How Jahanabad and Khilafat movement faded into history and Dilli gave birth to New Delhi
Jahanabad was the sunlight that disappeared following the sun. It had risen with the rise of the Mughal Sultanate and when the sultanate set, it too faded. However after the doomsday, as slowly life settled back into a pattern, it produced an illusion that perhaps the sun of Jahanabad had continued to shine, albeit feebly.
But when Dilli was declared the capital in the 1911 Durbar, and the foundation of New Delhi was laid, this illusion too disappeared. Nevertheless, in the hustle and bustle of Jama Masjid Chowk and the pomp and show of the court, none could see what was happening to their city.
Uncle Kebabi continued making kebab as usual. Mirza Chapati went on making kites the way he always had, and starching kite-string. Chicken and eggs continued being sold in the same way, and the business of red titmouse and pigeons also continued. The splendour of the Chowk was not disturbed in the slightest degree. As for the social life and cultural atmosphere of the city, the changes that had to take place were already in effect.
Old Dilli was transforming into New Delhi. However, even though the old scene was limited to just some corners of the city, it maintained its pomp and show. In the Diwan Khanas of Nawab Faiz Ahmad Khan, Lala Sriram, Paras Das and the Shareefi family, the chandeliers were still glittering and the attitude of the gathering elders remained unaltered.
The dazzle of the Diwan Khana of the Shareefi Family was due to Hakim Ajmal Khan. Just see with the eyes of your imagination the buzurg who used to attend this gathering: the imam of Jama Masjid, Nawab Faiz Ahmad Khan, Nawab Saael Dehlavi, Nawab Taban Dehlavi.
What a remarkable buzurg was Nawab Saael Dehlavi. Shahid Ahmad Dehlavi, who had a chance to see him, said of him, “Wheatish and clear complexion, round face, icy-white beard, spectacle with golden frame. On the head a wide, velvety cap with gold work; when seen more closely the inscription in gold embroidery, Saael Dehlavi, was clearly visible. Tight pyjama crumpled till the shin, feet encased in Saleem Shahi shoes, in one hand a stick with a silver handle, and in the right hand a six-inch long cigar.”
He was the master of poetry of his time, son-in-law of Daagh. He considered his poetry the reward of being the son-in-law of Daagh and took pride in it.
Janab-e-Daagh ke damaad hein ham Dilli waaley hein (We are son-in-law of Mr Daagh, we are Dilli-waaley)
He considered himself a successor of Daagh as a son-in-law as well as for his interest in ghazal. But in the city there sat another master of ghazal who had compiled an incalculable number of poems after Daagh’s fashion. As per his own claim, he recited poetry like Daagh. And see, here the masters are pitched against one another. This produced a split into two parties. Some were lovers of Saael and the others the avid fans of Bekhud. When the duel intensified Saael Sahab stopped attending mushairas.
Poetry has its place but kite-flying has its own status. Saael Sahab composed many a ghazal and also made many kites. And he starched the kite-string as well. He was good at embroidery. It is said that when he cooked, he did it very well. As for his Nawab status he was a Nawab only in name. His father had been stripped of the status of Nawab during his lifetime.
The English, suspecting that he was somehow a participant in the freedom struggle, snatched from him the Nawabi of Loharo and bestowed it on his uncle. In his last days, Saael Sahab would roam around in a rickshaw he had acquired.
Unfortunately, once his rickshaw turned over and his hip bone broke in the accident. He would then weep and say, “There was a time when I would catch the tail of the elephant when it came to my father’s porch, and climb it. Now, I am destined to have a ride in a rickshaw which made me dependent upon others.”
Nawab Saael’s older brother was Nawab Shujauddin Ahmad Khan Taban. He resembled his brother in complexion, stature and fashion. But there was a stark contrast in the temper of both the brothers. While Saael was tolerant, Taban was quick to get angry. Whenever even a slightly upsetting thing happened, he resorted to coining abuses of myriad kinds. Saael Sahab did not have the guts to reply. He was, anyway, the younger brother. He would just say, “Bhaijaan, half of the abuse becomes true to me and the half to you.”
Sometimes, however, Saael Sahab would intentionally tease him and Taban Sahab would begin boiling over in anger. Once in the midst of an animated gathering, Hakim Ajmal Khan saw that Taban Sahab was silent. His heart was tickled and he signalled to Saael Sahab who did not fail to understand the signal. He turned to Taban Sahab and said, “Bhai Sahab, I seek pardon for my rudeness, but our Ustad Daagh Sahab was matchless in expressing delicate thoughts and communicating emotions. He composed 50 couplets within an hour and with him ended the power over poetry.”
Daagh was Saael’s teacher. So what if he was? But perhaps due to this Taban Sahab was jealous of Daagh. No sooner had he heard what his brother had uttered that he flew into a rage and said, “What does Daagh know what a couplet is? Off-hand poetry is not a criterion of knowing poetry. If it is, then recite a misra (a single line of a couplet) and I will add to it.”
Saael Sahab immediately read out a couplet:
- Shafaq ban ke charha hai charkh ke sar par lahu mera
- (My blood has taken the colour of evening twilight, and ascended the head of the sky)
Taban Sahab immediately added:
- 'Adu mera, na tu mera, na charkh e-fitna ju mera
- Shafaq ban ke charha hai charkh ke sar par lahu mera
- (Neither enemy is mine, nor you, nor the mischievous sky,
- My blood has taken the shape of evening twilight, and ascended the head of the sky)
Those present in the gathering were moved and spontaneously appreciated him. But by then Taban Sahab had become very angry and began abusing his brother, who after teasing him remained sitting with a lowered head.
The man who did not give any importance to Daagh, how could he give any significance to Maulana Shibli? But when Maulana Shibli came to Delhi and became a guest of Hakim Ajmal Khan, he expressed his wish to meet Taban Sahab. Hakim Sahab showed wisdom and did not go with him. Instead, he sent someone else with Shibli.
Anyway, Taban Sahab met Shibli warmly and showed much humility to him. He also read out his ghazal upon Maulana Shibli’s request. But Taban Sahab noticed as he was reciting the couplets, that the Maulana merely listened and sipped his tea, not appreciating even a single couplet. So, reading out a couplet he said, “Hadrat, this couplet requires attention.” Maulana Shibli exclaimed mildly and praised the couplet.
This infuriated Taban Sahab. He got angry and said, “You lame Shibli! I wrote this couplet after three days of hard work and you understood this couplet within a minute? This is not Sher-al-ajam (a book on the history of Persian poetry authored by Maulana Shibli Nomani, this is a ghazal. Just try to compose such…” Then what he added to it were positively abusive words. Poor Maulana Shibli found himself in a difficult position.
On the other hand, Ustad Bekhud was proud of his mastery. It did not matter if Ustad Saael was the son-in-law of Daagh, it was none but him (Bekhud) who was successor of Daagh. He composed ghazals, kept pigeons and went on hunting expeditions. He claimed to be a master in all three preoccupations. If he needed to exaggerate in order to prove his claims he would gladly brag. In the art of hunting, he presented a fantastic example. He narrated that once he had gone out to meet the Maharaja of Gwalior who was his admirer.
Upon reaching Gwalior he thought that he had not informed Maharaja of his arrival. Just as he was pondering over this, he saw a flock of herons flying by. He asked Aminuddin, who had accompanied him, to give him his rifle and shot the herons. One of the herons fell at his feet and was tossing about. Another fell in the house where he was to stay.
And the third one fell exactly before the Maharaja in the Raj Mahal. The host understood that it must be the work of Ustad Bekhud. When he reached his house he found the roasted herons served on the table. The Maharaja seeing the herons understood that Bekhud Sahab had arrived in Gwalior.
The next day Bekhud went out hunting with the Maharaja. The story in his words: “When the lion appeared in front of us, the first to fire was the Maharaja. But he missed the target. The lion jumped furiously, and clung to the Maharaja’s elephant. Then I fired and the lion collapsed dead on the ground.”
He was an expert hunter and a skilful pigeon-flyer. When he made the pigeons fly from his roof, his life was in the pigeons. In the meantime, if anyone visited him, he had to bear the chiding of the Ustad. Someone who was known to Bekhud Sahab came along with his son to meet him. Bekhud was on the roof and his kite was soaring in the sky. He did not like the disturbance and came down murmuring in annoyance. The visitor presented him with a basket of sweets and said, “My son likes poetry. Take him as your disciple.”
Bekhud said, “Son, read out any ghazal that you have composed.”
The son read out an unsuitable couplet. Bekhud was enraged, “Get out of my house.” And he hollered at them so that the father and son had no option but to flee.
And Mirza Hairat Dehlavi, a naughty man, mischievous to the extreme! He had been no less a troublemaker earlier. But ever since he began publishing the Curzon Gazette, he became a catastrophe. If he wrote about someone he wrote only against him. And in opposition he crossed every limit. This became his way. Today, he is making fun of Hakim Ajmal Khan and tomorrow criticising Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar.
And yes, he did not spare even the imam of the oppressed (Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Husain who was martyred in a siege in Karbala). He denied the occurrence of Karbala. He argued that according to the narrations, the incident took place in summer, but just calculate and you will find that the month of Muharram in the year in which this incident is said to have occurred was in winter.
His stand was strongly objected to. And see, on the one hand he denied its occurrence, and on the other he recited the zikr-e-shahadat (verses describing the events leading to the martyrdom of Husain). According to Mulla Wahidi, he narrated the martyrdom with such pain that the gathering would start weeping loudly.
However, he did meet his match once. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Khwaja Hasan Nizami were once engaged in a fierce argument. Mirza Sahab meddled in the matter in support of Maulana Muhammad Ali. Whatever he wrote about Khwaja Sahab, he got a befitting reply very soon. He was sitting at his shop when an upset man came and started arguing with him. The man was so upset that he took off a shoe and hit Mirza Sahab in the face with it.
So these were the seniors of Dilli. But among them Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar too carved a niche for himself. He had come to Delhi with the English newspaper Comrade. Here he also started publishing an Urdu newspaper Hamdard. As if one was not enough, now there were two. His newspapers changed the temperament of the city.
He had entered the city shouting political slogans. No sooner did he step in the city than the Battle of Tarabulus (Italo-Turkish War 1911-12. Tarabulus refers to the historic Tripoli region or Tripolitania) started. The Muslims of Delhi got furious and vented their anger over the Turki cap. In front of Masjid Fatehpuri there was a pile of Turki caps. By setting this pile on fire the Dilliwallahs vented their anger against Italy (Italy demanded that the Ottoman Empire transfer control of the Libyan territory to them). The Muslims of Delhi had accepted the cap after much hesitation; after all, in the beginning they had rejected it calling it a nechari cap.
It was accepted only gradually. But before it could fully occupy people’s heads the cap was pulled down and made to burn in the fire lit in protest. The fact was that the cap was imported from Italy. To vent their anger against Italy, people felt it was only right that an article being imported from there should be set on fire.
Nevertheless, this was not the first fire in Delhi. Before the Turki cap, the Ummat-ul-Ummah (the Mothers of the community of followers) written by Deputy Nazir Ahmad was piled up and set on fire. Deputy Nazir Ahmad was a practising Muslim and a translator of the Qur’an.
But the public took his attempt to use proverbial language while writing about the holy mothers of the Ummah as a show of disrespect to them. They were furious and their anger abated only when they had set the book on fire. In fact, the destiny of the book was so. When it got published for the second time, it met with the same fate.
Exhibiting their anger on the occasion of the Tarabulus war was just the beginning. Thereafter, the temper of Dilliwallahs only got exacerbated. The World War began in 1914. The war had brought in its wake the causes of the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. With the Empire falling apart, Turkey reached the point of destruction. Indian Muslims could see that the Caliphate was in danger. At this stage, Muslims again became organised against the British.
However, when the war had begun they had announced their support for Britain. This fight of the Muslims against the British created an atmosphere of unity between Hindus and Muslims. In Delhi, this was evident when in March, 1917, a Medical Conference was held under the leadership of Hakim Ajmal Khan, and was chaired by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. And on March 24, when the annual function of the Madrasa Tibbiya was arranged, it was chaired by Sir Sankaran Nair.
Hakim Ajmal Khan emerged as the flag-bearer of Hindu-Muslim unity in the city. And when in 1918, the sessions of Muslim League and the Indian National Congress were held next to each other in Delhi, he had one foot in one session and the second in the other session. In both the gatherings the atmosphere was equally impassioned. In both places, demands were made to release those who had been taken into custody. Who were these detenus? Prominent among them were the Ali brothers.
In 1919 the Rowlatt Act was passed. It was seen as the black law by both Hindus and Muslims. Gandhiji announced that a strike would be held on March 30. With this announcement there was a tempest throughout India. This announcement had results, perhaps even before time, in Delhi. Other cities were affected later.
The date of the strike was first set as March 30, but it was postponed to April 6. Delhi turned out to be an impatient city; the storm that engulfed other cities of India on April 6, spread across Delhi on March 30, itself. Markets were closed, shops remained shut, conveyances were missing — neither ikkas nor tongas, neither trams nor cars. Jama Masjid Chowk was deserted, Chandni Chowk was silent, Chawri was in a mess — no rich shoppers, no foppish flâneurs.
Neither were the bowls being clanked, nor could one see the fragrant jasmine flowers. Marches were taken out, slogans shouted. The British management had been suspended. A Hakim and a Swami were ruling over the city. The words they uttered were like orders for both Hindus and Muslims. The Hakim was Ajmal Khan and the Swami was Shraddhanand.
These days they were like one soul and two bodies. The Muslims of Delhi were so pleased with Swamiji that they took him to Jama Masjid and there Swamiji addressed the crowd of Muslims thronging the Shahjahani masjid as a popular leader.
The incident in Jallianwala Bagh took place in Amritsar around this time. And now here was a new doomsday. The Chief Commissioner of Dilli rightly apprehended that the news could cause havoc in Delhi. He called the trusted personalities of the city and sought their opinion. The gathering was held in the Town Hall. People came to know about it.
They were already furious from within. Now, they came out of their houses. In no time there was a huge gathering of common people around the Town Hall. Someone spread the rumour that the leaders who had come here would be taken into custody. The gathering became mad with fury. They picketed the Town Hall. At this critical juncture, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Swami Shraddhanand came to the Chief Commissioner’s aid. They came out and addressed the gathering till it was pacified.
The next day these two leaders marched on the streets. They spoke to the shopkeepers and pacified them. They persuaded them to return to work. Swami Shraddhanand went to the butchers and urged them to resume their work. The butchers obeyed him and resumed working; they slaughtered animals and sold meat.
And see, the strike has ended, the markets have opened and the business is running as usual. People have started selling and purchasing articles. But the ego of the rulers has been challenged. Their egotistical nature urged them on to make arrests and detentions.
The police raided the markets leading to renewed tensions. The markets had not opened completely when they started closing down again. The public again gathered around the Town Hall. The agitation was registered through protests. Now, the police showed strength and fired their guns. In the firing one person was killed and many others were injured.
The funeral procession of the deceased was well-attended. Fifty thousand people took turns to carry the bier of the friend.
This was the scene in Dilli. The poetry gatherings were now passé. It was the age of public meetings and processions. Slogans filled the air. The storm after the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy was yet to cool down when the issue of the Caliphate began to dominate the scene. This was such a powerful movement that many companions and elders got rejuvenated by it. And the status of the Ali brothers changed dramatically.
Earlier, one referred to them as Janaab. It was only now that they became Maulana. Janaab Shaukat Ali was always well-dressed in “suit and boot”, with a shaven beard and a long moustache, he was tall, stout and heavy. He was also an experienced cricket player, and an officer in the department of opium. The Khilafat Movement changed him so much that he abandoned western attire, grew a beard and trimmed his moustache.
Now he wore a loose kurta and trousers with wide legs, and a cap with the moon and stars. Such clothes looked tremendous on the heavy body. He began to be called the Man of the Caliphate and the Servant of Kaaba. Where is cricket now? He was now entirely devoted to the Khilafat Movement. Miyan Faizuddin of Lahore accompanied him as the herald of the Khilafat and travelled from city to city. He shouted high-pitched slogans and the Servant of Kaaba Maulana Shaukat Ali delivered thunderous speeches.
His brother Muhammad Ali, he too used to be Janaab Muhammad Ali, was fair-complexioned with shaved beard and tight moustaches, and wore a coat and slacks. When he entered politics and became a man of Khilafat, he too was transformed swiftly. He replaced his coat and slacks with kurta-pyjama and wore a cap with the moon and stars. Now he was a Maulana, fluent in speech and powerful at pen. A moment before, he was thundering and now he is weeping bitterly. He has become emotional!
And, Bi Amman, the mother of both the brothers. The Khilafat Movement accorded so much respect to the mother and the sons that a new kind of poetry was invented which you may call the folk-poetry of Khilafat.
- Boli amma Muhammad Ali ki, jaan beta khilafat pe de do
- Saath terey hai Shaukat Ali bhi, jaan beta khilafat pe de do
- Boorhi amma ka kuchchh gham na karna, kalma padh kar khilafat par marna
- Poorey iss imtehaan mein utarna, jaan beta khilafat pe de do
- Hotey agar merey saat betey, karti sabko khilafat pe sadqey
- Hein yahin deen-e-Ahmed ke raste, jaan beta khilafat pe de do
- Hashr mein hashr barpa karoongi, pesh haq tum ko le kar chaloongi
- Is hukumat pe daawey karoongi, jaan beta khilafat pe de do
- (Said the mother of Muhammad Ali, son, sacrifice yourself for the Khilafat,
- With you is also Shaukat Ali, son, sacrifice yourself for the Khilafat,
- Never mind about the old mother, read the Kalimah and die for the Khilafat,
- Pass the test, son, sacrifice yourself for the Khilafat,
- If I had seven sons, I would have sacrificed all of them for the Khilafat,
- These are the ways of religion of Ahmad, son, sacrifice yourself for the Khilafat,
- On the day of judgement I will cause a tumult, I will go with you in front of the
- True, I will claim this government, son, sacrifice yourself for the Khilafat)
The movement was at its peak. Khilafat committees had been formed in the provinces. A Khilafat Committee was formed in Dilli too. Hakim Ajmal Khan was the president of this committee. Under it an All India Khilafat Conference was held on November 23 and 24, 1919. Gandhiji and Swami Shraddhanand were invited to participate in it. They were told that the agenda included the issue of cow protection along with the protection of the Caliphate.
How large-hearted was Gandhiji’s reply that “if the issue of Khilafat is just, and according to me it is just, then the Hindus should stand with Muslims anyway. It is not right to bring the issue of cow in the middle.”
But Muslim leaders considered it necessary to let the issue of cow protection remain in the agenda. Thus along with the Caliphate, cow protection also became a part of the Khilafat movement. So much so that not to mention cow or goat, Bi Amman stopped cooking meat in her house. Hakim Ajmal Khan began explaining to Delhi Muslims that in consideration of Hindus they should stop eating beef. He suggested that they eat mutton instead, if they had to eat meat.
Maulana Muhammad Ali came up with a different idea: let the mutton be as cheap as beef and then people will automatically stop eating beef. In fact, he added, beef is eaten because it is available cheaply.
Anyway, the movement had great influence in Delhi. According to Narayani Gupta, 250 cows were slaughtered in Delhi in 1919 while in 1920 only 29 cows were slaughtered.
On the other hand, Gandhiji proclaimed that Khilafat is the holy cow of Muslims and that we should contribute our best to preserve it. Swami Shraddhanand gave lectures in mosques. If he thundered a lecture in Jama Masjid, then in the same thundering voice he spoke in Masjid Fatehpuri.
In view of the popularity of his speeches the government declared that mosques could be used only for offering prayers and speeches were banned there. So, once again, religious tolerance and large-heartedness which had always been a part of the culture of Jahanabad, returned to Dilli.
But it became clear later that this was just the boiling over of stale curry. Or it could be said to have been a promise too loosely made. It broke in just one jolt. The Civil Disobedience Movement led by Gandhiji started after the end of the Khilafat Movement.
Civil disobedience had gained momentum when suddenly violence crept into it. The incident at Chauri-Chaura occurred. In this small village of Gorakhpur, the protesters became so furious that they set the police station on fire and burnt alive a number of policemen. This was in stark contrast to Gandhiji’s philosophy of non-violence and he immediately announced the end of his movement.
The announcement turned everything topsy-turvy. The unity and accord was shattered. The Khilafat Conference was angry with the Indian National Congress; the Congress leaders were annoyed with one another; Hindus were annoyed with Muslims; and Muslims irritated with Hindus.
The Khilafat leaders who till yesterday had supported Gandhiji, and had been ready to sacrifice themselves for Gandhiji’s cause were not on speaking terms with Gandhiji anymore. It was just yesterday that they had had utmost faith in the Mahatma, but now they perceived a flaw in his intention.
The tension between Hindus and Muslims increased and led to riots. First, news came from Kohat that a riot had taken place, then from Multan. And how cruel the Kohat riot was that it created a rift between Maulana Shaukat Ali and Gandhiji. The two Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali, had been unquestioning followers of Gandhiji. And now they were opposed to him.
Gandhiji observed a fast unto death for Hindu-Muslim unity. How much influence did it have? It did have a temporary influence. Gandhiji started the fast unto death at the house of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar in Delhi. Maulana Muhammad Ali pleaded with him, “Gandhiji, have mercy upon yourself and break the fast.”
When Gandhiji remained determined, Maulana purchased a cow from the market and made it stand in front of him. Gandhiji gave a loving and affectionate look at the cow, but did not break his fast. It was only when the leaders of the Congress, along with the Ali brothers, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr Ansari took an oath that they would sacrifice their lives for Hindu-Muslim unity, that he broke the fast. But this atmosphere did not last very long. Just a few days later, the Kohat riots took place and it ultimately sowed the seed of differences between Gandhiji and the Ali brothers.
The Multan riots infuriated Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya so much that he hurled abuse at Muslims and started the Sangathan Movement. Along with it came the Shuddhi Movement. Swami Shraddhanand associated himself with the movement. The romance of Swamiji with the Muslims of Delhi came to an end. The friendship of the Hakim and Swamiji too abated. Muslims retaliated sharply. In reply to Sangathan and Shuddhi they started, with the same aggression, the movements of Tableegh and Tanzeem.
Swamiji addressing Muslims in mosques, Bi Amman giving up cooking meat in her kitchen, Ali brothers becoming vegetarian, the honeymoon of Gandhiji with the Khilafat Movement, in no time it all became history. Now it was a different time. Bi Amman had started cooking meat in her kitchen again and Muhammad Ali and Shaukat Ali had repented becoming vegetarian and had started eating meat again. They would eat meat and criticise Gandhiji profusely. Swami Shraddhanand was now a shudhh13 Hindu and a big preacher of Shuddhi. He was an enemy of the Muslims and Muslims were his foe. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan said:
- Para hai sangathan se aur shuddhi se hamen pala,
- Idhar is bhid ne kata hai, udha woh saanp dasta hai.
- (We have been facing Sangathan and Shuddhi,
- Here this wasp has stung, and there that snake bites.)
Tempers were high on both sides. There was a series of riots. How could Delhi be safe? The atmosphere was tense. Due to Hakim Ajmal Khan’s efforts, Hindu and Muslim leaders gathered in Shareef Manzil. Many suggestions were presented to decrease tension and lectures were given.
The result – nothing. In the middle of July 1924 there was a riot. Just before Eid al-Adha a greater riot took place. The efforts of peace-loving leaders went in vain. All the efforts of Hakim Ajmal Khan had been futile. Narayani Gupta writes:
“The efforts that Ajmal Khan made after 1924 were all in vain. The failure was a declaration of the end of an entire period. Now, the soul of Shahjahanabad was a flickering lamp whose light had dimmed.”
After the riots, the light had indeed dimmed. But now there was an explosion and the city faced a state of panic. The light that had dimmed was extinguished now. Now it dawned on people that the exhilarating exhibition of Hindu-Muslim unity that the city had seen in the last year and the speeches that Swamiji had given in the mosques and his motivation of Muslims were instances of how the lamp burns most brightly just before it dies out.
The lamp had been snuffed out after its last flutter. Or in other words, the last nail in the coffin of Jahanabad had been hammered in. A gulf of hatred between Hindus and Muslims had already been created; now a blood line was also drawn there. This line was not going to be erased. It was soon to transform into a river of blood.
On the other hand, another lamp was being lit. New Delhi had been established beyond the Bara Khamba. The capital of the English seemed pleased with itself and well-populated. It was indeed a new city, shining brightly with new lights and electric bulbs. The new shops were aesthetically arranged with their grand corridors and interiors.
With the spacious parks, wide streets, bright alleyways, and houses in the new style, the courtyards, balconies, chaubaras (a room on the upper storey usually with four doors or windows), and high gates had all vanished. Now there were gates in the new style. You stepped in and first there would be grass lawns, and then a porch. These were not houses, they were kothis.
When you went in you found no Diwan Khana. No chandnis, no headrests and no bolsters. Neither were there hookahs nor spittoon, no saucers with gilauris. There was no decoration in the old style, no angrakha on the body, no turban or cap on the head and no Saleem Shahi shoes on the feet.
The ceremony of taking off one’s shoes outside the house had vanished. They wore the suit on their body, boots on their feet, and a hat on the head. They forthrightly entered the room and seated themselves on sofas and chairs. When outside, the motor was waiting in the porch. Gone was the age of elephants and horses. Along with it also went the litter and the open palanquin. And why should the doli remain?
Zamana aaya hai be hijabi ka aam didaar hoga
(The time has arrived when shamelessness will be on public view)
The conveyance of the Memsahib is now the same as that of the Sahab. This is the new capital. New is its culture. Jahanabad has become history. May the name of Allah remain.
[Excerpted with permissions of Yoda Press from Once There Was a City Named Dilli by Intizar Husain, translated from Urdu by Ghazala Jamil and Faiz Ullah.]