New Delhi: Through ghazals, stories, and historical narratives, Delhi’s layered culture and past were brought to life once again on a recent evening in the heart of the city.
The event opened with a wistful poem by Altaf Hussain Hali:
“Tazkira-e-Dilli-e-Marhoom ka ae dost na chhed,
Na suna jaayega hum se yeh fasana hargiz…”
(Dear friend, do not speak of the late, lost Delhi,
I can no longer bear to hear that tale.)
Journalist Sanjeev Upadhyay followed it up with a Sanskrit poem: “Pushpesh e malli negresh o dilli (Just as jasmine stands out among flowers, so does Delhi among cities).”
The conversation, titled ‘Nashisht: Dilli Jo Ek Sheher Hai’, was centred around the question, “Why does Delhi stand out from other cities?” Held at the India Habitat Centre (IHC), the event also delved into the city’s evolving identity—not just what Delhi was, but what it is today.
Moderated by Upadhyay, the panel discussion featured writer and historian Swapna Liddle, oral historian and heritage conservationist Sohail Hashmi, and Supreme Court advocate Saif Mahmood.
The hall at IHC was packed, with some even seated on the floor.
“Delhi is perhaps the only city where people actively think about its history, culture, and heritage. People are aware of Delhi’s monuments, buildings, forts, and historical sites, and they always want to learn more about them,” said Liddle, referring to the Mehrauli iron pillar.
While the pillar was known to have been constructed during the Gupta period, people from the 19th century onward sought to reinterpret it and investigate its meaning. They questioned what it was, why it was made, and what its purpose might have been.
“In fact, over time, even the story of Delhi’s foundation came to be linked to that pillar,” said Liddle, adding that people have always shown deep interest in uncovering the many layers of Delhi’s vast history.
What truly sets the city apart, according to Liddle, is its people, drawn from a wide spectrum of cultures, religions, regions, and backgrounds. “There is no ghettoisation in Delhi,” she said.
How the city evolved
The Yamuna is always an important part of a discussion on Delhi. While the government continues to talk about cleaning the river and making its water drinkable again, Sohail Hashmi rejects this narrative. He explained that for Delhi, the Yamuna’s water was never meant for drinking in the first place.
“The stretch of the Yamuna that flows through Delhi was never used as a source of drinking water—it was primarily meant for agriculture and commercial use,” Hashmi said.
He pointed out that Delhi has more than 600 water bodies that were historically used to collect rainwater, which was then used for drinking. “Yamuna was never the city’s waterline,” he added.
Hashmi also expressed concern over the polluted Yamuna, delving into some of the reasons behind its decline. “There is no water in the Yamuna right now,” he said.
The heritage expert explained that the areas around the Yamuna that are densely populated today, including the entire Jamuna Paar region, were never meant to be inhabited. But settlements kept expanding and over time, the Yamuna was exploited in various ways.
“The British began using Yamuna’s water for drinking purposes, but after 1947, no one ever stopped this practice—it just continued,” he added. This sped up the river’s decline.
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Delhi’s poets
While Liddle and Hashmi focused on Delhi’s history and its ever-changing governance, Saif Mahmood highlighted how the city’s cultural fabric evolved alongside these political shifts. He explained how the continuous arrival of new artists brought fresh expressions, weaving their ideas into Delhi through new words and forms.
Mahmood began with a ghazal by Mir Taqi Mir:
“Dil-o-dilli dono agar hain kharaab,
To kuch lutf is ujre ghar mein bhi hain…”
(Even if both the heart and Delhi are in ruins,
there are still some delights in this ravaged home.)
With the change in Delhi’s rulers, its language and artists also changed, Mahmood said.
The poet Wali Muhammad came to Delhi during the reign of Aurangzeb. At first, the people of Delhi did not consider his language suitable for composing ghazals, but he went on to be established as the ‘father of Urdu poetry’.
According to Mahmood, after Aurangzeb’s death in 1707, three successors followed one after the other, with barely anyone noticing their rise and fall. When Farrukhsiyar became the ruler after them, he sentenced the poet Mir Jafar Zatalli to death for parodying a decision of his.
“The only poet, artist, and writer who was punished for something he wrote or created,” Mahmood said about Mir Jafar Zatalli.
As Delhi’s political atmosphere changed, poets such as Mirza Muhammad Rafi Sauda, Mir Taqi Mir, and Khwaja Mir Dard emerged one after another, reflecting on the political and religious developments of their time.
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Delhi is always Delhi
Even as the evening turned into night, the story of Delhi was far from over. By dinner time, the conversation had shifted to Delhi’s food. Instead of merely listing the city’s famous dishes, the panellists dispelled some myths surrounding Delhi’s street food.
Hashmi said that the Mughlai cuisine, synonymous with Delhi and enjoyed in much of North India, was never actually a part of Mughal cuisine—neither in the ingredients used nor in the method of preparation.
“There is no such word as ‘Mughlai’. It should be ‘Mughaliya’,” Hashmi added.
The panellists ended the discussion by observing that Delhi was historically the centre for resisting invasions from Central Asia, no matter where a ruler governed from. And despite the changes it witnessed—from the third battle of Panipat to the Revolt of 1857 to the struggle for Independence—it never lost its identity.
“Delhi has seen everything from the rule of the Mughals to the wars, along with many other transformations over time. But Delhi has always remained Delhi,” said Liddle.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)