How many Delhis have been there? No one has an exact count. The Delhi government website lists seven cities. Delhi Tourism lists eight. This reviewer can count more. In Masalik-ul-Absar, Abu Bakr Bin Khalal has mentioned as many as 21 cities that made up Delhi.
A lot of these is folklore. Therein lies the charm of Delhi. All these myths and histories that lurk behind every nook and corner of the city make up the vibrant soul of Delhi which no conqueror could put down. This book is a search and discussion of that soul, though limited to two of its manifestations—the sultanate period and the Mughal period, followed by a concluding elegiacal chapter on the great poet Mirza Ghalib’s Delhi.
The book is actually a compilation of lectures by celebrated historian K.A. Nizami, published in 1972. Ather Farouqui has now translated them from Urdu to English.
While giving a vivid portrayal of the life of the city through the sultanate and Mughal eras, the book also gives us a peek into the eclectic atmosphere that prevailed not only in the royal courts but also among citizens. The book is a heavily footnoted treatise with sources cited precisely.
The final chapter is a discussion of how Mirza Ghalib lamented the fall of Delhi after the revolt of 1857. He was moved by the cataclysmic events that happened in front of his eyes.
The book leaves us there, shocked and numbed. But beyond the purview of the book, we know that another great city, which has drawn sustenance from the eclecticism of its past, has been resurrected from the rubble.
Delhi in Historical Perspectives
By K.A. Nizami (Translated by Ather Farouqi)
Published by
Oxford University Press
Price Rs1,100, pages 172,
