From Ameerpet to America

A global software gateway for many aspiring youth in Hyderabad, India

Charminar, Hyderabad

Nestled in the north west area of the city of Hyderabad the famous neighbourhood of Ameerpet caters to over a lakh students daily as they make their way to Ameerpet in the early hours of the day to learn software skills. The skills imparted at Ameerpet by the various coaching centres which are placed here are no ordinary skills. They are highly specialized, in-demand skills of softwares which are the latest in the information technology sector in the world. Nearly everyone in Ameerpet is aware of the power of the gateway to send people to the most sought after countries outside of India. As one enters the Shyam Theatre Road in Ameerpet, they are faced with an overcoming visual experience of hoardings on both sides of the road. These hoardings, mostly in primary colours, completely hide any trace of the structure upon which they are hung. And the text of the hoardings apart from shouting out the kind of software skills on offer also advertises the potential employers of the students after learning a particular software.

This visual experience is heightened even further when one stands in the middle of the atrium of Annapoorna Complex and looks up. However, the comings and goings of students through the atrium to their coaching classes, to Qualitea and Cofee shop during the break and so on has an abiding rhythm to it. The students coming from all walks of life with different end goals share at least one thing in common if nothing else. They all want to leave Ameerpet after completing their coaching for much better prospects than before Ameerpet. Such is the power of the gateway of Ameerpet, you walk in the coaching institute’s cramped classrooms with plastic chairs and walk out to big, swanky offices of tech giants like Wipro, Infosys and even companies like Deloitte.

‘Madam, iss jagah ko toh kehte hi hai from Ameerpet to America, yahan har jagah se seekhne ko aate aur phir job karne ko jaate’.

Ameerpet can be best described as a hub of IT knowledge which came into existence in Hyderabad shortly after the IT boom in the city in the late 90s and early 2000. The boom was followed by an increase in jobs in the attractive BPO sector for the youth and soon after the demand for jobs in big IT companies which required technical knowledge of certain softwares contributed to the present state of Ameerpet. On speaking to the young students coming to Ameerpet for the purpose of gaining such operational knowledge, stories of their agricultural background are juxtaposed with images of them working in a high paced technological world; the village with the city; the familiarity with the diversity. Such were my conversations with some of the students who spoke of their ‘native’ with a romanticized nostalgia and a wish to retire in the villages they have come from amidst relatives and families of their own. Nevertheless they had dreams of their own and a willingness to work towards a good job. The entries and exits from Ameerpet were as dramatic as their descriptions and while some students hope to achieve what they described as their dream jobs, some already had a job in hand in places like America, UK and Ireland and had come to Ameerpet to be well equipped for their futures.

In an interconnected world like ours which is overrun by global flows we need to acknowledge movement of people above and beyond flows of capital, technology and knowledge. Ameerpet provides insight as a unique gateway which is dependent on technological innovation from the developed world but not necessarily the knowledge of that technology as most softwares used in the coaching centres are pirated versions. The transfer of this knowledge unto students and their further placements across the world by the pull created by large IT firms is truly remarkable when one attempts to understand the bigger picture. While for someone from outside Ameerpet the bigger picture seems beyond comprehension since it involves factors like sourcing of softwares, instructors, infrastructure to enable the running of coaching centres and teaching in addition to support services needed for the students, and the larger pblic infrastructure and facilities available in the city of Hyderabad; for a tea stall vendor standing right outside Annapoorna Complex atrium its only that simple. Or in his words, ‘Madam, iss jagah ko toh kehte hi hai from Ameerpet to America, yahan har jagah se seekhne ko aate aur phir job karne ko jaate’.

Annapoorna Complex Atrium, Ameerpet

Talking about flows like entries and exits there is always a possibility of outflows coming after inflows. Since a lot of what Ameerpet is today is based on inflows of investments by various actors both public and private, there is bound to be an outflow. While talking to a medical shop owner on the ground floor of the Annapoorna Complex, I came across a possibility of such a outflow in the form of flight of coaching centres out of Ameerpet, which according him was already happening to other areas closer to the HITEC city as the state is heavily investing in building infrastructure there. Thus, while it is fascinating to unravel the trajectory of Ameerpet what lies in Ameerpet’s future has to do with its impermanence as a hub of technological learning. The impermanence of a place like Ameerpet is interesting to note when we consider the technology sector as well, which in itself is extremely dynamic and ever changing. And even in the face of such an impermanence there are instances of returning to Ameerpet, if the situation so arises, as a means of reskilling oneself or making themselves more marketable by picking up new and relevant knowledge which is useful in the world of IT by the student of Ameerpet.

And perhaps for me this was the most beautiful thing to discover in the process of understanding the flows affecting Ameerpet and the students in it. That even in an ever-changing scenario of the IT world, therein lies a certain promise of a job if you’ve passed through the gateway.