City of Djinns

DELHI has been the muse of many writers and painters particularly post Raj. Delhi today is the most happening city. Not only is it the corridors of power, but also the melting pot for everyone who comes into the city from different corners of the country. In many ways it is the most cosmopolitan of all cities of India, the international traffic is hectic. From diplomats to tourists, from CEOs of the corporate and the increasing IT world, to academics, Delhi is a must stop.

William Dalrymple was one of the many such visitors to New Delhi, but he decided to be more than one of the millions of foreigners to pass by the city. He decided to write a book about Delhi, which he called City of Djinns. Dalrymple too has immortalised Delhi, like many poets and writers before him. What is remarkable about the book is that inspite of living in Delhi for a couple of years Dalrymple has managed to capture the spirit which is quintessentially Delhi. Moving backwards and forwards in time, what emerges is a kaleidoscope of images. From the days of the Mughal rule which are recaptured through the monuments of Delhi, to the partition and what remains behind in the walled city, to the post-partition which leads to an emergence of a new class of Punjabis who make Delhi their home and the contrast to the aborigines of Delhi who turn out to be the residents of North Delhi.

City of Djinns brings to the fore the pulsating Delhi which is a cross fertilisation of many cultures, and Delhi in its new avataar as a completely urban metropolis. Many foreigners have fallen in love with the imperious and grand charms of Delhi. The two young women who are the most recent victims to Dalrymple's book are Nathalie Trouveroy and Agnes Monta'nari. Agnes and Nathalie met at the French school in Delhi where their children were studying, became friends and discovered their common love for the writer and the city.

While Nathalie chose the text from the book and translated it into French, Agnes took images of the people and monuments. A large exhibition of Black and white photographs evolved. Showcased at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, the exhibition was hung in a rather interesting manner. Images were interspersed with texts and the result was a potent cocktail. Diwans with klim bedspreads and huge gaon takkias provided the right colour in an otherwise black and white starkly minimal display. The inclusion of these beds provided that particular bit of the laid back spirit which is still an underlying thread which runs across Delhi.

The making of the exhibition itself is symptomatic of the multi cultural texture of Delhi. Nathalie, who is from Belgium and has studied Flemish, and Agnes who is completely French, have taken their inspiration from a British writer. An elegantly designed photo album in black and white, in English and French featuring the selected texts and photographs accompanied the exhibition, as part of documenting the show. A cosmopolitan melange of ideas, execution and presentation resulted as a part of this collaborative work.

Indians who love to look at themselves, and perhaps narcissist by nature, came in droves to the exhibition. Though the photographs were not of the kind one would die for, what came through in the exhibition was the complete involvement of two women who inspite of having a home managed to take time off to follow the course of their hearts in such a committed manner.

The Western gaze at Delhi-India for once was not that of exotica, of tokenism, of princes and forts, of palaces, snake charmers and the sacred cow, but of a Delhi which is pulsating with modern rhythms, yet capturing the spirit of the grand old lady that is Delhi.

ALKA PANDE

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Changes for a new age
Next     : Growing up with dad