Lucy Peck’s guide to thousand years of concrete and mortar of Delhi provides a valuable insight into Delhi’s historical monuments. Based on secondary sources, it is not a mere mundane description of the monuments. The explanation of the buildings is accompanied by interesting anecdotes of Delhi’s past and aesthetically well shot pictures. This book is an outcome of the author’s association with Seven Cities of Delhi Group. Working with this group, Peck could explore Shahjahanabad and meet the local inhabitants. This made her conscious of the need to write differently a book on Delhi. An architect and town planner by profession, Peck divides Delhi into distinct geographical areas and relates them to different periods of history. To bring alive the historical as well as the geographical context of Delhi to the citizens of Delhi and the visitors to it, the author makes an exhaustive use of maps, line drawings and even the walk routes. Though she describes her maps as adjunct to the Eicher City Map of Delhi, she expresses her disappointment over the insufficient accuracy of Eicher at least for some areas of Delhi.
August 2006, volume 30, No 8