You can do this by assigning a reference to the glob. Here is a sample to get you started.
#! /usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use vars qw($alpha_state);
my %hash = (alpha => {state => "hello\n"});
*alpha_state = \$hash{alpha}{state};
# See that the variable got the value.
print $alpha_state;
# Show that they are really tied together.
$alpha_state = "goodbye\n";
print $hash{alpha}{state};
If you need to set up a number of aliases, you can do
no strict 'refs'; in a block and then set them up in there.
Of course you should use these techniques as sparingly as possible. Symbolic references really are a quick way to dig yourself a deep pit.