As a proud Dilliwali who loves Delhi, its monuments, history and culture, my study is filled with books on various aspects of the capital city. The latest addition on the bookshelf is the new edition of Rakshanda Jalil’s Invisible City: The Hidden Monuments of Delhi.
The book explores the different cities of Delhi, tells us how to get to these hidden jewels and brings alive a glorious past in an easy to read narrative. The book is neatly divided into sections beginning from the pre-Sultante to the Sultanate, Tughlaqs, Sayyid, Lodhi, Mughal and post-Mughal periods.
While most books on Delhi concentrate on Delhi’s famed landmarks, Jalil explores lesser-known monuments in crowded alleys and isolated forests. She takes the reader along while marvelling at their architecture, shares the history and legends and wonders why these historical places have become invisible to most who visit and reside in the capital city.
In the introduction Rakhshanda writes, ‘The Delhi which I have called “invisible” holds an embarrass de richesse in the form of countless little known, seldom visited, largely unheard of tombs, nameless pavilions, mosques, madarsas, pleasure gardens, baolis, cemeteries and much else.’