The Islamic Monuments of Delhi
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All of the so-called cities of Delhi, including Indraprastha – a city said to have been built for the legendary Pandvas by the master craftsman Vishwakarma – perished and yet Delhi survives. …. Remarkably, none of the cities of Delhi was called Delhi. It was only after their decline that they became a part of Delhi. It is a paradox that those that perished were all walled cities and the one that survives has no fortification. …. Nevertheless, Delhi is amongst the richest cities of the world in terms of monuments. These monuments constitute an inspiring saga of our past; where history speaks through battered bricks and tattered stones.
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About the Book
All the so-called cities of Delhi, including Indraprastha—a city said to have been built for the legendary Pandvas by the master craftsman Vishwakarma—perished and yet Delhi survives. Remarkably, none of the cities of Delhi was called Delhi. It was only after their decline that they became a part of Delhi. It is a paradox that those that perished were all walled cities, and the one that survives has no fortification. Nevertheless, Delhi is amongst the richest cities of the world in terms of monuments. These monuments constitute an inspiring saga of our past, where history speaks through battered bricks and tattered stones. The book presents a comprehensive history of Medieval Delhi and its archaeology. It introduces sixty monuments of Delhi from the Muslim era along with brilliant photographs.
About the Author
Ranjan Kumar Singh is an author-filmmaker with more than thirty years of experience in print and audiovisual media with specialization in the field of art and culture. He represented India in the Third World Archaeological Congress to present a paper on Theft and Smuggling of Antiquities and has also directed a film on the subject. After studying India: Art and Culture at the National Museum Institute, New Delhi, he went to the University of Oslo to study Art in Norway. He has travelled far and wide to give lectures on various aspects of Indian Culture and Archaeology. He has been dedicatedly working to arouse consciousness towards the cultural heritage in general and the monuments in particular. An exhibition of his photographs on the Monuments of Delhi was organized by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in 2008. Another solo photo exhibition of his works tracing the history of Delhi from Prithvi Raj to the Moguls was organized in 2011 by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation, Government of NCR of Delhi. He has six published books, three in Hindi and others in English, to his credit and has contributed to several anthologies and periodicals. He is a life member of the professional body Indian Archaeological Society. He could be contacted at ranjan@parijat.co.in..