{"product_id":"13128-city-improbable-an-anthology-of-writings-on-delhi","title":"City Improbable  -  An Anthology of Writings on Delhi","description":"\u003cp\u003eAuthor: Eminent Contributors\u003cbr\u003eEditor(s): Khushwant Singh\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Penguin\u003cbr\u003eYear: 2004\u003cbr\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003ePages: 286\u003cbr\u003eISBN\/UPC (if available): 0141007710\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e Description\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitness to the rise and fall of several empires, Delhi has often been compared to the phoenix that rises from the ashes. Three thousand years of eventful history have made it one of the greatest capitals of the world-also an old-young city full of contradictions that inspires as much love as loathing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis anthology brings together writings on Delhi by residents, refugees, travelers and invaders who have engaged with the city at various moments in its long history. Amir Khusrau, Ibn Battuta, Samsam-ud-Daula and Niccolao Manucci record the glories and follies of prominent kings and emperors, from Anangpal Tomar to Shah Jahan. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTimur Lane tells the story of his own bloody invasion of the city, Khushwant Singh of an untouchable in the time of Aurangzeb William Dalryample of the first intrepid Englishmen in Delhi, and Ghalib and Hodson of the war of 1857. There are also vignettes of everyday life- a Jat household in the nineteenth century; vendors and housewives in Ballimaran during the Second Word War; lovers and joggers in Lodi Garden; happy parties at the discos.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe contemporary pieces, most of them specially commissioned for the collection, constitute a bitter-sweet ode to modern Delhi. Ruskin Bond, Manjula Padmanabhan, Anees Jung, Mrinal Pande, Dhiren Bhagat and Rukmini Bhaya Nair, among others, write on subjects as diverse as Punjabi joint families, the  dying cuisine of Delhi, the infuriating bureaucracy, the Sufi legacy, the Anti-Sikh riots of 1984, and benighted citizens of a capital city gone wrong.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEdited by Khushwant Singh, City Improbable is a collection as varied and lively-sometimes serious, sometimes richly humorous-as Delhi itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContents\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: Loving And Loathing Delhi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Building of the Hall\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnangpal Tomar\u003cbr\u003eQutbuddin Aibak\u003cbr\u003eThe Court of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq\u003cbr\u003eConquest of Dehli\u003cbr\u003eThe Building of Shahjahanabad\u003cbr\u003eThe Untouchables\u003cbr\u003eIn the time of Aurangzeb\u003cbr\u003eThe Early Days of the British\u003cbr\u003eThe Governor-General’s Visit\u003cbr\u003eThere Once was a Fair City\u003cbr\u003eThe Capture of the King\u003cbr\u003eJat Households\u003cbr\u003eUnconquered Still\u003cbr\u003eThe Building of New Delhi\u003cbr\u003eBallimaran and the war fund, 1942\u003cbr\u003eDelhi, 1947\u003cbr\u003eWinter Morning\u003cbr\u003eBhabiji’s House\u003cbr\u003eA world of words\u003cbr\u003eMrs Gupta Never Rang\u003cbr\u003eDelhi During Emergency\u003cbr\u003eNow the Tears have dried up\u003cbr\u003eDelhi by Season\u003cbr\u003eI never knew his name\u003cbr\u003eLodi Garden\u003cbr\u003eDilli Ka Dastarkhwan\u003cbr\u003eFrom Delhi\u003cbr\u003eTime Present and Time Past\u003cbr\u003eLodi Colony\u003cbr\u003eLovers, They are Everywhere\u003cbr\u003eThe Kingdom of Waste\u003cbr\u003eSujan Singh Park\u003cbr\u003eBitch\u003cbr\u003eCity Without Natives\u003cbr\u003eIn the Company of Hijras\u003cbr\u003eShajahanabad: The City that once was \u003cbr\u003ePublic Relief\u003cbr\u003eOne Long Party\u003cbr\u003eCity of Walls, City of Gates\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The India Club","offers":[{"title":"Eminent Contributors \/ Penguin \/ Paperback","offer_id":40785568858281,"sku":"13128","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0582\/1048\/4393\/products\/13128.jpg?v=1625524493","url":"https:\/\/indiaclub.com\/de\/products\/13128-city-improbable-an-anthology-of-writings-on-delhi","provider":"India Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}