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He took me places that I wouldn't have been able to visit even if I flew to Delhi today.The people he met and described were as fascinating as the places he explored. Dalrymple's take on Delhi will still be worth the read for as long as people read.
Though nicely drawn by his wife, it was nearly useless. My only gripe (worth a tenth of a star) was with the only map.
I know I will never be able to visit India, so my "trip" comes from books. The mix was well balanced and Dalrymple's writing ability made the entire book entertaining as well as educational.Please do not let the age of this book dissuade you from reading it.
A more inclusive map would have added a tremendous amount to my enjoyment. Dalrymple is a great tour guide.
This book is a combination of history, tourism, mini-biography, human interest, archeology and anthropology.
Both his discoveries as well as the reflections on his own life woven in are fascinating. Dalrymple, a true historian, uncovers a whole other India beneath what regular tourists see. I highly recommend this book, and I even more so recommend reading it while travelling in India, as it will fully allow you to appreciate "City of Djinns". Dalrymple writes wonderfully. I read this while visiting Delhi, and it made me want to find all those places he described - many of which are off the beaten track.
The book is so readable that I would have liked more details especially Mughal and pre-Mughal history. If you have lived in Delhi and wondered about its history or a tourist heading for Delhi, you will look at things differently if you have read this book. Overall this is a great book. I loved reading all the three books by this author - The last Mughal, The White Mughal and City of Djinns. Unlike the other two, City of Djinns , is a little fast paced, more readable and is not as much detailed.
I definitely learned & relearned a lot from this book. Some of the 'Indian English' that is spoken is in such sharp contrast to Dalrymple's speech, that you cannot help but get tickled. Dalrymple narrates compellingly, candidly, without biases & with plentiful humour. I also developed a sense of Delhi's history & a empathy for it's present. And while you're drifting from one of these interludes to the other, you're taken centuries back to the Kingdom of Shah Jehan, Aurangzeb's treachery & network of spies, of incest in Royal Harems, of Englishmen who smoked hookahs - some who became Indian in their ways beyond recognition, some who continued their English ways, of the partition, of Tughlak's barbaric ways, of the refined mannerisms of a mirza during the Mughal period, of the Red Fort & what lies beneath. The first thing that is incredibly interesting about this book is the way it is approached.
And it is also a book of history scattered behind the sights, the people, & the culture. However, I do not think that Dalrymple's intention is mockery for there are plentiful other examples to the contrary. To call it a travel book, I feel, is diminishing the many other aspects & experiences this book is about. Dalrymple is also an astute recorder of conversations. And I smiled a lot. This book is kind of a diary of Dalrymple & wife's year in Delhi.
Stories abound - of the destitute but historically cultured 'old Delhi-wallahs' & the loutish Punjabi nouveau rich, of Anglo-Indians living in reminisce & poverty, of the Delhi eunuchs, of Dervishes that speak in parables, of partridge fights, of khalifas, of Balwinder Singh's buoyancy & lust, of Mr & Mrs Puri's idiosyncrasies.
I hope no reader takes as disrespect when I say that Hindu India gets plenty of attention; I am glad that Dalrymple focused on what cultural roads are less traveled. I lived in Delhi for just under a year in the eighties, and if I had had this book then, it would have been a completely different experience for me. Learning about Sufi Delhi was a great and valuable revelation to me. He does tell, and beautifully so, the story of the role of Delhi's ancestral settlement in the Mahabharata.What I loved most about the book was its portrayal of the vibrant Sufi community in India; the life of a Sufi dargah; the Qawwali singers. I walked by so much history in puraani delhi, and understood little of its significance. When I return to Delhi, this book will light my way into Mughal, British and Sufi Delhi.I agree with another reviewer that Dalrymple says relatively little about Hindu Delhi, but I think Delhi is one of the most historically cosmopolitan of cities in a subcontinent that is often painted as Hindu in broad strokes.
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