Delhi welcomes me
With its colours and chaos
A feast for the soul
The city is alive
With people and culture
A mosaic of diversity
Dilli has captured me
With its magic and its grace
A gift for the heart
Some events are so dramatic that any record of them appears like fiction. The life of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last emperor of Delhi, and his family took such a drastic turn in 1857 that it seems beyond belief: from the Emperor of India (though admittedly mostly a figurehead one) to a prisoner in Rangoon (now Yangon), far from his beloved homeland.
One of the first non-fiction titles I worked on here was Sawaneh-i Dehli, or the Biography of Delhi – a graphic and dramatic first-hand account of life on the streets of Delhi penned by Bahadur Shah Zafar’s grandson, Mirza Mohammad Akhtar Gorgani. Translated by the talented Ather Farouqui, a pioneering scholar of Urdu language and education, it is an important text for scholars of colonial studies concerning pre-1857 Delhi’s history as it offers a glimpse into one of the oldest cities in the Indian subcontinent.
According to me, Delhi is one of the most vibrant, diverse and strangely amazing cities where you will discover that your heart is the best guide. Having visited the city one full year before moving there permanently for work, my very first visit to Delhi was interspersed with visits to Jama Masjid, a most impressive example of Mughal architecture, and Chandni Chowk, one of the oldest and busiest markets of Delhi. Having spent only four days in the city at that time, I experienced but a small part of this vast and sprawling center of life. And like life, Delhi encompassed wonder, sadness, beauty, excitement and pain. Little did I know how soon the city would call me back and make me one of its own.
Ushnav Shroff
Copy Editor
To read more about Delhi’s biography, read Sawaneh-i Dehli by Mirza Ahmad Akhtar Gorgani, translated by Ather Farouqui.
