Delhi and Its Environs Before 1857: The Account of Ramji Das, Sarishtadar provides a rare description of the city-the alam mein intikhab-where even Lord Indra chose to alight, and this work commands a distinctive place amongst the Persian and Urdu works recorded between the mid-eighteenth and early twentieth centuries. Can history be written through structures? Yes! thought Ramji Das, the newly retired deputy sarishtadar, a great admirer of Saiyid Ahmad Khan and his work, who engaged in a dialogue with the past through the material edifices of Delhi and its neighbourhood. In other words, Ramji Das could not just adhere to the prevalent nineteenth-century ecumene by carrying out a survey of structures, but went beyond this to discuss popular cultures, the administrative divisions and the revenue jurisdiction of Delhi. His account included a knowledgeable scrutiny of water bodies and dams that also defined the undulating topography of the city's geographical regions, the fiscal tight-fistedness of the department of the Collectorate headed by English officials and made a note of some unregistered places of interest. In this annotated translation of the text, Shama Mitra Chenoy brings forth a work about the way Delhi once was.
| Author: NA |
| Publisher: Primus Books |
| Publication Date: Dec 11, 2023 |
| Number of Pages: NA pages |
| Language: English |
| Binding: Hardcover |
| ISBN-10: 9358520205 |
| ISBN-13: 9789358520200 |
