Delhi - A View of Yore

Mirza Ghalib recounted the saga of this self-same Delhi, of the very Chandni Chowk lined with shady trees on both sides, sheltering twittering birds, keeping the temperature from soaring. In the Delhi, when Red Fort and Chandni Chowk were connected by the Yamuna with the populace boating around in clear moonlit nights, could anyone be broke? Delhi used to have its own distinctive culture, life-style, tradition, and a reserved and bashful allure. People were what they appeared to be. Far away from exhibitionism and deceit of all kinds.

There was a certain bond between the host and the guest, much like the stars of the twilight and the rays of the sun and the moon. Both would be wrapped up in pleasant reminiscences. Mind you, the guest need not necessarily be Homo sapiens. An essential ingredient of the grandeur of the place was the group of monkeys. In those days people never monkeyed around chopping up trees and exporting monkeys. These monkeys capered around on tinned roofs, sit on the parapets, and raid the kitchen the moment they got a break, chattering animatedly with their kin. Both the host and the guest glared at each other, threaten each other, but were delighted at the end of the meal. Even today the housewives cook for these uninvited guests anticipating their arrival.

For thousands of years, Delhi was ruled by two hundred kings and queens, and twelve prime ministers, including four women. The honour of ascending the throne as the first queen of Delhi goes to the widow of the Hindu king Govind Singh, Rani Pemi, in 381 AD. Razia Sultana was the second woman ruler of Delhi. Queen Victoria ruled over Delhi from Britain. The fourth woman was the first woman Prime Minister of Independent India, Smt Indira Gandhi.

Delhi was also called Hastinapur and Indraprastha. King Yudhishthir ruled over Hastinapur for 36 years. Among the other more famous rulers of Delhi were Parikshit, Nimi, Dandapani, Janamejay, and Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Famous and infamous Mughal rulers, from Babar to Aurangzeb, also had their days of glory in Delhi.

Many books, big and small, have been written on Delhi. After Partition, when I came to Delhi, my childhood in tow, the first Prime Minister, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru held sway. My childhood eyes have seen and my childhood heart has preserved the innumerable incidents of the freedom struggle, like the charkha yajna, setting alight foreign clothes and so on. I started writing this book, Delhi-A View From Yore (Dilli- Ateet Ke Jharokhe Se) based on these memories.

At school I had studied till just the fourth standard. After that my education has been fragmented and I don't know when I completed my PhD and made it to some world's famous universities as a visiting professor. Memories of Delhi kept pursuing me.