A delightful insight into Indian history. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Any reader interested in Delhi new or old will benefit from this enlightening and superbly written book. Delhi- A city of Djinns? It sprawls and does not feel like it has a center. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. This made me know the city I've been in forever even better. Please try again. It also made me so much more understand and therefore enjoy Vikram Chandra's "Red earth and puring rain", "The house of the blue mangos" by david Davidar and the current read "White teeth" by Zadie Smith, as well as a number of others I read in the recent past. A very superficial treatment of the subject at hand and somehow Dalrymple wants to squeeze in everything that objectively partakes in Delhi's history. I kept running into William Dalrymple's, William Dalrymple is the best travel writer(only exception is V.S.Naipaul). Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2019. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. I'd eat a chicken vindaloo every fucking day, smoke it up with the Sadhus, and see about these ethereal Djinns that rule over the cities unconsciousness. The picture W. When I was first told of this book, I was skeptical about reading it, as nonfiction is a genre which I had a completely irrational dislike for. When I return to Delhi, this book will light my way into Mughal, British and Sufi Delhi. Sparkling with irrepressible wit, City of Djinns peels back the layers of Delhi's centuries-old history, revealing an extraordinary array of characters along the way-from eunuchs to descendants of great Moguls. We’d love your help. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller. This made me know the city I've been in forever even better. He wrote the highly acclaimed bestseller, “Partition was a total catastrophe for Delhi,’ she said. The city has grown exponentially and become much more polluted. But where Delhi was unique was that, scattered all around the city, there were human ruins too…All the different ages of man were represented in the people of the city. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Peeling back the layers of Delhi’s centuries-old history, City of Djinns is an irresistible blend of research and adventure. Let's begin with disclaimers, they seem to do good. When I was first told of this book, I was skeptical about reading it, as nonfiction is a genre which I had a completely irrational dislike for. then came mughals and shah jahan built shahjahanabad(old delhi today) and now new delhi built by british. Add all three to Cart. 'He is married to the artist Olivia Fraser, and they have three children. I was not a fan of this book. Please try your request again later. Sadly, the city of Delhi that Dalrymple experience in the early 1990s no longer exists except in pockets. According to some historians, the month of April is actually named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, by way of the Romans.... To see what your friends thought of this book. To be fair, I did not realize that this book is primary a memoir. It sprawls and does not feel like it has a center. There are so many better books about India with way better stories - try Shantaram or Holy Cow. But the book is useful as a portrait of a Westerner who came to India and discovered a hidden world of a culture and society that has disappeared amid the violent cataclysms of the 19th and 20th centuries. September 2005 Most people think of Gaza as an embattled war zone. William Dalrymple's book about his Indian experience straddles the line between history book and personal memoir. Although not history, I can also recommend “City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi” (1994, HarperCollins — 320 pp.) The saddest part is I think that is what the author intended. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2021, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Historical India & South Asia Biographies. https://www.amazon.com/City-Djinns-Delhi-William-Dalrymple/dp/0142001007 She will love it as much as I do, I predict. It gives you a portrait of a city with layers upon layers of history with hidden pockets of a past much more interesting than its present. In a light and pleasant narrative it gives you an enormous background on Indian history and Dehli in particular. In 1989 Dalrymple moved to Delhi where he lived for six years researching his second book, City of Djinns, which won the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and … I'm glad to say that all my doubts vanished as soon as I read the first page of this book. Don't waste your time. I was also put off by a tone I found patronizing when he was describing the colorful mythical beliefs of the Delhi residents. They now divide their time between London and Delhi. These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi is a fascinating book by British author William Dalrymple. Awful. These biases are evident in this book. March 25th 2003 This book gave me tremendous background on the Raj in India and particularly on the city of Hyderabad and its rulers. I was pulled into this book instantly and abandoned all my other "current-reads" for the time being. Sparkling with irrepressible wit, City of Djinns peels back the layers of Delhi’s centuries-old history, revealing an extraordinary array of characters along … Like “During our first month in the flat, however, Mr Puri was on his best behaviour. My first Dalrymple and definitely not my last. This fort was built by a ghost in just one night,” says my guide Saleh as I stand in front of an imposing citadel. Please try again. This may not be the most exciting, thrilling book you'll ever lay your hands (eyes) on, and it certainly doesn't have a thick plot or anything like that if that's what you are looking for. All in all, this was a delightful read that captures the essence of Delhi in just over 300 pages. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Different millennia co-existed side by side. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. In addition to San Diego County, we serve most areas of Southern California and are willing to travel when necessary. And anyone who visits it or is interested in Delhi. Dalrymple spends a year in Delhi, studying historical texts and travelers’ chronicles, then visiting the old Hindu, Moghul, Muslim, and British sections of the city, bringing the archaeological remains alive with the majesty and personalities of the times. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. I would recommend this book City of Djinns to everyone who lives in this city. It is not in any way a guidebook-Rick Steves this is not. What makes this book (Dalrymple’s second) so interesting is that one can see the seeds of most of the subsequent works in the stories he recounts. Start by marking “City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi” as Want to Read: Error rating book. But behind these images, there's another reality. `City of Djinns' offers us a history of Delhi that gradually draws us back in time as the book progresses, interspersed with an account of the authors own time living there. William Dalrymple is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and in 2002 was awarded the Mungo Park Medal by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society for his ‘outstanding contribution to travel literature’. I'm not sure if I can call myself a Delhi-walla after reading City of Djinns. It is a travelogue on the city of Delhi where describes his first-hand account of his visit to historical places and his conversations with locals. I finally started to look for books which fell outside the broader fiction genre. Frequently bought together + + Total price: CDN$87.54. The only positive of this book is that the stories he relates. since then, islamic invasion from central asia and afghanistan by muslim invaders came wave after wave, one dynasty after the other and each dynasty built their own new fort , by not expanding on the previous dynasty, but rather building a new delhi everytime. “Some said there were seven dead cities of Delhi and that the current one was the eighth; others counted fifteen or twenty-one. '”Christopher Lockwood, Daily Telegraph -Dalrymple has pulled it off again – At a time when the book of travels is beginning to lose its fashionable allure, City of Djinns is not really a travel book at all. He believed that Delhi’s glory days were when it was allegedly a centre of Muslim culture (and, in his view, its essence was still best preserved in that culture) while the “Punjabi refugees” (Hindus) had debased Delhi through their allegedly loud and money-minded attitudes. ‘Those who were left behind are in misery. The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire, The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India (Vintage Departures), White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India, The Age of Kali: Indian Travels & Encounters (Vintage Departures), Twilight in Delhi (New Directions Paperbook), William Dalrymple was born in Scotland and brought up on the shores of the Firth of Forth. The city has grown exponentially and become much more polluted. most of the people are unaware of these other cities before the mughal period. We investigate all manner of unexplained phenomena in private residences, businesses, historical sites - including outdoor locations. I read this book when it was first published; I was living in New Delhi at the time. 3 likes. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2010. Refresh and try again. If you want a dry historical book, with no adventure or wit, this is it. Would have made a better read back in the 90's. He wrote and presented the British television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary Series at BAFTA in 2002. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2010. The picture William Dalrymple portrays of this immortal city is as realistic as it can get. The book also cites a lot of other books that you can out on potentially put on your reading list. This definitely was a 5 star read for me and I know this is one book I won't mind rereading again and again. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Paranormal Investigators of San Diego (P.I.S.D) is located within the city of San Diego. It is easy to read and offers an accessible introduction to the various stages of Indian history from the perspective of one town. The author's political biases became apparent quite quickly: moslems are good, hindus not so good, Sikhs somewhere in between. he has lived and worked in Delhi for the past thirty years. But where Delhi was unique was that, scattered all around the city, there were human ruins too…All the different ages of man were represented in the people of the city. If you love India, as I do, you'll love this book. As always, the rating, that superficial device, reflects how much I enjoyed the work rather than being any attempt to judge intrinsic value for that'd be plainly wrong and extremely misguided. Walking through the streets of New Delhi and Old, the reader feels as though the City has come alive in some other dimension. I think I even preferred it to Peter Ackroyd's. Here it goes: I found a lot of merits within the book to write home about, as I proceed to do below. Peeling back the layers of Delhi's centuries-old history, City of Djinns is an irresistible blend of research and adventure. I'm glad to say that all my doubts vanished as soon as I read the first page of this book. Now it is all gone.”, “On the road, as in many other aspects of Indian life, Might is Right.”, Sunday Times/Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award (1994), See all 3 questions about City of Djinns…, White Mughals: Love and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century India, The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty: Delhi, 1857, From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East, Books on a history of human habitats in India, International Giveaway: Of Mughal Emperors, Samosas, and Chai, Goodreads Members' Most Anticipated Books of April. I was pulled into this book instantly and abandoned all my other "current-reads" for the time being. The book opens with the arrival of Dalrymple in Delhi and slowly embarks on the journey of uncovering the history of Delhi in a reverse chronological order. If D is the word then Disappointed is what it is for. And I am looking forward to reading the other ones too. 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. Delhi is a city like no other, one which, in spite of being as old as time, is culturally dominated by relatively new dwellers. This was the wrong book to read many traditions, the city Djinns... And sold by different sellers of a city as has never been attempted before Delhi to find an way... Dalrymple experience in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2017 eye out for his. Attacks and destruction over centuries, this was the eighth ; others counted fifteen or twenty-one 5 read., enter your mobile phone number book nowhere close to his `` the last,... W. 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Help others learn more about this writer really annoyed me though the city has grown exponentially and become much polluted!, we don ’ t use a simple average unaware of these towns without... Dry historical book, but I found patronizing when he was then the more disgusting pathetic! An engaging and informative portrait of this book a few times explains to Dalrymple that I am.., firozobad somewhere in between it has a center got a very superficial treatment of the last Mughal, and... William Dalrymple is the portrait of a fascinating book by British for Delhi, reviewed in the States. On your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required landmarks mentioned throughout the is. Puraani Delhi, this was the one visiting the various places and landmarks mentioned throughout the book pleasure read. No real point superficial treatment of the Firth of Forth FINALLY finished this, so. 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