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Published on: 03/20/24 6:30 AM

Book review: Chandni Chowk The Mughal City of Old Delhi by Swapna Liddle

CHANDNI CHOWK, The Mughal City of Old Delhi by Swapna Liddle. Speaking Tiger Books, out in 2017.
In all the years I lived and worked in Delhi, the old parts of the city always had me in thrall, even as much of the new city repelled me. Now I live far away from Delhi but that old spell is still powerful, so I`d been wanting to read this book for a while now. And what a rewarding read it turned out to be.
This monograph takes us back to the 17th century, the heyday of Shahjahanabad, and keeps us there as unseen observers watching how the vicissitudes of time wreak havocĀ  on this place.
Once the centrepoint of Mughal rule, a template of culture, dress and cuisine for pretty much most of north India, now Shahjahanabad is no more, though we still flock to the twisting lanes of Old Delhi to visit the Red Fort, to eat at Parathe Wali Gali, to buy wedding finery at Kinari Bazaar, to shop for electronics at Begum Samru`s haveli which now is the teeming Bhagirath Palace, to look at jewellery in Dariba Kalan.
Swapna Liddle shows us that Old Delhi was a melting pot of cultures and communities all thriving for most of the time in a climate of religious liberalism. The denizens were mostly sharply politically aware (the passage on the Civil Disobedience movement in Delhi is fascinating) , somewhat inured to the savagery of their rulers, and had an inbuilt survival strategy that let them experience and survive much tumult like Nadir Shah`s brutal invasion, the racism of British rule, and the Revolt of 1857, the horrors and sorrows of Partition.
Even as Delhi geared itself to become the capital of independent India, Shahjahanabad was pushed into the shadows. And yet, as the book`sclosing chapter shows, the fascination Old Delhi holds for people has not really waned or faded.
The city is dead, long live the city!
book reviewbooksBritish ruleChandni Chowkmonograph on ShahjahanabadMughal ruleOld DelhiPartitionShahjahanabadSpeaking Tiger BooksSwapna Liddle

Sheila Kumar • March 20, 2024


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