City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi - William Dalrymple

This is a book about Delhi, not the Delhi we know now - the second largest metropolis in India. This book is about the Lutyen's Delhi, the Mughal Dilli, and the Dilli of a few thousand years. The Delhi which housed the most beautiful architecture of its era. Delhi, which has been the seat of power and the heart of India. And the Delhi which was torn into two in 1984 – the new Punjabi-settled rich Delhi and the old Urdu-speaking poor Dilli.

The city is not new to me. I have visited it on many occasions, both the newer posh areas like Connaught Place and the old city areas like the Red Fort. And of course we have all read about its history in our school text-books - how Aurangzeb overthrew his father and eventually led Delhi to its downfall. But none of those ever left an impression as strong and compelling as William Dalrymple's City of Djinns.

Dalrymple’s account of the capture of Delhi by Aurangzeb, the strained relations between his siblings, Jahanara’s hatred for her elder sister Roshanara leading to her betrayal of her own father - were amongst the most important historical insights this book provided. The author leads us into shattered Mughal palaces, inside the restricted zenana chambers, the caretakers of which were eunuchs. A stark contrast is shown in the position of eunuchs then and now. As against their despised status in society today, earlier they were the courtesans of the kings and rulers.

This was the first travelogue I read and humour was one of the last things I expected. Accompanied by many funny anecdotes, the style is witty and interesting. Wrapped in the writer's (and his wife’s) one year stay in Delhi, Dalrymple takes us through his landlady’s eccentricities, his taxi-driver’s drinking bouts, his meetings with Britishers who chose to stay back in India after 1947, misfit Anglo-Indians, old ladies claiming to be Mughal heiresses, hakims reluctant to part with their trade secrets, exciting scenes of patridge fighting and the heart-wrenching account of 1984 riots. There is a part devoted to Sufism in India, the trance like state attained by dervishes and even a visit to the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer.

All this and much more about Delhi's rich heritage, which is chipping away like old paint on many of its forts, is explored in this beautiful travelogue. Dalrymple has ignited in me a desire to visit the Jama Masjid and old city of Dilli once again. To quote a friend: "City of Djinns converts the most staunch haters of Delhi to its new lovers.”