Essays in Medieval Delhi

Contents: Introduction. 1. Delhi-the profile of a capital city/H.C. Verma. 2. Hazarat-i-Delhi: the making of the Chishti Sufi centre and the stronghold of Islam/Raziuddin Aquil. 3. Delhi: through the eyes of medieval Indian historians 13th and 14th century imagery of Delhi/Archana Ojha. 4. The Delhi of the Mughals prior to Shahjahanabad as reflected in the patterns of imperial visits/Ebba Koch. 5. Spaces of encounter and plurality looking at architecture in pre-colonial North India/Monica Juneja. 6. Gardens of death in Lodi’s Delhi/Sara Mondini. 7. Water problems in medieval Delhi/Nirmal Kumar. 8. An imperial capital or a camp city? A review of Bernier’s testimony/Fatima Imam. 9. Cityscape of an imperial capital Shahjahanabad in 1739/Stephen P. Blake. 10. Medieval Delhi, real or imagined and Shahjahan’s perfect capital site/Urvashi Dalal. 11. Urdu in medieval Delhi/Kumkum Srivastava. 12. The identity of a mystic: the case of Said Sarmad a Jewish Yogi sufi courtier of the Mughals/Nathan Katz. 13. Mirza Ghalib his contribution to Urdu literature/Rakesh Kumar.

This collection of essays means to serve those who are keen to learn new facets of the Delhi, the capital of India. For a tourist Delhi means its Islamic glory. Few tourists come to see its ancient or modern glories. Mostly it is from Qutb Minar to Red Fort that attracts them. This volume attempts to provide its reader some thing that is not mentioned in usual books on Delhi. It is neither a compendium of monuments nor a book of travelogue. It is meant for serious student of Delhi who want to ask questions and go beyond the obvious. Scholars from all over the globe have contributed to the volume with their unique perspectives. (jacket)