A civilisation in ruins
The Hindu : There are some 1200 of them. All in dilapidated condition, overrun by stray dogs and goats, and home to vagabonds too. Dark and unattended, they make a safe haven for gambling, card playing, drinking and other dubious pastimes, because approaching them requires more than the usual effort one would make to see a tourist site. Yes, these are monuments of Delhi — or rather, “hidden monuments,” as author Rakshanda Jalil describes them — obscured by apathy. Says Rakshanda, whose “Invisible City, The Hidden Monuments of Delhi” has just been released, taking pictures of the monuments was difficult, with the photographers’ clothes getting entangled in wild bushes and their feet stuck in mud.Yet those responsible for locking up these pieces of architectural heritage, citing ‘renovation’ or ‘preservation’, are sleeping over the consequences.It is to awaken their consciences that she wrote the book, which covers 49 such monuments.Detailed textIronically the publication, brought out by Niyogi Books, reveals an apathy towards pictorial content, with small pictures and a lack of detail. The text, nonetheless, is detailed and palatable enough to entice readers to pay a visit.A few hilarious, colourful illustrations, mocking at their status today, add to the attraction of the book.Divided intoseven short sections: Pre-Sultanate, Sultanate, Tughlaq, Saiyyid, Lodi, Mughal and post-Mughal, the book carries aforeword by Khushwant Singh andmaps and index.It provides quick facts about the monuments, their surroundings, genesis and current conditions.The idea to come up with such a book germinated three years ago when the author went with her five year-old child to visitAgrasen Ki Baoli,believed to be a pre-Lodi monument, off Hailey Lane in Connaught Place.“It was so difficult to enter the site navigating through the streets. But onceinside, I was almost scared by its eerie silence and little signs of life. It didn’t even seem advisable to go there alone or with children. Many such monuments that I visited are homes to…More
