Delhi : Historical Glimpses
Contents: Preface. I: Pre-Moghul Period. 1. Forgotten Medieval New Delhi. 2. Tomb of a Genius Amir Khusrau. 3. Lost Ambience of Hauz Khas. 4. Glazed Mystery in Dome. 5. Ship-Shaped Palace. 6. Arabic Sultanas Dream. 7. Mosque of the Windows. 8. Lies Here the Sultan. 9. Bahlol Lodhis Tomb in Chirag Delhi. 10. Fortress of the Barber. 11. Bridging Fact and Fiction. 12. Bhuli Bhatyari: The Fair Inn keeper. 13. Well Among Skyscrapers. II: Moghul Era. 14. Khan e Khanans Tomb. 15. Here Rest the Moghuls. 16. Moghul Treasure. 17. A Babari Mosque. 18. Mysterious Forbidden Gate. 19. Milestones. 20. Ghalibs Tomb: The Muses Bower. 21. Oudhs Link with Delhi. 22. Robert Clives Pensioner. 23. Lal Bangla of Lal Kanwar? 24. The Swings of Sawan. 25. A Market Full of Spices. 26. The Shoe-Sellers Riot. 27. Lane of Royal Cooks near Jama Masjid. 28. Delhis Agra Bazar. 29. The Amazons of Delhi. III: Faith and Piety. 30. Where Girls Pray: Mazar of Bibi Fatima. 31. Matka Pir Hazrat Azmat Sheikh. 32. The Legacy of a Pir. 33. Drinking to the Deity. 34. Site of Secret Ritual. 35. Kalkaji Temple. 36. Belas Samadhi. 37. Gurdwara in the Palace of Raja Jai Singh. 38. Rakabganj Gurdwara: When Nature Frowned. 39. Abode of the Matas near Rouse Avenue. 40. Mast Qalandar. 41. Delhis Parsi Connexion. 42. Still Surviving on Gossip. 43. Grotto of Our Lady. 44. Burning Day and Night. 45. Sari for the Virgin. IV: European Legacy. 46. Sikandar Sahib. 47. Muztar and Azad. 48. Armenian Connexion. 49. The French Connexion. 50. Good Old Halls of the Raj. Index.
Everyone coming to the beautiful historic city of Delhi is fascinated by its wealth of cultural heritage from the ordinary settlements to the imperial precincts. It is almost like a never ending dialogue to know more about the cultural and architectural heritage of the city. The book gives the facets of a historical city, with its monuments and the legends connected with it. This is however not just another book on Delhi. It links the monuments and many neighbourhoods of the city, with events in history. Most of the contents are related to the medieval period, though one will find scattered references to the dim past peeping out of the crust of the latter-day events.
One has to give credit to the brilliance of the author, R.V. Smith, whose passion for several years has been to discover and collect stories and legends about the histories of Delhis many monuments, known and unknown. The book is thus a valuable addition to the literature on the Capital.(jacket)
