HYDERABAD: Giving a much-needed lift to Hyderabad’s T-bruised image, the New York Times (NYT) has featured the city of pearls in its list of `41 places to go in 2011.’ In fact, Hyderabad is the only Indian city to have made it to this year’s NYT list, released earlier this month, which in its earlier listings has featured Mumbai, Mysore and even the holy city of Varanasi along with the happening beaches of Goa.

“Dynastic grandeur in the heart of modern India”, is how the western daily describes the Nizam’s land, which shares the must-visit tag with other fascinating holiday destinations such as Koh Samui ( Thailand), Loreto (Mexico), Dresden (Germany), Budapest ( Hungary) and so on. “The new Taj Falaknuma Palace (in Hyderabad) is a window into the past” and “completes the Indian palace tour for the south,” the daily reads further claiming that a trip to the over 120-year-old palace-turned-star hotel can “make a trip to Hyderabad worth while just on its own.” While applauding the city’s rich heritage, the list even makes a mention of the recently opened Park Hotel, Somajiguda as it describes it as “a futuristic structure with an aluminium and glass facade inspired by the settings and metalwork found in the Nizam’s jewellery collection.”

So, hoping to cash in on this new-found recognition for the city, the state tourism department has rushed in to use the NYT list as the `selling’ point for its tableau that would be part of the Republic Day parade in the city on Wednesday. “We will showcase Hyderabad as a favoured tourist destination across the world and also use the opportunity to create awareness among people about how it is now a joint responsibility for us to work towards making it the most hospitable city in India,” said Jayesh Ranjan, principal secretary, tourism, adding how it was a matter of huge pride for Hyderabad to have made it to the international list. “It is a very prestigious list and I am glad our city has been chosen over other Indian destinations to be featured on it,” he said.

And apart from the city’s rich history, the NYT list also portrays the `hi-tech’ achievements of Hyderabad as it mentions how in the last one decade “a new sort of wealth has arrived” here through the outsourcing of international companies, which in turn has “inspired a boom of sleek cafes and restaurants” in the city.

However, such an honour has failed to impress heritage experts here who feel that the description of Hyderabad on the list comes across as a “rich-man’s” view of the city and does not justify its qualification as one of the 41 must-see places in the world. “The two hotels (listed in the article) are not places any regular tourist can visit. You have to pay a heavy price to be there,” said city-historian Narendra Luther pointing out how given a choice he would have showcased the Golconda Fort, the bazars of Old City and Chowmahalla Palace, among others, to pull crowds to Hyderabad.