S.Y. Quraishi’s book on Old Delhi launched in UK

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A book written by India’s chief election commissioner S.Y. Quraishi on the miscellaneous culture and tradition of Old Delhi has been launched here.

The book — Old Delhi Living Tradition — has been launched by India’s deputy high commissioner Rajesh Prasad at the court house hotel. The event was organised by the Indian Journalists Association, Europe.

Quraishi, whose family has had a long association with Delhi, settling there nearly 500 years ago, shares with readers memories and joys associated with the ever-changing but ever-fascinating Old Delhi.

In her preface to the book, Kumari Shelja, minister of tourism, wrote that Quraishi is “proof of the fact that the lanes of Chandni Chowk can consistently produce people who rise to the greatest of heights, and are at the same time hooked to the magic of the streets.

“His passion to express all that is joyous, delicate and refined about Old Delhi is contagious and pleasantly overwhelming."

In her foreword, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said “there is no other place quite like Delhi.”

“I feel that the book perfectly captures the spirit of the city which has endured for thousands of years,” she wrote.

The book is an invitation to ramble and take in the sights, smells and sounds of Old Delhi, because unlike most other historical cities, this one is hale and hearty in the present as well.

Scattered through the book are the memories of residents of the city who have spent all their lives, into old age, here; who tell you about lighting a thousand lamps on Diwali, or drinking wine in a Tonga.

According to Quraishi, “everybody knows Delhi’s political importance, for it has been the capital of India for over half a millennium. But not everybody appreciates its importance as a cultural capital — always at the helm of advancements in music, workmanship, literature and architecture.”

“The most spectacular phase in the life of the city came undoubtedly after Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal King, built his city of Shahjahanabad in Old Delhi, in the 17th century. It became the most mesmerising place ever seen, with cacophonous markets, bustling temples and mosques, food fit for a king and always a good wrestling match to be seen,” the author wrote.