Refocusing on Delhi’s romance with Urdu

Ather Farouqui's English translations of Urdu books on Delhi's history bridge the gap and preserve its rich heritage.

For years, Ather Farouqui has been bringing little-known gems of medieval Indian history to readers through his English translations of the Urdu originals. His richly researched books have helped bridge the gap at a time when Urdu seems to be losing readers. Based in New Delhi, Farouqui writes about Delhi for Delhiites. Now, soaking in the applause in the wake of his latest book, Sawaneh-i-Dehli, Farouqui hopes and looks forward to the third centenary celebration of legendary Urdu poet Mir Taqi Mir. “The city should remember and celebrate him,” he says.

Three books — Bazm-I Aakhir, Delhi in Historical Perspectives and Sawaneh-i Dehli — explain Farouqui’s abiding love for Delhi, where he has lived for four decades. “To not fall in love with the history of the city, which is so liberally dotted with graceful historical ruins, would be oddly detached,” he says.

Farouqui’s knowledge of Urdu elevated his interest in the city as he took to translating some rich books on Delhi. What perturbs him is the gradual demise of Urdu as a functional language. “Many primary sources will soon no longer be consulted, and we will have only a distorted history of Delhi based on secondary sources, and imagination and bias,” he fears.

Farouqui’s latest translation, Sawaneh i-Dehli, is a biography of the city published by Roli Books. It was first published in 1894 by Bahadur Shah Zafar’s grandson Mirza Ahmed Akhtar Gorgani, and was the most talked about book when it had not yet been translated into English.

Farouqui says that it was glorified because of the author’s relationship with Bahadur Shah Zafar. “Excerpts from the book were quoted quite frequently without those quoting it realising that it had been written at the behest of the British. Had this book not been translated, its excerpts could have become a primary source for the distortion of history,” says Farouqui of his work. Talking about the city’s decline during the British days, Farouqui says, by the time they took over the city, the Mughal dynasty was already on the decline. In his book, he talks about how Delhi was used to the cycle of growth and decline. “Architecturally and culturally, this cycle is what has given Delhi its distinctiveness and magnificence,” says Farouqui.

Delhi is a composite of many cities. Each dynasty built its own city, often choosing a new location — although sometimes using the construction material of older ruins -- and brought its own culture. So, Delhi’s history is punctuated by decline which has never halted its progress. “There is no doubt that the city reached an architectural and cultural zenith under the Mughals, especially from the time of Shahjahan. The decline was all the more tragic because the British never became indigenous rulers unlike the earlier conquerors. Theirs remained a foreign rule and for some years after 1857, they were determined to punish the city for the Revolt of 1857. The city was destroyed, the citizens made to acutely feel their subject status.”