Book and Publication – Rana Safvi

Nasheman -e Zil-e Ilahi and the Orpheus panel:

Rana Safvi — Tue, 06 May 2025 16:43:01 +0000

In the centre of the back wall of the Diwan-e Aam is a 21 feet wall with 318 panels that depict the famous Orpheus legend.
Orpheus was a Greek prophet, a legendary musician and poet who could charm all living things and even stones. In this panel he is shown playing the lute, while a lion, a leopard, a deer, a dog and a hare sit at his feet, listening in complete rapture. The occurrence of this panel as a backdrop to the Mughal throne is deliberate as it approximates the legendary throne of Solomon, the prophet king and ideal ruler on whom birds and beasts sat in peaceful attendance. [Ebba Koch]
Its 318 panels, said to be the work of European jeweller Austin de Bordeaux, with various exquisite carvings of birds and beasts made in inlay work are placed in a special marble recess that measures 7 yards x 2.5 yards. Its artistry is confounding for the human mind.
Beresford, in his book, The Delhi Guide, describes it before the 1857 Uprising and says it was an 8-feet panel with precious stones also embedded in it.
In September 1857, after the fall of Delhi, many treasures from the Red Fort were looted. This panel was one of them.
It was appropriated by Captain John Jones and sold by him to the British government for 500 pounds. They placed it in the South Kensington Museum.
Sir John Marshall reports in the Archaeological Survey Annual Report 1902–03 that it was hoped that the plaque would be restored in time for the Delhi Durbar (Lord Curzon’s Darbar of 1903), but it arrived too late to be in time for that. It wS installed shortly after the durbar.
He also adds that the panels ‘have now been replaced behind the throne, and many other panels have also been cleaned of the lac with which they were covered, and their mutilated surfaces re-polished.

Photo from the time that there was no plexiglass around it

Excerpt from: “Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi”
#ShahjahanabadTheLivingCityofOldDelhi #redfort #shahjahan #mughalarchitecture #orpheus #1857

Jinn / Djinn saints and Dargahs

Rana Safvi — Sun, 24 Sep 2023 14:21:36 +0000

Did you know that Iblis or Shaitan (Satan) was a jinn and not an angel?

The Quran mentions only jinn, marid, and ifrit, but Islamic literature and folklore differentiates between 10 types of jinn

Who are jinns (jinn saints as many call them or jinn mamu as I was taught to address them) and what is their role in our lives?

How are they different from bhoot-paret?

Why do people, especially women flock to dargahs?

Read about the quest of the women there, in the chapter The Possessed and Dispossessed where I discuss the Jinns in view of Islam and trace how dargahs came to be linked to mental health.

Also, whether Islam itself encourages such practices.

Though, Islam places importance on holistic healing, ‘connecting it [health] to the well-being of the mind (aql), body (jism) and spirit (ruh)’, there is no direct connection between al-Shaitan and mental illness in the Quran, neither is it linked to sin and misguidance.

Yet, one of the major reasons for women flocking to dargahs today are related to mental health.

I found many women on amavas at the popular dargahs of Bijapur, the Jod Gumbaz. It was built in 1687.
I recorded their reasons which i found fascinating.

This lady caught my attention and I framed her in this photograph.

Read more about it in a rather long chapter.

https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl

In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India

#sufism #bijapur #insearchofthedivine #sufi #dargah #jinn #djinn #sufi #dargah

Book REVIEW In Search of the Divine in Borderless Journal

Rana Safvi — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 16:35:39 +0000

By Bhaskar Parichha

Title: In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India

Author: Rana Safvi

Publisher: Hachette India

Sufism was a liberal reform movement within Islam. It had its origin in Persia and spread into India in the 11th century. Most of the Sufis (mystics) were persons of deep devotion who disliked the display of wealth and degeneration of morals following the establishment of the Islamic empire.

The word ‘Sufi’ is derived from ‘suf’, which means wool in Arabic. It also means ‘purity’.Sufism or mysticism emerged in the 8th century, The early known Sufis were Rabia al-Adawiya, Al-Junaid, and Bayazid Bastami. It was a well-developed movement by the end of the 11th century. Al Hujwiri is regarded as the oldest Sufi in the sub-continent. By the 12th century, the Sufis were organized in Silsilahs.

In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India by Rana Safvi is by far the most comprehensive history of this belief system. As a scholarly book, it does more than just explain Sufism. The book elucidates how the practice is influential and yet possesses a quiet dignity. The general perception of Sufism for those uninitiated is perhaps reduced to paintings and images of saints, in cascading gowns steeped in reverence for the Almighty. The images, while powerful are deeply reductive. Like with most other things, Sufism has been reduced to images, motifs, and symbols of faith.

Says the blurb: ‘Sufism, called the mystical dimension of Islam, is known for its inclusive nature, as well as its ethics of love and compassion, its devotional music, art, and architecture. In India’s syncretic culture, Sufism developed a distinct character, and harmoniously embraced the Bhakti traditions of North India.’

A renowned writer, scholar, and translator, Rana Safvi is a passionate believer in India’s unique civilisational legacy and pluralistic culture which she documents through her writings. Author of nine books on the culture, history, and monuments of India, her A Folk Tale and Other Stories: Lesser-Known Monuments of Indiais a commendable book.

Safvi writes, “As numerous mystics came and settled in the subcontinent, they drew from local Hindu influences and developed a unique form of Sufism here. There was a great and constant refertilisation of ideas. With their understanding, acceptance, and integration of local customs and influences, they carved their own unique space in the hearts of locals of every faith, class, and caste. They could speak the local language, and dialects and as tales of their Karamat (miracles) grew, so did their followers.”

She delves into the fascinating roots of Sufism, with its emphasis on ihsan, iman, and akhlaq[1], and the impact it continues to have on people from all communities. Safvi relies not only on textual sources but also on her visits to dargahs across the country, and the conversations she has with devotees and pirs alike.

Safvi says dargahs aren’t spaces meant to accommodate the Muslim community alone. Sufi saints insisted on religious harmony. In the 18th chapter of the book titled Celebrating with the Saint, she quotes an oral account of tolerance and acceptance.

“Some Muslims were once passing through an area where Holi was being celebrated. Perhaps as a shararat (mischief), perhaps unwittingly, the Muslims got Holi colors on their clothes. This led to a flight among Hindus and Muslims. The news reached the darbar (court) of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The Muslims complained that they had been defiled.

“How would they offer namaz now?’ said Fareed Bhai.

“Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya told them: my people, all colors come from Allah. Which color is that that does not come from Allah?

“Then Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya told Hazrat Amir Khusrau to capture this in a couplet. And Hazrat Khusrau wrote the (following) lyric:

Aaj rang hai ri

Mere khwaja ke ghar rang hai ri, aaj rang hai[2].”

The book suggests in intense detail the sacred atmosphere she encountered: the reverent crowds, the strains of qawwali, and the fragrance of incense, as well as highlights the undeniable yet often forgotten contributions of women in Sufism. The wide-ranging study is contemporary and also a tribute to the rich and textured past.

The book doesn’t just explain Sufism to the lay reader, it coagulates the affinity shared between Sufism and Islam. Safvi’s book lends dignity to the millions of worshippers who otherwise inhabit an Islam-loathing world.

Apart from a historical account, the books deal with the oral narratives, the status of women, and the Prophet’s family who laid the foundation for faith as Muslims know it. The elegant study emphasises the power of faith, not just in a universal capacity but also as a personal one. Along with the book meant for review, Safvi writes in a note, “This book has been a deeply enriching experience for me.”

Safvi’s work does not make the case that Sufism is independent of Islam. She says it was a myth solidified by western academics. She clarifies that a lot of Sufi followers do consider Prophet Muhammad to have spearheaded the practice. The connection with Islam is unmissable and yet it took on the shades of other faiths in praxis.

Her exploration isn’t in any way, a means to legitimise Sufism. Safvi is humble enough to recognise that she doesn’t need to do that. If anything, her writing is to shed light on values of peace, austerity, and benevolence which often miss the eye’s mark when religion is discussed in a politically charged world.

Rana Safvi’s In Search of the Divine is dignified, powerful, engrossing. Weaving together facts and popular legends, ancient histories and living traditions, this unique treatise running into more than four hundred pages examines core Sufi beliefs and uncovers why they might offer hope for the future.

[1] Spiritual excellence, faith, act of goodness or virtue

[2] At my Khwaja’s home, there is jubilant colour
Today there is jubilant colour

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

https://borderlessjournal.com/2022/12/14/in-search-of-the-divine/

Book review, in The Indian Express of In Search of The Divine

Rana Safvi — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:31:53 +0000

In ‘In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India’, Rana Safvi maps a millennium of shared spirituality

The writer weaves together a narrative that combines history and geography, myth and contemporary practices of Sufism, writes Raza Mir

https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/in-search-of-the-divine-living-histories-of-sufism-in-india-rana-safvi-spirituality-book-review-8276784/

Book Review, Scroll: In Search of The Divine

Rana Safvi — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 13:23:16 +0000

BOOK REVIEW

‘In Search of the Divine’: Where Sufism’s syncretic legacy meets author Rana Safvi’s personal faith

A combination of information, insights, and inspiration.

Urmi Chanda

Nov 05, 2022

“Ye ishq ne dekha hai, ye aql se pinhan hai…”

“It is revealed to love, reason can’t see it…”

The opening line of this ghazal by 19th century poet Asghar Gondvi is perhaps an apt encapsulation of the essence of Sufism, for this mystical path of Islam is, after all, a path of the heart. Overtly different from the jurisprudential face of Islam, which seems to be all about strict adherence to the shariah, Sufism is languid and fluid.

A great stream of traditions big and small, Sufism has flowed through the Indian subcontinent for centuries, bringing all manner of people into its fold. In her latest book, In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India, Rana Safvi takes a close look at this esoteric clutch of Islamic beliefs and practices, also known as Tasawwuf.

Safvi is a prolific writer, having close to a dozen books to her name, many of them being on historical and Islamic themes. Safvi plays to her strengths in this book too, examining Sufism from the point of view of history and Islam. However, what is special about this endeavour is that she weaves in elements of her personal faith, allowing her readers a glimpse of the person that she is.

The seed and the sowing

At more than 400 pages, In Search of the Divine is a sizeable volume divided into 19 main chapters and four ancillary sections. The 19 chapters are classified into two broad categories, with the first being ‘Islam and Sufism’, and the second being dedicated to ‘Saints and Silsilahs’.

In the first section, comprising three chapters, Safvi lays the historical groundwork for Sufism, which shares an essential overlap with the history of Islam. In chapter two, in particular, Safvi offers a lucid account of the Shia-Sunni schism and consequent sectarian developments, useful – especially to non-Muslim readers – for laying out the context.

In these initial chapters Safvi also emphasises Sufism’s strong connection with Islam, seeking to dispel the notion often perpetuated by staunch traditionalists that it is un-Islamic. This notion exists on account of the joyous practices of music and dance adopted by many Sufis – things that are considered by many believers to be haraam or forbidden.

However, Safvi reiterates that among believers in Sufism, the Prophet Mohammed is considered the inspiration for all Sufi practices. Similarly, members of the Prophet’s family, the Ahl al-Bait, are considered to have exemplary virtues by Sufis and Muslim believers alike. The Shia sect, in particular, shares a strong connect with the Sufis on account of many early persecuted Shia Imams and practitioners seeking refuge in Sufism.

Safvi traces the beginnings and trajectory of Sufism as a distinctive movement, especially in the third chapter. From a brief account of Abu Hisham of Kufa, who is recognised as the first Sufi, to the female Sufi saint, Rabia al-Basri, who introduced the concept of ecstatic love, the author plots many firsts in the story of Sufism. She writes on how Sufism started as a practice of extreme asceticism, and slowly gave way to mysticism.

Sufism made its way into India along with the early Arab traders around the 7th and 8th centuries CE, but found its footing only when the Chisti and Qadiriya silsilahs flourished under the patronage of the Sultanate rulers, and, later, when the Mughals patronised the Naqshbandi and Suhrawardi silsilahs. Safi highlights how the pertinent growth of Sufism is often ignored when the growth of Islam in India is discussed. It is a continuation of the problematic colonial framing, in which Orientalists “consistently projected ‘Muslim India’ of 1000-1700 CE as a period of oppression and fanaticism from which colonial rule had finally liberated the grateful Hindus.”

Where Sufism is spoken of, only its syncretic side is put on the table. Safvi objects to that kind of oversimplification too, reminding the reader that the formation of the dargah and khanqah culture in India was also a long and complex process, and that it came with its share of ‘assent and conflict’. But the greatest contribution of these spiritual centres was undoubtedly the way in which they doubled as social centres, becoming a melting pot for India’s multitudinous cultures.

The watering and the blooming

Through the subsequent section on ‘Saints and Silsilahs’ comprising chapters four through 19, Safvi continually points to political nuance where necessary. But it is clear to see that her heart lies in the spirit of the matter. The spiritual aspects of Sufism also make for compelling reading, given how Sufism in India has such charming and often surprising syncretic traditions.

One may read of a Sufi hymn invoking Krishna somewhere, and elsewhere, one may find an account of a Sufi festival that mimics the Hindu Holi. In fact, the success of Sufism in India is owed to its egalitarian approach, which borrowed liberally from Hinduism, and was thereby embraced liberally by Hindus.

Safvi names many major and minor silsilahs or mystic orders in India, including the most prominent ones like the Chistis, Suhrawardis, Qadiris and Naqhbandis, and the smaller or lesser-known ones like the Sabris, Firdausis, Shattaris, Kubravis, Warsis, Madaris, and Kazmiya Qalandaris. After an overview of these in chapter four, Safvi dedicates one chapter each to the major silsilahs and their noteworthy saints from chapters five through nine.

Each chapter contains the names and brief biographies of its founding preceptors, the landmark dargahs associated with them, their unique philosophies, their notable religious practices, their succession protocols, and even their relationship with the royalty of the time. These chapters underscore how the royalty and clergy have always been co-dependent, and show us how it was much the same in the medieval Muslim era as it is in India today.

Chapters 11 through 15 are what may be called ‘directory chapters’, given how each comprises lists and locations of the most important dargahs of India. Starting with holiest dargahscontaining relics of the Prophet Mohammed and his family, Safvi moves on to listing and describing popular dargahs in the north, east, central and west, and south of India. Each chapter showcases the unique flavour of the Sufi culture in those respective regions.

However, when read in succession, they are so information dense that one may lose their way (and interest) in the litany of names and descriptions. Each chapter starts sounding like the one before it, leaving the reader with a giant blob of facts from which little or nothing stands out. These chapters, however, are a precious resource for anyone approaching them as a researcher.

The most fragrant flowers

Safvi saves the best for the last, packing in the greatest punch in the last four chapters. In the 16th chapter, ‘The Possessed and the Dispossessed’, she writes about an important but seldom discussed function that dargahs perform. The belief that insanity is caused by being possessed by jinns drives many people to dargahs, seeking divine intervention as cure. As much as she understands faith as the driving force, Safvi rues such practices over and over, stressing the importance of professional mental health care for such cases.

She also elaborates upon Islamic lore on jinns, from where these malpractices stem. In chapter 17, ‘Expressing the Divine’, the author makes an interesting segue into the domain of literature, the arts and culture, through which means Sufism has found its most popular expression in India. She touches upon many literary, poetic and musical forms in India that were launched from the mothership of Sufism. These include forms such as the Ghazal, Rubayi, Qasida, Masnavi, Qawwali, Qaul, Qalbana, Tarana, Naksh Gul, and so on.

While forms like the Naksh Gul are lost today, the Qawwali continues to be immensely popular in the subcontinent, with performances being held at all major Chistiya dargahs on major occasions in the Islamic calendar. The sama mehfil (a spiritual congregation at a dargah) is, of course, the most defining Sufi feature, often associated with whirling dervishes. Qawwalis performed at samas involve high energy singing and clapping by musical masters that often induce a trance-like state in the faithful, who then get up and dance to the holy music. Safvi talk of attending such mehfils, which leave her feeling both energised and pacified.

The penultimate chapter, ‘Celebrating with the Saint’, deals with the many festivals that are associated with dargahs in India. The urs or death anniversary “celebrations” are particularly notable for their popularity among the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Other commemorations include birth anniversaries of Sufi saints (Ghusl Sharif), the Prophet Mohammed (Eid Milad un-Nabi), and Imam Ali (13th of Rajab), The Night of Ascension (Shab e-Miraj), and, sometimes, even Hindu festivals like Basant Panchami.

The final chapter, ‘Separated by the Screen’ is both, a literal and figurative culmination of the book. As a woman of faith and education, Safvi’s reckoning with the matter of gender segregation is a reflection of the struggle even modern Muslim women must go through. However, the author remains equanimous in her account of places that have allowed and those that have barred her from entering the sanctum of the dargah.

Notwithstanding a few flawed patriarchal and religious norms, Sufism continues to flourish in India, attracting thousands of the faithful each year, not just from Muslim communities but other faith traditions too. Devotees come in search of good fortune, cures for ailments, redressal for domestic and business problems, and sometimes just communion with the faithful and a sense of peace.

These free-for-all dargahs are reflective of the egalitarianism and catholicity of Sufism, which makes people feel welcome even hundreds of years after the passing of the Sufi saints entombed in them. Savfi’s book is a timely and welcome account and reminder of this precious syncretic tradition of India, lest it drown in the sea of saffron conceit.

Appeared in Scroll

https://scroll.in/article/1036519/in-search-of-the-divine-where-sufisms-syncretic-legacy-meets-author-rana-safvis-personal-faith

Sunheri Masjid of Roshan ud daulah in Delhi

Rana Safvi — Sat, 13 May 2023 05:31:47 +0000

The other Sunehri Masjid of Nawab Roshanud Daula
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan writes in Asar us Sanadid :
“There is a very beautiful and elegant masjid built by Nawab Roshan ud Daula near Qazi Wada. In bygone days this masjid had gilded decorations covering its walls. It had three beautiful domes golden domes and that’s why it was called Sunehri Masjid.
But now the gilding has peeled off and looks very dull. The domes have broken and some of the minars are also damaged. There are just a few signs to testify to its name.
They say that the golden plating from this masjid’s domes was used to repair the Sunehri Masjid near the Kotwali.
Janab Maulvi Makhsusullah sahib often comes to this masjid.
There is a very pretty hauz in the courtyard. This too is now in ruins.
This masjid was on the main road and so was very well frequented by people.
It was built in the reign of Mohammad Shah and these verses are written on its façade:

Thanks be to God, that by the blessing of the grace of the Sayyed, a protection of the knowledge (of God), Shah Bhik who is a perfect and holy teacher
In the reign of a king glorified like Alexander and dignified like Jamshed, the spreader of justice (named) Mohammad Shah, the champion of the faith and the King
Roshan ud Daula Zafar khan, the Lord of beneficience and bounty, built this golden mosque resembling heaven.
Such a mosque that its dignified open courtyard the sky sweeps every morning with the pencil of the sun’s rays.
It’s clear tank represents the stream of Paradise, whoever performed ablution with its water became pure of his sins.
The date of its foundation Rasai obtained from the invisible inspiration;” (It is a ) mosque like the mosque of Jerusalem where the light of God descends.” The year 1157.
This masjid is very beautiful and famous and so I will make its sketch.” (Given)

It is very easy to miss as its on tje first floor, the entrance is in a lane and it’s not visible from the road.

12th May 1857 in Delhi

Rana Safvi — Sat, 13 May 2023 05:28:32 +0000

12th May / 17 Ramzan 1857

On 12th May 1857 the Indian sepoys who had come from Meerut took out a silver throne kept in one corner of the Diwan e khas and crowned Bahadur Shah Zafar the Badshah of Hindustan

All those who rebelled against East India company did so under his banner.

Mirza Mughal C I C
#MirzaMughal eldest surviving son of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Who took over as commander of rebel forces on 12th May 1857
was shot in coldblood by Major Hodson on 22Sept 1857 after failure of uprising
( Picture 1- Mirza Zuheerooddeen, alias Mirza Mooghul Bahadur, 2nd Son.
by Ghulam ‘Ali Khan)

one popular account is that
After the murder of Mirza Mughal Mirza Khizr Khan, and his grandson, Mirza Abu Bakr
Hodson got their heads cut off and presented them to the Badshah saying that “This is your (Nazr – gift), which had closed and to renew it you had taken part in the rebellion.” The Badshah looked on at his sons heads and with surprising composure said ”Thanks to Allah, the descendents of Timur always come in front of their fathers in this brave way”.
After that the bodies were hung out in front of the Police Station and the heads were hung on the Khuni Darwaza (Bloody Gate).
source: Khwaja Hasan Nizami

Picture 3- The Dargah of Sheikh Baqi Billah in Paharganj, Delhi also houses a lovely cemetery. Very well cared for and peaceful.
The Mughal princes shot in1857 by Hodson are also buried here

#1857 #uprising1857, #firstwarofindianindependence #mirzamughal #hodson

Zulfiqar: Hazrat Ali’s double edged sword and it’s mystical meaning

Rana Safvi — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:36:27 +0000

Zulfiqar Sword of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Painting by
Suleman Rehman

Ali’s double edged sword called Zulfiqar had mystical significance of zikr (remembrance of God) & fikr (contemplation of God)
Ali possessed esoteric & exoteric knowledge
Major Sufi silsilahs trace lineage to him & he inherited the Prophet’s spiritual knowledge ( seena dar seena)
He was the epitome of chivalry which in Arabic tradition meant a code of honourable conduct in tradition of Prophets & saints .
He was famously called the door to the city of knowledge, while the Prophet ( pbuh) was the city.

Read more of Ali’s jawanmardi and Arabic traditions of futuwwah (chivalry)
in
In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India
https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl

#insearchofthedivine #sufism #sufi #dargah #spirituality #tasawwuf #ishq #silsilah #islam #khanqah #chillahgah #langar #langarkhana #dua #fana #baqa #wahdat #wujood #sufipoetry #qawwali #sufikalam #Quran #marifat #tariqa #haqeeqat #Ali #HazratAli #ImamAli

Gyarvin Sharif: urs of Sufi saint Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani and Kushk e Mehndiya’n

Rana Safvi — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:31:57 +0000

Kushk e Mehndiya’n painting by Daniells

11th Rabi us Sani, the Islamic month, marks the gyarvin sharif or the urs of the famous Sufi saint, of Ghaus-ul-Azam – Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, whose shrine is in Baghdad
It has always been an important date in South Asia and was was celebrated here in various ways.
In Delhi, a circular tower which measured 118 feet × 88 feet was built on a 12 feet high plinth. It had arched entrances in the lower portion with four burjis on each of the four sides and one in the centre.

There is no authentic proof of the name of the builder but as per legend, a nawab saheb who had great faith in Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Ghaus-ul-Azam, built it in 1354 CE.

In Sufi traditions, particularly in India, urs celebrations are held to commemorate the death anniversaries of sufi saints.
Mehndiya’n was for celebrating the urs of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani. The custom was to make bamboo structures, cover it with bright coloured paper and light lamps on it. This was called menhdi.

This nawab saheb also used to take out a menhdi. When he became rich and in a position to do something for his saint, he got this built in the same shape as the bamboo menhdi. He would illuminate this building and give charity on the day of the ceremony. Nothing else is known about him, though.

This monument became famous as Kushk e Mehndiya’n. It was immortalized by the Daniells (William and Thomas) in watercolour and it is one of the most iconic paintings of medieval India. The Maulana Azad Medical College now stands on this location.

According to Bazm e Aakhir, The month of Rabi-us Sani is called Meeranji. On the eleventh day of this month, the day of the urs of Ghaus-ul-Azam, there is a celebration in the Qila. All kinds of fireworks, some in the shape of animals, are set off in the courtyard of the Diwan-e-Khas. A bamboo frame covered with shimmering red paper, called a mehndi, is placed in the Diwan-e-Khas. It is made for illuminating candles and lamps. The dastarkhwan is spread out and every type of food is laid on it. The Badshah lights the mehndi and consecrates the food in the name of Ghaus-ul-Azam.

When the fireworks display starts, the food is distributed.

In Search of The Divine :Living Histories of Sufism in India

An architectural feature called Jharokha

Rana Safvi — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:26:00 +0000

The Jharokha in City Palace, Udaipur

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Though Juliet had asked Romeo why he was Romeo ( Wherefore art thou Romeo? (I. ii.)) its been often mosquoted as “Where art thou, Romeo?”
And while Juliet was on a balcony, its the erroneous line that always comes to my whenever I see a jharokha.
A Jharokha unique feature of Indian architecture has its root in Rajasthan. This overhanging stone enclosed balcony, can be likened to French oriel windows which protrude from the outer walls supported by pillars and balustrade. (image 4)
It would be decorated by carved pillars and architeaves as in image 1 from Bagore ki Haveli in Udaipur or minakari, mirrors and tiles as in the balcony in the famous mor chowk of Udaipur’s City Palace ( image 2&3)
These Jharokhas were decorative and provided light and fresh air.
If equipped with jaalis or stone lattices they provided a viewing platform for ladies who coupd see what was events happening outside. They provided shade to the lower floors.
In the Arab world where purdah was prevalent there were ‘mashrabiyas’. (image 5)
These had jaalis or even stained glass . Furnished with cushions and carpets they were a comfortable way of enjoying the air & external view plus used for storage to keep water jars cool.
A more important function was the tradition of jharokha darshan that was later adopted by the Mughal Emperors.
This was the practice of appearing before the subjects at dawn.

So whether you give darshan or ibserve the view, a jharokha is always a beautiful addition to any building.

The Jharokha in City Palace, Udaipur

AN Arabic Mashrabiya

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An Arabic Mashrabiya

A French Windo

Siri the second city of Delhi

ranasafvi — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 18:09:50 +0000

Har shaam yahan, shaam e veera’n aseb zada raste galiya’n
Jis shahr ki dhun mein nikle thay who shahr dil e barbaad kahan?
Every evening is lonely in these haunted lanes
Where is the city in search of which my wounded heart set forth?
Habib Jalib

Siri or Dar-ul-Khilafat, the second city Delhi was built by Sultan Alauddin Khilji (1296-1316 AD) between 1297 and 1307 AD to defend his kingdom against Mongol invaders.
Initially this was called lashkar (military camp) and Mehrauli was shahr (city) but later Siri became the Dar-ul-Khilafat or Capital City. Its present day location includes Shahpur Jat, Hauz Khas, Siri Fort and Green Park.
However, the main residence for Sultan Alauddin Khilji apparently remained the shahr or Qila Rai Pithaura (Mehrauli).
The name ‘Siri’ was given according to legend because heads (sar/sir in Urdu) of 8,000 defeated Mongols were embedded in, some say, the city’s foundations. Many believe they are even in the city walls!
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, however quotes Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, an Indo-Persian chronicle by Sujan Rai, that there was a village called Siri on this location and that’s why it became famous as Kushk-e-Siri. At that time it lay between Qila Rai Pithaura and Kilokhari, or Naya Shahr.

Today the walls have crumbled, the bastions encroached but history tells of their majesty.
The fort was circular in shape and its walls were very strong, made of lime, stone and bricks. There were seven gates to this fort as noted by Timur in his memoirs. But only the name of one, the Baghdad Gate, is mentioned, which was presumably one of those on the western side. The walls, according to Ibn Batuta, were seventeen feet in thickness, but only mounds of earth remain to mark their position. Some parts of Siri’s walls can be seen in the Shahpur Jat area. They show a complex double wall with passages in between for the soldiers to move in for defensive purposes and have holes in it for firing arrows.

#forgottencitiesofdelhi #khilji #delhi

How Bahadur Shah Kept His Hindu And Muslim Subjects United [Book Excerpt]

ranasafvi — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 13:32:30 +0000

‘Dastan-e-Ghadar: The Tale of the Mutiny’ by Zahir Dehlvi offers insights that are particularly relevant today.

Butkhano’n mein jab gaya main kenchkar qashqa Zafar
Bol utha woh but, ‘Brahmin yeh nahin to kaun hai?’

(When Zafar went to the temple with a tilak on my forehead

The idol exclaimed, ‘If not a Brahmin then who is he?’)

—Bahadur Shah Zafar

Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Mohammed Bahadur Shah, better known by his pen name Bahadur Shah Zafar, was

the son of Akbar Shah II and his Rajput wife Lal Bai.
He inherited an empire that was his only in name as the British writ ran through it. He was their pensioner. The British Resident in Delhi was responsible for everything that happened in Delhi as well as in the Qila.
Bahadur Shah Zafar [foresaw] trouble and banned cow-slaughter in the areas he nominally controlled… Bakr-Eid passed peacefully in 1857 thanks to the wise decisions of the emperor.

However, along with his empire he also inherited the national outlook of his ancestor Akbar and father Akbar Shah II. He believed in the wisdom that all his subjects were his children, and in fact his last prayer when he left the Qila after the fall of Delhi on the night of 16 September 1857 was:
“Khuda, the Hindus and Muslims of India are my children. Please keep them safe and don’t let them suffer for my deeds at the hands of the British.”
(Related by his daughter Kulsum Zamani Begum who saw him praying on his musalla the night he left it. This has been included in the story “Shahzadi ki Bipta” in the book Begumat ke Aansu which comprises eyewitness accounts recorded by Khwaja Hasan Nizami.)

The Hindu men and women who came to bathe in the River Yamuna every dawn would participate eagerly in the jharokha darshan when the emperor appeared before his subjects in the balcony of the Musamman Burj in the Qila every morning. Only after that would they go home and eat.
Bahadur Shah Zafar condemned the actions of maulvis who tried to divide the populace on religious lines:
Kaho mullah se kiya hum se rindo’n ko padhega
Ki hum Lahaul padh ke teri taqreer sunte hain

(Ask the mullah what can he teach one, so drunk in love

I hear his speeches with a disclaimer on my lips)

Akbar Shah II, who started the Phoolwaalon ki Sair, would offer pankhas both at Qutub Sahib’s dargah and Yogmaya temple in Mehrauli. Bahadur Shah Zafar went to the extent that he would not go to the dargah if for some reason he couldn’t visit the temple the previous day.
The Indian society of the 19 century was living quite happily and in communal harmony, bar a few incidents here and there. When Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled there was a palpable sense of loss amongst the Hindus and Muslims alike; they felt as if they had lost their father.

Nowhere is this emotion more emphasized as in an anecdote described by Zahir Dehlvi in Dastan-e-Ghadar*.
“Once, some Hindus, along with officers of the British government, hatched a plot to throw all the butchers slaughtering cows out of the city. The British government gave orders stating that these butchers should take their shops out of the city. They had all the shops within the city closed.
When the butchers realized that they had no choice but to obey and lose their means of livelihood, they banded together, took their wives, children and possessions, and came and camped on the riverbank under the jharokha. From there, they appealed to the king, asking ‘How can we leave our city and go away?’

The cherisher of subjects, the emperor, heard their petition and gave the order that his tent be pitched alongside theirs on the riverbank.

‘Whatever is the state of my subjects is my state,’ he said.

As per the decree of their emperor, the servants immediately took the imperial paraphernalia and installed it on the bank of the river.

As soon as the British Resident heard the news, he came running to the emperor and respectfully asked, ‘Huzoor, what are you doing? All the people of the city will come and stand here with you.’

Badshah Salamat replied, ‘I am wherever my subjects are. My subjects are my children and I can’t be separated from them. Has flesh ever been separated from the fingernail? Today, the butchers have been given

orders to leave the city; tomorrow, it will be some other community; the day after, it will be another one, and these orders will continue. Slowly, the entire city will be emptied. If the intention of the British government is to empty the city, then tell me so in plain words. I will take all my people and go and live in Khwaja Sahib. Since you have control over the city (Shahjahanabad), you can do whatever you will.’

The Resident was taken aback. ‘Huzoor, don’t even think of such an action. I will redress the complaints of these people immediately and settle them in the city. Huzoor, please have your camp removed from here.’

The Resident gave orders for the butchers to go back to their houses and ply their trade within the city as before. The tent of the emperor was removed.”

Bahadur Shah was equal in his treatment of his subjects and did the same for the ghosis or herdmen of Shahjahanabad when they were faced with a similar situation. Zahir Dehlvi in Dastan-e-Ghadar* writes:
“Once the British government gave orders to the herdsmen to take their family and cattle and leave the city and go and settle outside the city. There was a tumult in the entire city and once again the ghosi (herdsmen/milkmen) along with their families and cattle came and camped on the Reti.
Once again the Emperor, Raiyyat Panaah (shelter of the subjects) was so distraught by the cries of the children and the distress of the cattlemen the emperor gave orders for his tent to be pitched alongside theirs so he could share their sorrow. Once again the Resident came and pleaded with the Emperor and gave orders revoking the previous ones so that the herdsmen could go back to their original quarters in the city.

This time the Emperor told the Resident, ‘Look in my presence do not exile my subjects from their houses. After me you will be in control and can devastate the city (eeint se eeint baja dena).’

That is what was done (after the Emperor).”

On 12th May 1857 when the Indian soldiers who had risen up against the British crowned Bahadur Shah Zafar as the Emperor of India he issued the following decree:
“To all the Hindus and Muslims of India, taking my duty by the people into consideration at this hour, I have decided to stand by my people… It is the imperative duty of Hindus and Mussalmans to join the revolt against the Englishmen. They should work and be guided by their leaders in their towns and should take steps to restore order in the country. It is the bounden duty of all people that they should, as far as possible, copy out this Firman and display it at all important places in the towns. But before doing so, they should get themselves armed and declare war on the English.”
During the Uprising of 1857 the British tried their best to disrupt the Hindu-Muslim unity that was very apparent amongst those they called “baghi” or rebels.
Colonel Keith Young, Judge-Advocate General of the Indian Army who was present with the British forces on the ridge in Delhi regularly sent letters to his wife in the safety of Simla. This wife published them later as “Delhi—1857; the siege, assault, and capture as given in the diary and correspondence of the late Colonel Keith Young’.

On 29 July 1857 he wrote to her:
“Camp, Delhi Cantonments, Wednesday, 29th July:
Hodson just now came into our tent and interrupted my writing this. He tells me that a letter has just come in from the city confirming what we had before heard of the dissensions going on, and they seem likely to terminate in something serious at the Festival of the Eed, as some of the Mahomedan fanatics have declared their fixed intention of killing a cow as customary on that day at the Jumma Musjid. It is hoped that they will religiously adhere to their determination, and there is then sure to be a row between the Mahomedans and Hindoos.”

Colonel Keith Young to his wife. Camp, Delhi Cantonments, Thursday, 30th July:

“All is quiet in camp, and the mutineers must, I should hope— as we all believe—be quarrelling amongst themselves, and unable to agree to come out and attack us again. The Eed, we trust, will bring matters to a crisis with them, and be the day for a grand row between the Hindoos and Mahomedans.”
Camp, Delhi Cantonments, Sunday, 2nd August:
“Our hopes of a grand row in the city yesterday at the Eed Festival have not, apparently, been fulfilled—at least the only newsletter received from the city alludes to nothing of the kind. The King had issued strict orders against killing cows, or even goats, in the city, and this, if acted upon, must have satisfied the Hindoos; and instead of fighting amongst themselves they all joined together to make a vigorous attack to destroy us and utterly sweep us from the face of the earth, when it was arranged that the King should perform his evening prayers in our camp!”

Bahadur Shah Zafar had foreseen this trouble and banned cow-slaughter in the areas he nominally controlled. In The Great Uprising of 1857, Prof Z.H. Jafri cites that they found several documents in the Mutiny Papers in the National Archives, New Delhi by Bahadur Shah Zafar and Bakht Khan, the commander in chief of the Indian forces, asking the people to desist from cow-slaughter and to the kotwal to capture the cows from the houses of people who might go ahead with such sacrifices. There is evidence to support the fact that the police officers took these orders very seriously and thus prevented any sacrifice of cows by them, which could have led to the trouble that Young, and his colleagues were so eagerly anticipating.
Bakr-Eid passed peacefully in 1857 thanks to the wise decisions of the emperor.
The fallout of the First war of Indian Independence was the well-documented policy of divide and rule adopted by the British, which tried to create disharmony between Hindus and Muslims. The two communities fought together again in the freedom struggle leading up to Independence in 1947, but the partition of India and subsequent riots and murder show that the British did succeed to a great extent.

The Shah Burj in Red Fort, Delhi : Then and Now

ranasafvi — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 21:18:30 +0000

Shah Burj missing a dome now were royal apartments – the Nahr e Bahisht originated & flowed thru out the Fort by a charming arrangement called shutur gulu ( camel’s neck) .The water fell as a cascade into a pool lined with jade and coral and then flowed out into a marble stream which had silver fountains.

Moti mahal a charming marble pavilion stood here demolished post 1857 because it blocked flow of air to the barracks : acc to one British account.

you can see remnants of a redone channel of the nahr in front but I doubt it was ever used.

Painted by Mazhar Ali Khan for Thomas Metcalfe ‘s Imperial Dehlie- one can see the carnelian, coral and jade set in the fountain

Then and now

The Shah Burj today

The oval pool without any of the precious stones

What happened to the emperor ‘s private apartments after 1857…

This picture was taken on 1877. At that time it was occupied as the private quarters of Captain Stratford and Captain Collins of the 1st Warwickshire regiment.
I clicked this picture from Annual Report (1909-10) of Archaeological Survey of India.
This illustration was reprinted on this edition.

(Contributed by Shahroz Ejaz Hussain)

To buy my book

http://bit.ly/Shahjahanabad

Abdur Rahim Khan e Khan’s ‘s tomb in the two editions of Asar us Sanadid

ranasafvi — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 18:44:45 +0000

Here is an example of how the same information was presented differently in the two editions and why edition one which has been translated by me in English for the first time is so important.

Asar-us Sanadid Edition 1 1847
Maqbara Khan e Khana
This tomb is near the Barapullah Bridge and the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It is the tomb of Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana, son of Bairam Khan.
Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana built this mausoleum for his wife but unfortunately she could not be buried here.
In the twenty-first regnal year of Jahangir, when Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana left this world at 72 years of age, on his last journey, his mortal remains were buried here.
The tomb was very beautifully constructed and decorated with floral designs, but its marble and stones was mercilessly pulled out.
During the time of Asaf-ud- Daulah, the stone of this tomb was removed, taken to Lucknow and sold, thus destroying its beauty. This tomb is now a bare skeleton of lime mortar and brick. Khan-e-Khana was an important noble from the reign of Akbar and Jahangir.
Even the headstone of the grave itself was not spared. Today it exists in ruins, with cows and buffaloes stationed in its premises. Cow dung is spread all over the place and the stink from it makes it very difficult to venture inside.
Just compare this to the grandeur and magnificence of Khan-e-Khana himself! Verily it is foolish to place importance on worldly things.
He was a Turkman by descent and his grandfather Saifuddin Ali Kosha Ismail had been in the service of Babar and fought the battle of Mawarun Nahr.
His father Bairam Khan Khan-e-Khana held a very high rank in the reign of Humayun. And was involved in all the important decisions in the court.
In Akbar’s reign, Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana was a very important noble, but in Jahangir’s reign his fate was very fickle. At times he was respected and at others, humiliated. Eventually he died and now neither respect nor humiliation remains. He was buried under maunds of mud.
He had built this mausoleum to be a testimony to his high station in life but all that remains is this shell.
SubhanAllah! One whose Diwan Khana was scented by the showering of thousands of maunds of rose petals, his mausoleum now stinks from the urine and dung of thousands of cattle.
Fa’tabirû yâ oulî al absâr
Take warning, then, O ye, with intelligence
Quran 59:2

Edition 2 1856
Maqbara Khan-e-Khana
This tomb is near the Barapullah Bridge and the tomb of Humayun. It is the tomb of Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khana, son of Bairam Khan. He died at the age of 72 in 1626 AD, and was buried here[i].
The chronogram ‘Khan Sipahsalar go’ gives the date of his death. The tomb used to be very beautiful and elegant with a marble dome, and rest of it in red stone, with stripes of marble interspersed in between. There was beautiful marble pichi kaari (mosaic) work on it.
During the time of Asaf-ud- Daulah, the stone of this tomb was removed, taken to Lucknow and sold, thus destroying its beauty. This tomb is now a bare skeleton of lime mortar and brick. Khan-e-Khana was an important noble from the reign of Akbar and Jahangir.

[i] Masarul Umara

Remembering poet Habib Jalib and his fight for a free Pakistan

ranasafvi — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:15:29 +0000

Poetry has been a powerful medium of expression, be it for conveying love or disappointment, for spreading general cheer, or for voicing dissent. In 1959, a year after General Ayub Khan (the second president of Pakistan) had imposed martial law on Pakistan and the state machinery was bowing to his rules, radio waves were under his control and rosy pictures of the country were being painted, a young man participating in a mushaira that was aired live from Rawalpindi studio of Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation voiced his dissent against military dictatorship in his country.
Kahin gas ka dhuan hai kahin goliyo’n ki barish
Shab-e-ahd-e-kamnigahi tujhe kis tarah sarahe’n
The air is thick with teargas and the sound of raining bullets
How can I praise thee O night of the era of short sightedness
The mushaira had to be taken off air. That man was Habib Jalib (1928-1993), who had migrated from India to Pakistan with his family during Partition. He had been educated in Delhi at the Anglo-Arabic School and had taken his penname from Jalib Dehlvi. Jalib means “attractive”.
In 1962, when Ayub Khan enforced his constitution upon Pakistan’s people, Jalib wrote his famous poem Dastoor (Constitution):
deep jis ka mahallat hi mein jale
chand logo’n ki Khushiyo’n ko le kar chale
wo jo saye mein har maslahat ke pale
aise dastur ko subh-e-be-nur ko
main nahin manta main nahin jaanta
That which only lights up palaces
That which only takes the happiness of a few into account
That which is nurtured in the shade of compromise
That constitution of a dark dawn
I do not accept, I do not recognise
Not surprisingly, he spent many years in jail, first under the regime of Ayub Khan, then under General Zia ul Haq’s government. However, his revolutionary fervour wasn’t dimmed. The people’s poet, as he was called, continued fighting for his principles, for his right to speak and for his people against repressive regimes and the stranglehold of capitalism and religion over his country.

He used his pen to support Fatima Jinnah, who stood for presidential elections against General Yahya Khan in 1964, and her rallies drew large crowds. She didn’t succeed, but his verses remain undefeated even today. There’s a famous anecdote about a time when he was imprisoned and the jailor taunted him saying he will ensure he is deprived of pen and paper.
Habib Jalib famously said that he would recite it before the guard, who would then recite it before the town square, before the people of Lahore. Another military ruler, General Yahya Khan (the third president of Pakistan), succeeded Ayub Khan as head of state. At a mushaira in Muree, Habib Jalib looked at the general’s photograph, which was prominently displayed, and recited one of his iconic verses:
Tum se pehle woh jo ik shakhs yahan takht nasheen tha
Us ko bhi apne khuda honay pe itna hi yaqeen tha
The one who was enthroned before you
He too was convinced he is God.
Later, under Zai ul Haq’s regime, he wrote his famous nazm:
zulmat ko ziya sarsar ko saba bande ko Khuda kya likhna
patthar ko guhar diwar ko dar kargas ko huma kya likhna
How can I describe darkness as light, a storm as a zephyr or a man as God?
How can I describe a stone as a gem, a wall as a door or a vulture as a phoenix?
His fight was against dictatorship, against authoritarian regime. He criticised Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto for their anti-people policies. His fight was against injustice of every kind, and the clergymen — who he felt were busy misleading people in the name of religion — got a tongue-lashing in verse too:
Bahut mein ne suni hai aap ki taqreer Maulana
Magar badli nahin ab tak meri taqdeer Maulana
Khudara Shukr ki talqeen apne pass hi rakhen
Yeh lagti hai mere seene pe ban kar teeer Maulana
I’ve heard your speeches long enough, Maulana,
But there’s still no change in my fate, Maulana
For God’s sake keep your preachings of gratefulness to yourself
They pierce my heart like an arrow, Maulana
Since time immemorial, religion has been used as a tool to legitimise dictatorship and Jalib led the fight against it from the forefront. Those who think religion is in danger, would do well to read his verse:
Khatra hai zar daron ko
Girti hui diwaron ko
Sadiyon ke bimaron ko
Khatre mein Islam nahin
Sari zamin ko ghere hue hain aakhir chand gharane kyon
Naam nabi ka lene wale ulfat se begane kyon
The rich landlords are endangered
Crumbling walls are endangered
Revolting customs perpetuated on people [in name of religion] for centuries are endangered
Islam is not in danger
Why is our wealth concentrated in the hands of a few families?
Why are those who love the prophet bereft of joy?
When the slogan “Pakistan ka matlab kia, La Ilaha Illilah” was used to combat Pakistan Peoples Party under Zulfiqar Ali bhutto, Jalib responded with:
Khet wadero’n se le lo, mille’n lootero’n se le lo
Koi rahe na Aali-jah,
Pakistan ka matlab kia, La Ilaha Illilah’
Take the land away from the landlords, take the mills from the exploiters,
No one should remain a priveleged lot
That’s the real meaning of Pakistan, La Ilaha Illilah’
Jalib died on March 12, 1993 and his verses are still as popular the world over. Perhaps, every democratic country facing a challenge to its democracy, liberty and freedom needs such a poet.

This many-tangled Id

ranasafvi — Sun, 24 May 2020 09:46:17 +0000

Pichhale pahar se uth ke nahaane

kii dhuum hai

Sheer-o-shakkar siwaiyyaan pakaane

ki dhuum hai

Pir-o-javaan ko nema’ten khaane

ki dhuum hai

Ladkon ko idgaah ke jaane ki dhuum hai

The children clamour to have a bath

before first light

The kitchens are humming with smells

of siwaiyaan and other delights

The old and young eagerly look towards

the kitchen for delicious bites

A hue and cry, as impatient boys fret to reach the idgaah early and bright

— Nazeer Akbarabadi

A young boy running with a multi-coloured kite outside the idgaah, being followed by laughing joyous friends, all dressed in shiny new clothes made once a year for Id, free after a month of fasting, trying to cut their friends’ kites with their own and falling down in a tangle of legs and arms, topis and strings is an image embossed in my mind even 55 years later.

I had gone to the idgaah with my father in Lucknow. Women are not allowed in idgaahs but young girls are. That was the first time I saw this raw, visceral celebration of Id: a scene of riotous celebration, emotional bonding with each other by people who had spent a month united in piety.

At home it was just as joyous but a more restrained Id, with Idi (gifts given by elders on Id), embraces and servings of delicious foods and an open house for friends and family.

That is a tradition I continued — keeping an open house — and I look forward to having my friends come over and cook kebabs, biryani and siwaiyaan for them. But this is different from any other, alas. As Prof. Ali Khan Mahmudabad tells me, “I don’t think it’s possible to celebrate given the tremendous suffering around us.” He will miss the joint Shia-Sunni Id prayers organised for many years past as he pays obeisance at home.

This year there will be no images of people embracing each other after the congregational prayers in mosques and idgaahs: the mosques are silent and the faithful are praying at home. As Prof. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi says, “The last Friday of Ramzan and Id-ul-Fitr are the two most important annual events in a Muslim’s — any Muslim’s — life. But both are associated with large joyful gatherings.” But in these trying times, and amidst this lockdown, there can be no festivities.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dictated this year’s celebrations so much so that the Khaana-e Kaaba, or the House of God, in Mecca will remain closed for the first time in living memory.

Every year past in our lives, the focus was on what to cook or wear, but not this Id; our emotions are entangled with those who are suffering and can’t celebrate. The reasons there are many; the pandemic is only one among them.

Yousuf Saeed, an independent filmmaker and writer based in Delhi, says, “Actually, this lockdown and pandemic is the least of my worries. India and Indian Muslims have been going through a very tough time for last nine months, if you include the much harsher lockdown of Kashmir in this crisis. There is really no cause for celebration. I will probably wake up on Id thinking about our friends who have been imprisoned in the last few months on fake charges. The entire day, I will think about the poor workers who have been left stranded on highways with no food or water. This Id would definitely not be worth celebrating the way we did in the past.”

Nine-year-old Zoya, who observed her first roza tells me innocently, “Id this year will be very special for me as it is my first one after fasting.” Her grandmother is stitching a new dress for her from some cloth kept at home. “While there won’t be any large-scale celebrations I look forward to spending the day with my family and I am sure I will also get Idi.” Zoya’s innocence is heartwarming. With announcements in every big and small locality of India, and on social media and fatwas by religious institutions against extravagance and spending, there will be no frantic pre-Id shopping.

Which again takes me back to my childhood memories. We were fairly privileged but as children new clothes were made on festivals, otherwise we wore hand-me-downs without a hassle. Those new clothes held a lot of meaning for me and I still remember a purple salwar-suit of silk made for me the year I observed my first roza. A memory that has stayed with me after more than five decades! Today, by God’s grace new clothes are no longer a privilege but a whim, so it’s no big deal if we don’t buy this year. There are enough almost new ones to wear.

However, there’s a huge difference between my not having new clothes and those less privileged. I immediately go back to that idgaah scene of my childhood. What about those children in our villages, qasbas and cities for whom Id is the only time they get new clothes?

This is an Id under lockdown which has managed to lock us in, but opened the floodgates of emotions. Sabra, a domestic worker in Bangalore, to whom I spoke, weeps when asked how she would celebrate. Her son was stranded in another city and has reached the village after much hardship, tears and sleepless prayers. Her family back home is hard up for money and food and she is helpless. “What Id,” she asks me, sorrowfully. Embroidery workers in Lucknow, from whom I get my Id clothes made every year, are in dire straits; workshops are closed and their daily wages stopped. A few of them told me there was no money and they had difficulty arranging food during Ramzan. So even though Id is the biggest festival for them, the question of anything other than offering namaz does not arise. “All we have is our faith in Allah,” they said. This is pretty much the situation for all daily wagers. Did all those at whose roadside stalls we ate during our Ramzan food walks have enough to eat during Ramzan this year? How will their Id be?

For one family in northeast Delhi, whose shop was burnt down during the rioting earlier this year but the house escaped, it’s a time of remembering God. “We will be praying and marking the day quietly at home this year, as it’s a sunnat (traditional practice of the Prophet pbuh) to have fortitude and be grateful in every situation. Now all of us have to think of our aakhirat (the hereafter) as this house is temporary, we have to worry about being able to do good deeds which we can carry with us to our graves and earn a house in Jannat.”

Sixty-year-old Farah Naqvi, a retired educator, tells me, “This Id has made us realise the value of what we always had but never really appreciated.” Which is exactly what popular actor Ali Fazal tells me, “Yes, it will be a lonely Id, a day known for spreading love and buying new clothes and looking your best. But this Id will be the test of all that we’ve learnt over the years — to use that piety and love to help our neighbours, the needy and the poor. I sit here and I feel privileged enough to type out an opinion while millions of migrant workers go hungry and homeless. I pray for them and hope that we all enter a new and a better world where we get past religious politics and hate and imbibe a new system.” He will wear a kurta gifted to him by his nana on a bygone Id for old clothes carry some beautiful stories with them, and feel enveloped in the love of his elders.

In Bhopal, Abid Mohammad Khan and Shahwez Sikandar have been running community kitchens. Khan works under the aegis on Insaani Biradari and started the kitchen during the first lockdown with the motto that “no one should remain hungry in the city”.

Then there are those whose Id may be on the road. Will they pray by the wayside or just stoically carry on walking?

This is an Id of mixed emotions:

Sahargah, Id me daur e suboo thha

Par apne jaam me tujh bin lahuu thha

The wine cups are being passed at the dawn

of Id celebration

But our glass has naught but blood,

in your separation

— Mir Taqi Mir

Translated by Ajmaal Siddiqui

Safvi is a Delhi-based historian and raconteur of syncretism

hhttps://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/coronavirus-pandemic-the-khaana-e-kaaba-in-mecca-will-remain-closed-on-id-for-the-first-time-in-living-memory/cid/1775442

In The Telegraph on 24th May 2020

India’s Coronavirus Outbreak Stokes Islamophobia as Muslims Blamed for Spreading Infection

ranasafvi — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 19:27:36 +0000

“This kind of vilification is dangerous,” warned historian Rana Safvi.
— Read on www.newsweek.com/indias-coronavirus-outbreak-stokes-islamophobia-muslims-blamed-spreading-infection-1496011

Nayanjot Lahiri reviews Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi, by Rana Safvi – The Hindu

ranasafvi — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 18:11:50 +0000

In the final volume of her trilogy, Rana Safvi brings alive Shahjahanabad’s lanes and monuments through research and story-telling
— Read on www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/shahjahanabad-the-living-city-of-old-delhi-review-jinn-masjid-and-other-fragments-of-old-delhi/article31110030.ece/amp/

I am very passionate about preserving our syncretic culture and the pluralistic India that I grew up in: Author Rana Safvi – Times of India

ranasafvi — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 06:10:50 +0000

Rana Safvi, a well-renowned historian and author of ‘Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi’, talks to TOI Books about her love for history and e
— Read on m.timesofindia.com/life-style/books/interviews/i-am-very-passionate-about-preserving-our-syncretic-culture-the-pluralistic-india-that-i-grew-up-in-author-rana-safvi/amp_articleshow/74686890.cms

The ‘Missing’ Muslim Code Bill Can Help Us Tackle Triple Talaq

ranasafvi — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 15:49:28 +0000

(An ordinance on triple talaq has received Cabinet approval. In light of this, The Quint is republishing this article from its archives. It was originally published on 13 January 2018.)

In 1960, India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, told Taya Zinkin of The Guardian, “I could do something for Hindu women. I couldn’t do so for Muslim women because the community did not agree.”

A rare photo of Nehru writing at his desk at Anand Bhawan.

In reality, Nehru faced a lot of opposition from the Hindu community too, yet he went ahead with the Hindu Code Bill and it was passed as a law. Even the then President Rajendra Prasad was against it. So why did he not do the same for Muslims? Why did he defer to the views of the Muslim community on it?

To understand Nehru’s position, and to see how we have arrived at this point in our fight against triple talaq, we must take a look at India before and after 1947.

No Time for Muslim Code Bills

India’s independence also meant the partition of the country into two countries, India and Pakistan. As soon as partition was announced, there were large scale riots and bloodshed. Hindus in Pakistan fled to India in the face of murder and mayhem, rape and brutalities unleashed on them. While many Muslims from India opted for Pakistan, a lot of them were forced to flee as murder and mayhem, rape and brutalities were unleashed on them in India.

The Muslims who rejected the two-nation theory had decided to stay back in India, like my grandparents. India was lucky to have had a visionary like Dr Ambedkar who gave us a magnificent Constitution in which every citizen had equal rights irrespective of religion, caste or creed, and a statesman like Nehru who believed in secularism and built the India envisaged in the Constitution. He rooted for a secular state in a deeply religious country, which was no mean feat.

Taking the insecurities of the minorities in consideration, Nehru felt that the time was not right to push a Muslim Code Bill through.

Thus, the Muslims were to be governed by the The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, passed by the British in undivided India, and this is the law which continues till date with few amendments.

What Happened in Pakistan

Just as the Hindu Code Bill was passed in India, a law regulating marriage, divorce and family laws was passed in Pakistan, which overturned many of the provisions of the 1937 Act.

Since Pakistan was an Islamic state and this the pre-Zia ul Haq era, they didn’t have to face slogans of “Islam khatre mein hai”.

In Pakistan, the Muslims Family Law Ordinance of 1961 laid down very strict rules for nikah, talaq and family laws. So while in India, the instant triple talaq was still being practised, it was banned in Pakistan.

Any person wishing to give talaq to his wife had to give it in writing to the Arbitration Council, which would immediately take all steps necessary to bring about reconciliation. This is as per what is prescribed in the Quran. In India, even a talaq given over a period of three months does not have compulsory attempts at reconciliation.

In India, we were still debating polygamy, while in Pakistan the person wishing to contract another marriage has to ask the Arbitration Council for permission. “On receipt of the application under Sub-section (3), Chairman shall ask the applicant and his existing wife or wives each to nominate a representative, and the Arbitration Council so constituted may, if satisfied that the proposed marriage is necessary and just, grant, subject to such condition if any, as may be deemed fit, the permission applied for.”

The Shah Bano Factor

The 1937 Act came under challenge in India from a very unlikely source, and this was to change the dynamics of India.

In 1978, a 62-year-old woman named Shah Bano was divorced and thrown out of her house in Indore by her lawyer husband. He refused to pay her the promised maintenance. Shah Bano decided to go to court under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of India.

It’s a well-recorded case where, supporting Shah Bano’s husband Mohammad Ahmed Khan, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) was at loggerheads with the Supreme Court. AIMPLB argued that the SC judgment of granting maintenance violated the 1937 Shariat Application Act and amounted to interference in Muslim personal law.

Shah Bano’s son Jameel Ahmad tells The Quint that triple talaq will empower Muslim women.

In 1986, the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi of Congress party, gave in to the pressures of the ulemas and the AIMPLB, scared that he may lose a major chunk of Muslim votes.

A law was enacted in Parliament, namely the Muslim Women (Protection on Rights of Divorce) Act, 1986. This diluted the Supreme Court judgment and ruled that maintenance to a Muslim woman, divorced as per Muslim law, was to be given only during the period of iddat or three menstrual cycles.

Shah Bano’s lawyer, Danial Latifi, challenged the constitutional validity of the new law saying it could not be restricted to the period of iddat. Curiously, Shah Bano later withdrew her case, but this opened the way for way for other Muslim women to go to court and demand equality.

The Fight of Shayara Bano

In October 2015, a 35-year-old woman, Shayara Bano, was given instant triple talaq by her husband, Rizwan Ahmed, while she was visiting her father’s home. Shayara Bano decided to legally challenge the practice of instant triple talaq (known as talaq-e-biddat in Sharia), polygamy and halala.

Shayara Bano, who filed a case against triple talaq.

As expected, the AIMPLB, with its patriarchal values and mindset, jumped in to protect the practice of instant triple talaq, calling it an integral norm of Muslim Personal Law. The fact that it is not mentioned in the Quran or that most major Islamic countries have banned it did not seem to bother them. They were protecting their turf.

Ruling in Shayara Bano’s favour, the Supreme Court of India in August 2017 held that triple talaq as practised in India was ‘unconstitutional’, ‘arbitary’ and ‘not part of Islam’.

Only 0.49% Muslim women are divorcees amongst India’s 18.9 crore Muslims, of which the victims of instant triple talaq must be a minuscule number. But if even a single woman is under the threat of instant triple talaq, it is one too many.

That night, I shared space with Shayara Bano on a TV debate and we were jubilant.

First Overlooking, Now Overreaching?

On 28 December 2017, the government introduced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, popularly called the Triple Talaq Bill in the lower house of Indian Parliament and even managed to get it passed on the same day.

Whether it was caught unawares or they didn’t want to be on the wrong side of history as in the case of Shah Bano, the Congress did not put up much of an opposition. The most vocal opposition was by AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi. MPs from the RJD, AIMIM, BJD, AIADMK and All India Muslim League also opposed it, calling it arbitrary and flawed. Even allies of the ruling party NDA, such as Telegu Desam Party, are against the penal provisions of the bill.

The bill states that irrevocable, instantaneous triple talaq is illegal and whoever pronounces triple talaq is liable to a fine and imprisonment up to three years. It further states that this offence is cognizable and non-bailable. The husband has to pay subsistence allowance to the wife and family and the custody of the children will be given to the wife.

For us, who were crusading for gender equality of Muslim women, the provisions seemed a case of over reach as a civil act is sought to be criminalised.

The bill was introduced in the upper house of the Indian Parliament on 3 January 2018. The government was very keen to pass it in the current session, which ended on 5 January. However, whether because of the reaction from members of civil society who were protesting the bill or the Congress had time to study it, their leaders rose up to oppose the bill. As soon as the bill was introduced, a pandemonium broke out in the house.

The Congress in Rajya Sabha said they are against the criminalisation of the offence, and insisted on the bill being sent to a select committee for study, while the ruling party wanted it discussed in the house it self. For now, the Parliament session is over and the bill will be re-tabled in the next session.

A bill that seeks to deliver justice should indeed deliver total justice. It’s drawbacks have been discussed threadbare.

In the prevailing atmosphere, where there is a lack of trust on the part of the minorities, the time is not ripe for a Uniform Civil Code. That is something which requires a great deal of information, discussion, and consensus. It is not a bill which can be bulldozed through Parliament.

However, the time is ripe for a Muslim Code Bill. It should be drafted by a team of legal experts, Quran scholars, Muslim representatives and bodies, and above all, for the benefit of Muslim women, not for political mileage.

The ‘niyat’ should be gender justice, not scoring political points. In fact it should be kept away from all politics.

https://www.thequint.com/voices/blogs/muslim-code-bill-and-triple-talaq-connection

Holding fort(h) – Leisure News

ranasafvi — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 07:07:37 +0000

The book is proof that stories of Shahjahanabad never grow old.
— Read on www.indiatoday.in/amp/magazine/leisure/story/20200203-holding-fort-h-history-1639422-2020-01-24

BOOK REVIEW Rana Safvi’s history of Shahjahanabad is as much about its inhabitants as about its grand buildings

ranasafvi — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 03:26:10 +0000

The third book in the ‘Where Stones Speak’ trilogy is unique in that it speaks of a living city, for Shahjahanabad exists today too.

Akshaj Awasthi

Chandni Chowk: 1857 wood engraving, London Illustrated News

The sixth city of Delhi has often been regarded with a healthy dose of sentimentality, through a plethora of books populating the bookshelves of the lovers of Shahjahanabad, much the same way that its characters still inhabit the streets of Chitli Qabr and Gali Qasim Jaan.

One of these lovers was Sir Syed Ahmed Khan of Aligarh fame, the celebrated author of the Asar-us-Sanadid. His successor, in a manner, is Rana Safvi. The Where Stones Speak trilogy started its winding route tracing the history of the cities of Delhi in Mehrauli. But it was the final volume of this trilogy, Shahjahanabad, that was the most awaited — for its subject is very much a living city.

This is what Safvi manages to capture in a palimpsest whirling between the different layers that make up what we call Purani Dilli. It is by no means Shah Jahan’s story alone, for after him came generations of the later Mughals, the hordes of Nadir Shah, the East India Company, and the fires of 1857.

Na tha shehar Dehli wo tha chaman-i Dilli
sab tarah ka tha wahan aman
wo khitab iska toh mit gaya
faqat ab to ujda dyaar hai

Delhi was not simply a city – a garden it was
What shall I say of the peace that it had
They have erased all its repute
Now it is simply a place laid waste.

Living lives in living cities?

The last volume in the Where Stones Speak trilogy asserts with its title what elevates it book above the others in the series – it talks about a living city. With the notable exception of the Qila-e-Mubarak (today’s Lal Qila), this statement holds true for the entire narrative. For, unlike the other cities preceding it in the space we call Delhi, Shahjahanabad remains a location inhabited by families whose roots on the banks of the Jamuna date back to the 17th century.

To present this living fabric of heritage through a book of popular history is daunting, therefore, and must necessarily come from a place of deeper understanding – one that a cursory visit to the ubiquitous Jama Masjid or a meal at the now mainstream Karim’s Hotel cannot provide. Only an individual steeped in every morsel of nihari found in the city, every faded inscription in the lost monuments of every qatra, could possibly have this skill.

In other words, only Rana Safvi.

Safvi’s reiteration of the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb

Accounts or books pertaining to the city of Shahjahanabad have traditionally tended to focus on its inauguration by the Emperor in 1648, as well as landmark events along the lines of the invasion of Nader Shah from Iran and the tragedies of 1857. Naturally, these narratives focus almost entirely on the inhabitants of the Qila – an error Safvi does not commit. While the city’s centre is undeniably the royal fortress-palace at the end of the broad avenue of Chandni Chowk, The Living City of Old Delhiattempts, and succeeds spectacularly at peopling this settlement.

The author achieves this in several ways, one of which is through conversations with the current inhabitants of historic locations that are found throughout the trilogy. In this case, these inhabitants may be passive observers to how the city has undergone changes. Every tailor, every chaiwallah is a courtier in the darbar of the hallowed Mughal city.

This is not to say that the watershed events in the city’s history are erased; they appear as the background against which the tale of the city itself is told. This is most definitely a history ofShahjahanabad with its people, and not a simple narrative of political and military history.

Safvi also explores the alternative religious traditions and minorities that contributed greatly to the tale of the city, most notably the Jain merchants with their historic temples alongside the often-forgotten Shia community of Shahjahanabad. These communities are major characters in the stories that the work recounts, and almost always appear in interaction with the other inhabitants of the capital.

One such striking monument is the shrine near Chawri Bazaar dedicated to the patron god of the Kayastha community, Chitragupta. Given that the community was renowned for its Persian and Urdu scholarship at the court of the Great Mughals, it is scant surprise that the temple of Chitragupta only has inscriptions in Urdu: a scenario few can visualise in this age of sacrosanct, compartmentalised identities. The very stones of the newest “Old Delhi” can, and do, speak.

Safvi’s gaze reveals a certain kindness that has previously been lacking in describing subjects considered taboo in the old city. The traditional response to what does not conform to the cisgender, heterosexual world is often conveniently whitewashed so as not to sully the “pure” image of a location. This is not the case in The Living City of Old Delhi – a case in point being the tomb of the 17th century Sufi, Muhammad Sa’id Sarmad.

A mystic from Kashan in Iran, he fell in love (ishq-e-majazi, love for god’s creation) with a youth in Delhi by the name of Abhai Chand. This element of homoeroticism that was all too common in India’s premodern past is often erased so as not to court a backlash. It would be easy to repeat the same time-tested formula, but Safvi unabashedly tells the truth. By giving a voice to individuals and communities from the margins, she does justice to the mission of providing a more representative account than usual of the city of Ghalib and Zauq.

Zabaan, then as now

In the style now acknowledged as Safvi’s trademark, no section of the book is unadorned by a relevant sher or prose from the rich Indo-Persianate heritage that is characteristic of the land of Hindustan. The effect? Apart from the current generation of Shahjahanabadis, past reflections by inhabitants of the Mughal capital appear too. Well versed with the essential tools of historical context, the author captures the essence of a city that is as fluid as the Qila’s Nahr-i Behisht.

Another factor to to be appreciated is definitely Safvi’s acknowledgement of modern Shahjahanabadis who helped her in this work. One of the most most notable mentions is of Abu Sufiyan of Purani Dilli Walon ki Batein. The documentation of the unique dialects of Shahjahanabad is reflected in the section on Matia Mahal, where Begumati Zabaan (the language of the ladies of the household) and Karkhandhari Zabaan (the softened variant of Urdu found in the walled city) are described. These small elements of quotidian life, which are usually not mentioned in literature on the Mughal city, add a three-dimensionality to the normally well-traversed path of simply listing the monuments of Shah Jahan’s city and their back stories.

A book that lives up to its name by making stones speak is rare indeed. A book that manages to combine this with the testaments of a living city is even more rare. While the tone of describing the events of 1857 and the fate of the House of Timur do fall into the trap of glorifying the early modern past of India at certain points, this esteemed successor in the tradition of Syed Ahmed Khan’s Asar-us-Sanadid holds its own and manages to narrate the story of the greatest city of the Mughal polity with great focus and finesse.

The concerned lover of Shahjahanabad can only hope that what happened to Delhi in 1857, a few years after the writing of Syed Ahmed Khan’s account, does not repeat itself in a time of tyranny.

Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi, Rana Safvi, HarperCollins India.

( For Scroll) https://scroll.in/article/949513/rana-safvis-history-of-shahjahanabad-is-as-much-about-its-inhabitants-as-about-its-grand-buildings

Books and Authors: In conversation with Rana Safvi, author of Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi

ranasafvi — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 10:45:06 +0000

Forts, havelis, temples, mosques, streets, food, culture, history… It’s all there in Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi, the final installment in popular historian Rana Safvi’s series on Delhi. Here, Rana talks about what went into writing this information-packed and very accessible book that combines the historic and the contemporary to give the reader a great then-and-now view of Old Delhi, a remarkable settlement that has, over the centuries, seen both grandeur and tragedy.

Interview with Hindustan times.

To watch the full video, click on the link below.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/videos/lifestyle/in-conversation-with-rana-safvivideo/video-XsKHdWY4RCkEppE9uGmGLI.html

Find Your Language | Verve Magazine – India’s premier luxury lifestyle women’s magazine

ranasafvi — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 17:19:09 +0000

The number of mother tongues spoken in India runs into the thousands, yet in the arena of mainstream literature, where English continues to dominate, only a
— Read on www.vervemagazine.in/arts-and-culture/find-your-language-flash-fiction-urdu-malyalam-hindi-tamil

Why I Write : Reader’s Digest

ranasafvi — Tue, 26 Nov 2019 03:21:22 +0000

RANA SAFVI

Historian, columnist, translator and author

I have always been fascinated by our heritage and monuments. On a trip to one such historical site, I felt that they were speaking to me and beckoning me to tell their story. It may sound fanciful, but at the age of 56, I decided to start writing and become their voice. It has now become my passion. Documenting our incredible heritage via its monuments, food, clothes and history is what makes me push myself to the utmost limit. I have had wonderful experiences during my trips to historical cities and desolate monuments, but have also faced some heartbreaks at their pathetic upkeep and encroachment in such sites.

I started out late, and at times, I feel as though I’m racing against time—pushing my physical boundaries and trying to pack in more into each hour. But it is a great feeling when I realize that I am playing a part in creating awareness about our heritage. This whole experience completes me.

https://www.readersdigest.co.in/features/story-why-i-write-125123

A flaneur in Old Delhi: book review in The Business Standard

ranasafvi — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 04:23:41 +0000

https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/a-flaneur-in-old-delhi-119112101837_1.html

A flaneur in Old Delhi: book review in The Business Standard

ranasafvi — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 04:23:41 +0000

https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/a-flaneur-in-old-delhi-119112101837_1.html

A flaneur in Old Delhi: book review in The Business Standard

ranasafvi — Sat, 23 Nov 2019 04:23:41 +0000

https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/a-flaneur-in-old-delhi-119112101837_1.html

Capturing the heart and soul of purani Dilli – Book Review – The Tribune

ranasafvi — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 04:38:41 +0000

By Pankaj K Deo

Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi by Rana Safvi. HarperCollins. Pages 392. Rs 999

Ironically, when Rana Safvi’s new book, Shahjahanabad: The Living City of Old Delhi arrived for review, Delhi was shrouded in a massive blanket of yellowish smog. The city seemed to be on the brink of apocalypse. When its inhabitants are gasping for pure air, reading the Persian couplet, “Agar Firdaus bar ru-e zamin ast, Hamin ast-o hamin ast-o hami ast” in her book could only accentuate the tragic irony of the situation. These lines of verse inscribed on the Diwan-e-Khaas, at the Red Fort in Delhi, capture the very essence of the paradise imagery that underlies the Mughal architecture.

The book is the last one of her Where Stones Speak trilogy and focuses on the history of Shajahanabad, inarguably the most beautiful one among the seven cities that flourished in Delhi. As one delves into the book, one indeed gets transported to a city that was once considered the paradise on this earth.

One needs to understand here that Agra was the first capital of the Mughal Empire. The Mughals did visit Delhi, but they didn’t find it suitable to settle down. It was Shah Jahan who decided to shift his capital from Agra to Old Delhi in the 17th century. The new capital city he founded came to be known as Shahjahanabad and its imperial house, the Qila-e Mubarak, as the Red Fort. As for Shah Jahan’s reasons to shift the capital, Safvi writes: “Two factors influenced his decision to shift his capital from Agra: one was that the Agra fort, from where his father and grandfather had ruled, was too small for his needs, and the other was the unsuitability of the narrow lanes and ravines of Agra for his ceremonial processions.”

As one peruses the pages of Safvi’s book, one gets transported back in time to the periods of Shah Jahan and later Mughals. The reader witnesses the evolution of a city and its distinct culture and cuisine, with Qila-e-Mubarak or the Red Fort as its epicentre. Those who came from places afar to dwell in the city brought with them their multifarious traditions, their faith, their language and their cuisine.

Safvi’s tome brings to its readers hitherto unknown tales of Shahjahanabad and its lanes and bylanes, in her inimitable style. The narrative she weaves around Shahjahanabad and its monuments is spiced with many anecdotes and exquisite Urdu couplets that offer trenchant comments on this city’s glorious past and its present condition. There are chapters dedicated to Kooche, Katre and Mohalle of Shahjahanabad, as well as its food and its beautiful gardens.

A raconteur par excellence, Safvi chronicles the history of Shahjahanabad from the laying down of the foundation stone of the Red Fort in 1639 to the exile of Bahadur Shah Zafar due to his role in 1857 war against the British rule.

As you flip through its pages not only the city of Shahjahanabad but also its noble occupants, who once walked, dressed in all their finery due to their social status, come alive. The author even takes you to their graves where they now lie buried — neglected and forgotten. Many such historical somebodies seem to strike a conversation with as you progress from page to page, such is her style of narration.

The paradisiacal imagery is a recurring theme in the Mughal architecture. Shah Jahan put his official seal on the theme by getting the Persian couplet inscribed in the Diwan-i-Khas of the Red fort in Delhi. Safvi also investigates the history behind the famous Persian couplet, generally attributed to Amir Khusrau, and how it came to be inscribed on the wall of the hall of special audience in the Red Fort.

A high degree of tolerance for a contrarian view seems to have existed at that time since Mirza Ghalib who lived in the twilight of the Mughal empire, could get away with writing: “Hum ko maalum hai jannat ki haqiqat lekin dil ko khush rakhne ko Ghalib ye khayal achchha hai.”

The narrative at places does seem to lack cohesiveness, but that is understandable when an author has to coalesce so many disparate pieces of history lying strewn in every nook and cranny of a hoary city like Delhi.

In order to tempt the readers to try out the cuisine that Shajahanabad is famous for, the author also provides authentic recipes of various dishes, which would perhaps help foodies to embark on a culinary journey to the medieval age.

A book to be bought and preserved by all those who love Delhi, its culture and its cuisine.

https://www.tribuneindia.com/mobi/news/capturing-the-heart-and-soul-of-purani-dilli/861920.html

Asian Age- Shahjahanabad the Living City of Old Delhi in bestseller list

ranasafvi — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 02:56:33 +0000

Asian Age
— Read on onlineepaper.asianage.com/articledetailpage.aspx