• Home
  • Contact Me
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Rana Safvi
  • Home
  • About
  • Book & Publication
  • Culture & Heritage
    • Our Cultural Heritage
    • Sufi saints
  • Food
  • Hazrat-E-Dilli
  • Rana’s Space
    • Walks & Talks
    • Rana’s Space
    • Sher o Sukhan
  • Travel
    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    My favorite artworks from European Museums

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

    The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

    Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

    Trending Tags

    • Contact Me
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About
    • Book & Publication
    • Culture & Heritage
      • Our Cultural Heritage
      • Sufi saints
    • Food
    • Hazrat-E-Dilli
    • Rana’s Space
      • Walks & Talks
      • Rana’s Space
      • Sher o Sukhan
    • Travel
      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      My favorite artworks from European Museums

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Gandhara Art in Humboldt Forum: Life of Lord Buddha

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Jewish Heroes Square in Krakow, Poland

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Block no. 4 in Auschwitz concentration camp

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      Ottoman tent in Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow, Poland

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      The Steam Engine Building, Potsdam, Germany

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Assyrian human-headed winged bull from Nimrud; 9th cent. BCE; Pergamon Museum, Berlin

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      Catacombs in St Peter’s Abbey Salzburg, Austria

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      St Nicholas Church in #Leipzeg, #Germany

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Gloriette, Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna,Austria

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      Matthias Church on Buda Castle Hill, Budapest

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Neptune fountain in Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

      The Dohany Street synagogue in Budapest

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      St Peter’s Abbey Church in Salzburg, Austria

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      The Residence Fountain in Salzburg: Oundof Music

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Sultana Daku and Raj Bhawan of Nainital

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Jahan koshan cannon, Murshidabad

      Takht-e Marar, Golestan Palance, Teheran, Iran

      Trending Tags

      • Contact Me
      No Result
      View All Result
      Rana Safvi
      No Result
      View All Result

      Review of Where Stones Speak by Anuradha Goyal

      inBook and Publication
      0

      Author : Rana Safvi | Publisher : Harper Element| Language : English

      October 13, 2015 1 Comment

      Mehrauli is the oldest living city within the current city of Delhi. In my last stint in Delhi from 2009-11 I walked around streets of Mehrauli and wrote my experiences as walking tours of Mehrauli. So when I heard about Rana Safvi writing about Mehrauli with a lovely picture on the cover page of this book. I requested her to send me a copy and she was kind enough to send it immediately. I knew reading this book would be re-living those walks and re-visiting those hidden stories in the lanes of Mehrauli. Rana Safvi is also a very popular twitter personality and is known for running a poetry network there – bringing in the much needed respite from social media battles.

      Now, the book ‘Where Stones Speak’ is classified as a history book and it is very good as a history book, almost like a textbook – giving details of each and every monument in Mehrauli, including Mehrauli archeological park. At times I almost felt that I am reading an ASI book with every detail like the vital statistics of the monuments, every bit of recorded history. I am going to use it as a reference book for my future writings on Mehrauli. It also gives detailed stories behind the monuments and takes you through the history of this city during the Sultanate period. The area though existed much before the outside dynasties came to rule from here.

      There are one or two parts that I do not agree with the author like her – like her going ga ga over the calligraphy on stone, which overlooks the fact that the area was full of Hindu and Jain temples and each of them was intricately carved – the remains of the same can be seen in the corridors of Qutub complex as well as at the Museum in Purana Qila. For most parts, I think she has researched well to document the most historical part of Delhi that receives nothing but neglect.

      All through the book, there is generous sprinkling of poetry. I loved the one on the back cover of the book by Shahpur Rasool–

      Hogi is dher imaarat ki kahani kuchh tau

      Dhundh alfaaz ke malbe mein maa’ine kuchh tau

      Or

      Surely a story hides behind these ruins, somewhere

      Search the debris of words, the meaning is there, somewhere

      Most of the other poetry also is as good, if not better but I just could not relate the text and the poetry. Imagine you read about the dimensions of a monument that is as technical and boring as you can get about a historical monument, and then suddenly you are presented with a delicate piece of poetry from some era of Delhi or vice-versa. Poetry in itself is great, but it seems absolutely out of context and in the process you miss the Rasa that it providers to its connoisseurs. At one place a verse of Kabir is only given in English and as a student of Kabir, I am still trying to figure out which verse it is.

      The book is structured around the monuments listed in it, so the author moves from one monument to another without really establishing a link between them. So what I gather is lot of information about each individual monument in Mehrauli and around, which is an impeccable work since not much information exists about this part of Delhi. I missed the storytelling, the painting that would bring alive the life of Mehrauli when these buildings were being built and when the city was getting its character. I got lots of small pieces and individual stories e.g. when a Mazar is being described you hear about that saint, but the story is not as a part of a bigger narrative that Meharuli could have been.

      Pictures are good, the best one is on the cover. There are many photography groups in Delhi who have much better pictures of all these places. I would have also preferred pictures in color, but I understand that the format of the book would have not allowed that. Towards the end there are suggested itineraries and the book wears the hat of a travel guide.

      Link to review here

      Share this:

      • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
      • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

      Related Posts

      Siri the second city of Delhi
      Book and Publication

      Siri the second city of Delhi

      by ranasafvi
      January 23, 2022
      How Bahadur Shah Kept His Hindu And Muslim Subjects United [Book Excerpt]
      Book and Publication

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

      by ranasafvi
      November 24, 2020
      The Shah Burj in Red Fort, Delhi : Then and Now
      Book and Publication

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

      by ranasafvi
      November 9, 2020
      Leave Comment
      Twitter Facebook Instagram Youtube
      Rana Safvi

      Come, explore and fall in love the Beauties of Delhi (Dilli ki Ranaiya’n) and the World with me, Rana Safvi

      I have a masters in medieval history from the prestigious Centre for Advanced Studies, Dept. of History, AMU. A firm believer in our Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb, I am passionate about gaining and sharing knowledge and these days I am doing it via the social media platform.

      Browse by Category

      Currently Playing

      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.

      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • About
      • Book & Publication
      • Culture & Heritage
        • Our Cultural Heritage
        • Sufi saints
      • Food
      • Hazrat-E-Dilli
      • Rana’s Space
        • Walks & Talks
        • Rana’s Space
        • Sher o Sukhan
      • Travel
      • Contact Me

      © 2018 Rana Safvi - A blog Exploring Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb of India, website handcrafted by Abu Sufiyan.