City Of Djinns: A Book Review

City Of Djinns: A Book Review

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If you were to ever embark upon a tour of the historical city Delhi it must not be without reading the book City Of Djinns by William Dalrymple.

The magnificent Red Fort though now only a fragment of its aura of the past, the ruins of Tughlakabad, the sandstone dome of Humayun, the Chandni Chowk market all would have a different significance if viewed through the magnifying glass of this Scottish masterpiece.

Having been to Qutub Minar twice before I never knew that the enigmatic un-rusted pillar close to it was installed by the valiant Tomars who also laid the foundation of the now hardly can be imagined Lal Kot fort inside which the Qutub Minar stands.

The book offers a deep view of the events before and after 1857 which shaped Delhi into what we see it now. 1192, 1857 and 1947 are some of the timelines which seemed to have left some lasting imprints on the soil of Delhi.

The book contains some repulsive details of the happenings inside the Great Moghul palaces while at outside they were still the single most powerful empire in the world at that time. It would not be far too stretched to say that the seeds of the downfall of one of the most powerful empires at that time were sowed in the acts of moral turpitude of some of the very powerful figures in the monarchy. And probably of all the gravest by the Emperor Shah Jahan himself.

When a mighty landmark falls it’s the civilisation that has grown around it which suffers the most. Dalrymple’s thorough research on Delhi especially through the fate of its population at different times brings out this fact in a poignant manner. Be it the Sahabzadi Qamar Sultan and her daughter Pakeezah then stationed in the labyrinth of Daryaganj a little far away from the Red fort where their ancestors had had stayed or the blind man who was dragged all the way to Daulatabad by Tughluk’s soldiers, both, leave you a little hopeless. So, does the story of the four handsome and hopeful Fraser brothers of whom only one James Fraser could make it back home. The chapter chronicling the life of the eunuch’s settled in Delhi is intriguing as Dalrymple compares their position in the Mughal courts to that as of now. The author takes some noteworthy risks during his research as is evident from the rude dismissals and graphic expletives he suffered at times at the hands of the eunuch until he met Zakir, whose family used to make the jewellery for the Imperial eunuchs.

The book is a wonderful handbook for aspiring historians who want to research further on the history of Indian subcontinent, particularly Delhi. It is enriched with thoroughly researched bibliographical references to other masterpieces such as the Twilight Of Delhi by Ahmed Ali, Muraqqa e Delhi, Bernier’s Travels and Manucci’s Mogul. The missing link as Dalrymple himself regrets is about the period of pre-muslim Delhi where larger landmarks stood out but the details obliterated.

Dalrymple unknowingly also offers us an insight what it takes into the making of an author. Unable to get back to sleep after woken by a distant rumbling early morning he describes how he could not help musing what he had read in Carr Stephen’s The Archaeology and Monumental Remains Of Delhi as to why the Pandavas chose to build Indraprastha near the Nigambodhi Ghat. And in his bid to connect the missing dots about Delhi’s history he decided to explore this place even if it was a dark and threatening morning then and a flight to catch in the evening.

Do not be surprised if at some point you start believing in mysticism while reading this book either after reading about Khwaza Khizr or Raja Khidar and the Djinns, who are believed to be made of vapor and flame.

Yes! Even I do pray that the city of Delhi does flourish and prosper for eternity and the Djinns believed to be guarding the city let no mishap befall upon it again.