I was a child. He was my father’s colleague and visited us often. However, I got to know him better when I started working for INTACH. He was passionate about his writings. Luther came to India only after the partition of the country, and he found his lost heritage here in Hyderabad. The city’s culture reminded him of his time in Lahore. His writings are proof of his love for the city.”

Remembering the author, well-known historian Sajjad Shahid says: “He meant a lot more than just a civil servant to this city. He participated in several social and historic activities. He had a huge role in keeping Urdu literature alive in the city.”

Luther was a two-time recipient of the Golden Aster Award while his documentary won awards at the IX International Heritage Film Festival, Osaka, Japan, in 1999. After retiring, he became the chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, all the while advocating the conservation of Hyderabad’s heritage rock formations. His own home was carefully incorporated into the rocks of Banjara Hills, with his efforts resulting in nine rock formations in Banjara Hills being declared protected.