A Description of the Surrounding Environs of Dar-ul Khilafa Shahjahanabad, AND THE INSCRIPTIONS [ON] THE BUILDINGS OF OLD DELHI

Finally, Mirza Sangin Beg tackles a huge assemblage of eclectic human exertions in the environs, centred around areas of trade and commerce, piety, landscaped spaces, cemeteries, and natural surroundings of rivers and hillocks. While structures such as the Jantar Mantar and the Firoz Shah’s lat are alluded to, it is stories about the human agencies that are privileged above these spaces. There are detailed renderings of activities in areas such as Pahar Ganj, Subzi Mandi, and Qadam Sharif, the biannual fair at Hanuman Temple, celebrations of Salono, numerous chhariyan melas, and worship of Goga. A fantastic account of Makhdum Jahanian Jahan Gasht coexists with an intense belief in relics of Prophet Muhammad, Hazrat Ali, and Imam Husain. Mirza Sangin Beg goes beyond the geographical region of Delhi towards north, west, and southwest. He writes of Bu Ali Shah Qalander’s dargah in Panipat and of the English platoon, officers, and gentlemen stationed between Gurgaon and Pataudi. The author has placed a variety of inscriptions and epitaphs from equally diverse structures and graveyards in a fatuous manner. Certain inscriptions seem to satisfy the self-esteem of the builders, some are laudatory while several are informative.