Five decades, two landmarks, one developing city
For nearly five decades, two famous landmarks have witnessed the changing skyline of Hyderabad: the white marble temple on the hill and the newspaper that reported on the city, its people and its politics.
At Kala Pahad, also known as Neeladri, the Sri Venkateshwara Temple, popularly known as Birla Mandir, has been overlooked by Hyderabad since its opening to devotees in February 1976. Six months later, in September, Hindus established a full-fledged presence in Hyderabad and the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Fifty years later, both remain closely connected to the city, albeit in very different ways.
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The story of Birla Mandir dates back to the early 1960s. The late Ganga Prasad Birla, an industrialist and a member of the Birla family, used to look out at Kala Pahad and Naubat Pahad from his room at Hill Fort Palace, also known as Ritz Hotel, in Adarshnagar, then a posh part of the city. According to accounts of the origin of the temple, it was from there that he developed the idea of building the temple on the hill. Construction began in 1966. Almost a decade later, a white marble temple stood over Hussainsagar.
It didn’t take long for the Birla Mandir to become one of Hyderabad’s most famous landmarks. It was a temple for devotees. It has become another stop on the tourist circuit for visitors to the city along with Hussainsagar, Charminar, Golconda Fort and Salar Jung Museum.
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The Hyderabad temple is also different from most Birla Mandirs across the country. Its presiding deity is Lord Venkateshwara. Another exception is the recently established Birla Temple in Ayodhya, dedicated to Lord Rama and Goddess Sita. In most other Birla temples, Lakshmi Narayan is the main deity.
From the top of Birla Mandir Hill, he saw the city change dramatically. Hyderabad went through the end of the Emergency, political changes and social upheavals, the growth of the technology sector and a long movement that eventually resulted in the creation of Telangana.
Much of this change was noted in the pages of The Hindu. Governments changed, elections were fought, movements were formed, old neighborhoods changed and new parts of the city emerged. Newspapers reported on these changes as they occurred.
There is another story behind the temple that Jayendra Ramesan (63) remembers from his father. Mr. Ramesan, who now lives in the United States, is the son of former IAS officer N. Ramesan, who played an important role in the construction of the temple. He said his father late Ganga Prasad Birla and then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kasu Brahmananda Reddy were involved in the project. “Together they brought Lord Venkateswara to Hyderabad for those who could not go to Tirumala,” he said.
His father was a devotee of Lord Venkateswara and later served as the Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). Mr. Ramesan said his father was closely involved in the decision to bring the Balaji Temple to Hyderabad. He still remembers one visit to the temple as a teenager. “Once, in 1978 or 1979, when he took me to the temple, I was probably 17. I remember my father taking me to Birla Mandir,” he said. “We went in quietly, had darshan and walked up the top when he asked me if I knew who the architect of the temple was. When I said I didn’t, he said, ‘Yours truly.’ It gave me goosebumps.”
Unlike many temples where devotees make a wish or vow and return to fulfill it, Birla Mandir has relatively few such repeat visitors. A large part of its visitors are tourists.
The temple was built using 2,000 tonnes of Makrana marble and combines Dravidian, Utkala, Rajasthani and Gujarati architectural styles.
On weekdays, it receives around 5,000 to 6,000 devotees daily. The number crosses 10,000 on weekends and can reach close to one million on occasions like Vaikuntha Ekadashi, New Year and Ugadi.
However, the atmosphere inside is also an attraction for many visitors. People of other faiths are welcome. There are no special seva arrangements or separate queues of the type seen in many other temples.
Shyam Kothari, executive officer of the temple, also supported Mr. Ramesan’s account of how Lord Venkateshwara came to Hyderabad. He described the Birla Mandir as a “modern wonder” and a place of worship open to everyone. “Inside the temple, we have panels depicting Buddhism, Judaism, Sikhism and other faiths. It is a place beyond class, caste, creed or religion. Once they enter the main gate, no one is deprived of darshan,” he said.
While the city changed, the Birla Mandir largely stayed where it was, looking down on it all.
(deshpande.abhinay@thehindu.co.in)
Published – 04 Sep 2026 05:30 IST