The majestic Humayun’s Tomb was blanketed by a thick layer of fog, as a group of history enthusiasts, packed in layers of clothing to fight off the morning cold, huddled around to learn more about various structures within the vast complex. This is a perfect example of Indo-Islamic architecture.” The MCD heritage cell walk also explored the many structure that …
A group of history enthusiasts on Saturday morning gathered near the Town Hall at Chandni Chowk to discuss an important piece of the city’s historical jigsaw puzzle — what is believed to be the last resting place of Dara Shukoh. Sanjeev Kumar Singh, an executive engineer affiliated with the MCD heritage cell, started the day’s history lessons with a walk …
HistoriCity is a column by author Valay Singh that narrates the story of a city that is in the news, by going back to its documented history, mythology and archaeological digs. An English traveller and East India Company official, Peter Mundy’s account from this period writes: “Haider Beg, the governor of Allahabad province, dispatched his officials to demolish certain temples …
My parents took me to Rajasthan for almost every summer vacation of my childhood. She was at the court of Maharaja Ram Singh I. Cattoni writes, “The content of the book is an exposition of how to behave at court in order to be considered a charming and pleasant courtesan, and to succeed among other courtiers.” In contemporary terms, we …
In an uncomfortable dichotomy with some bearing on real-life perceptions of Muslims, Dara Shukoh is remembered as a translator of the Upanishads, and religiously syncretic to the core, whereas an archetypal Aurangzeb destroyed temples and imposed Jizya on non-Muslims even as he ruled by Sharia law. The renewed contemporary interest in Dara Shukoh [also spelt Shikoh>, the erstwhile ‘mystic prince’ …
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