In actual fact Urdu poetry has a genre for almost every circumstance and for every aspect of the human condition.

One such less-examined genre in Urdu poetry is the shahr ashob or city disturber.

In Turkish and Persian poetry, the city ‘disturber’ was usually a young boy engaged in a trade or craft who ‘coquettishly offers his wares to the lovestruck poet’ says Persianate and Comparative Literature historian Sunil Sharma.
It thus became a valuable chronicle of crafts prevalent in the era, he says.
Roots in another time

It started, according to him, with Masud Sa’d Salman (1121 AD), the first to write shahr ashob.

In 18th century India, however, there was a socio-political shift and it changed form, evolving into a lament for the city.

“Urdu shahr ashob began at the start of the eighteenth century. After the death of Aurangzeb (1707), frightful shadows of decadence [zaval] and adversity began to loom in every direction.

Thus the genre of poetry which in Persian and Turkish was especially used for intellectual enjoyment, became in Urdu a vehicle for the description of political, economic, and social disturbances,” says Dr Naim Ahmad.

This genre is a historical record of its times. It reflects the change in society. While royal scribes documenting ‘history’ were measured in their response, the poets were not.

It recorded the economic crisis of the previously prosperous Empire and post-1857, the change in status of royalty and nobility.

There are shahr ashob written by Shakir Naji, who was in the army of the Mughal Emperor Mohammad Shah when it was defeated in Karnal. He wrote a long shahr ashob on the impact of the military defeat on the Empire, nobility and society.

Then there is one shahr ashob by Qaim Chandpuri that blasts the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II who took the help of the Marathas to defeat the Rohilla, Zabita Khan in the battle of Sarkartal in 1772.

Kaisa yeh Shah ke zulm pe uski nigah hai

Haathon se uske ek jahan dadkhah hai

Luchha ek aap saath looter sipah hai

Namus e khalq sa’e mein uske talab hai

Shaitan ka yeh zil hai naa Zill e Ilahi

What kind of King is he who is intent on injustice?

An entire world is protesting against him

A lout himself, has a brigand army

The honour of the people is defiled by his rule

He is the shadow of Satan, not the shadow of God*

(From http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urduhindilinks/txt_sharma_shahrashob_2004.pdf)

It was a genre in which Mir Taqi Mir and Mohd Rafi Sauda excelled.
Bloody events and a poetic outcome

The aftermath of Ahmed Shah Abdali’s sack of Delhi and the fall of Delhi into British hands in 1857 has produced some gems of Urdu poetry.

1739 saw the sack of Delhi by the Persian invader Nadir Shah.

Nadir Shah at the sack of Delhi. Credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
It is said that he saw the massacre from Sonehri Masjid in Chandni Chowk. A gate near it, now no longer extant, was named Khooni Darwaza because of that.

Mohammad Rafi Sauda writes after Nadir Shah’s invasion:

Jahanabad tu kab iss sitam ke qabil tha

Magar kabho kisi aashiq ka yeh nagar dil tha

Ke yun mita diya goya ke naqsh e batil tha

Ajab tarah se yeh bahr e jahan mein sahil tha

Ke jis ki khaak se leti thi falak moti roll

Jahanabad you were never deserving of such tyranny

–

You were once the heart of lovers, many

Why has it been destroyed as if a lie by destiny?

T’was a wondrous beach in the sea of plenty

Precious stones on your shores galore

Mir Taqi Mir had to leave Delhi for Lucknow in search of employment and his shahr ashob reflects the economic devastation of Delhi:

Marne ke martabe mein hain ahbaab

Jo shanasa mila so be asbaab

Tangdasti se sab bahaal kharab

Jis ke hai baal, tau nahin hai tanaab

Jiske hain farash, tau nahin hain faraash

My friends all seemed to death, near

Whoever I met had lost all possessions, once so dear

Poverty seems to be a cross all have to bear

If one had a thread, no rope was in sight here

If one had a carpet, there were none to roll it out

These four months saw murder and mayhem, first of the British and Europeans by the rebellious sepoys and then by the British.
Two sepoys of the 31st Native Infantry who were hanged in Lucknow in 1857. Photo: Felice Beato
The wrath of the victorious British fell on the citizens of Shahjahanabad with those who weren’t killed fleeing the city. The Timurid family who lived inside the Qila e Moalla fled for their lives, many were captured and killed, many turned into menial servants by the British.

Mufti Sadruddin Azurda who held the post of Sadr e Delhi wrote in shocked disbelief.

Zewar almas ka tha jin se na pahna jata

Bhaari jhumar bhi kabhi sir pe na rakhha jaata

Sar pe bojh liye chaar taraf phirte hain

Do qadam chalte hain mushkil se tau phir girte hain

Those frail ladies, are made to carry heavy loads, alas

They can barely walk a few steps before they fall down

The delicate ones who couldn’t carry the weight of precious gems

For whom heavy jewellery was a burden too heavy
(published in Catch news http://www.catchnews.com/culture-news/the-lost-art-of-urdu-poetry-shahr-ashob-was-a-lament-for-a-city-1442426363.html)

The history of Nadir Shah by Abdul Karim, says that a rumour had been spread in the city that Emperor Mohammad Shah had assasinated Nadir Shah in the citadel. The Qazilbash or soldiers of Nader Shah were attacked by the citizens of Delhi,and it is said about 3000 were killed. By midnight the report of these happenings reached Nader Shah who at first disbelieved it. The orderlee he sent to enquire was murdered. Then Nader Shah ordered 2000 Jazarchees to occupy the gates of the Fort and fire into the crowd. For a while the disturbance abated but by morning it started again. He rode out of the fort to the Roshanud daulah mosque and ordered that no man dressed as a Hind was to be spared.
“On the morning of 22 March, (1739) Nader mounted his horse and rode from the palace to the Roshan-od-Dowala mosque (the former name of Sunehri Masjid). As he arrived there with his men about him, some people threw stones from balconies and windows around the mosque, and a shot was fired, killing an officer beside him. He had already made up his mind, but this final insult may have added fury to Nader’s frustration. He went to the roof of the mosque and stood by the golden domes, looking out over the houses, shops and roof of the Chandni Chowk district. He ordered that no one should be left alive in any part where any of his soldiers had been killed, and then drew his sword as a signal that the massacre should begin.”
The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from Tribal Warrior to Conquering Tyrant, by Michael Axworthy
From 7am to 4pm Delhi was given up to massacre. Emperor Muhammad Shah alarmed at the reports that reached him and sent a messenger to Nader Shah begging for forgiveness; “the tyrant relented and spared the people of Delhi for the sake of Mohammad Shah.”
Another account says that Mirza Mehdi the physician of Nader Shah was seated on the steps of the mosque when Asif Jah, the PRime Minister of Mohammad Shah came with a petition to beg for mercy and Nader Shah forgave the citizens of Delhi and soldiers immediately sheathed their swords.

These photographs are from Jan 2015 when i visited it.
Today unless you know about ot you will give it a miss and never notice its tarnished golden domes.
This mosque is an oblong of 48 feet by 19 feet; it stands on a masonry platform from the level of the road which it overlooks. There is a grill on its unpretending gateway. 8 narrow steps lead up to the courtyard.

There are 3 arched entrances to the mosque which are normally kept locked. They lead to three rooms.
The three rooms are covered by three gilt domes,the centre dome being larger than those on the side.

When i visited it was covered by a green tarp so I couldn’t capture the domes.

From the internet.
There is encroachment from all sides. The stairs leading up.from the courtyard of the mosque lead upto a warren of rooms which are occupied. I climbed up it thinking I could go upto the roof and landed inside someone’s room instead.
Opposite it is the magnificent Sisganj Gurudwara.
The Kotwali of the Mughal era used to be next to this mosque once upon a time.

An adjoining sehan

Encroachment from all sides