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A review by maitrey_d
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple
4.0
I came into this book as an unabashed fan of William Dalrymple (WD). I think he's a razor-sharp observer who can write hilariously. Combine this with his love for history, assiduous scholarship and great sympathy and fondness for the subjects he writes about, and we have a winner. He's definitely an oasis in the desert that is Indian-history writing.
The City of Djinns trawls through time, peeling away layer by layer the city that is Delhi. Even though the book was written in the late 80s/early 90s, so much about the book is timeless. And I'm not just talking about the sweltering summer heat or the dust that have always made Delhi their home, but apparently even bureaucratic red-tapism had already settled in Delhi in the 14th Century! (according to the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta)
City of Djinns keeps going back in time, tracing events that according to WD have made an impact on modern Delhi. From the Anti-Sikh riots to Partition to Imperial Delhi's grandiose architecture to cultural fusion that gives some parts of Delhi a Late Mughal-Early British baroque feel, WD brings all of these alive. Not all the time is spent quoting dusty manuscripts however, WD puts his boots on the ground if you. Whether it is tracking down eunuchs, a forgotten people who can be a stand in as a metaphor for the history that stares Delhi-wallahs in the face, yet it's chosen to be ignored; to visits to myriad Sufi shrines, havelis, markets and even shacks inhabited by victims of both the horrific riots that have scarred Delhi. WD even makes trips to Karachi, Shimla, Ajmer and even the Deccan fastness of Daulatabad; and writes extensively about Anglo-Indians (or the British who chose to stay back after Independence) and the unfortunate fog that now shrouds them. Not all is doom and gloom however. We also get to read about the indomitable Mrs. Puri, WD's landlord and Mr. Singh, WD's regular taxi driver who operates from the International Backside Taxi Stand and a host of other Delhi-wallahs who make WD's day. The book rounds of with on Delhi's pre-historic past which some believe to be the mysterious settlements of the Mahabharata.
Overall, if you would like read about India, Delhi especially, you'll have to pick up City of Djinns.
The City of Djinns trawls through time, peeling away layer by layer the city that is Delhi. Even though the book was written in the late 80s/early 90s, so much about the book is timeless. And I'm not just talking about the sweltering summer heat or the dust that have always made Delhi their home, but apparently even bureaucratic red-tapism had already settled in Delhi in the 14th Century! (according to the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta)
City of Djinns keeps going back in time, tracing events that according to WD have made an impact on modern Delhi. From the Anti-Sikh riots to Partition to Imperial Delhi's grandiose architecture to cultural fusion that gives some parts of Delhi a Late Mughal-Early British baroque feel, WD brings all of these alive. Not all the time is spent quoting dusty manuscripts however, WD puts his boots on the ground if you. Whether it is tracking down eunuchs, a forgotten people who can be a stand in as a metaphor for the history that stares Delhi-wallahs in the face, yet it's chosen to be ignored; to visits to myriad Sufi shrines, havelis, markets and even shacks inhabited by victims of both the horrific riots that have scarred Delhi. WD even makes trips to Karachi, Shimla, Ajmer and even the Deccan fastness of Daulatabad; and writes extensively about Anglo-Indians (or the British who chose to stay back after Independence) and the unfortunate fog that now shrouds them. Not all is doom and gloom however. We also get to read about the indomitable Mrs. Puri, WD's landlord and Mr. Singh, WD's regular taxi driver who operates from the International Backside Taxi Stand and a host of other Delhi-wallahs who make WD's day. The book rounds of with on Delhi's pre-historic past which some believe to be the mysterious settlements of the Mahabharata.
Overall, if you would like read about India, Delhi especially, you'll have to pick up City of Djinns.