Mirza Ghalib and the Sack of Delhi

William Dalrymple, in his book, The Last Mughal, (one of my favourite books of all time), writes that when the British pillaged Delhi after they conquered it from Bahadur Shah Zafar's motley crew of militia in 1857, they spared Ghalib's mohalla called Ballimaran. The locality was protected by the Maharaja of Patiala's soldiers. The Maharaja had supported the British during the revolt by sending them troops and supplies. I'm itching to finding out if buildings from this area still exist. If so they will be amongst the few pre-1857 residential buildings that have survived the destruction of Delhi. The British sack of Delhi, is the last in series of at least 4 sacks that razed the city to the ground. It's tragic but these complete annihilations of the city link it to other great cities such as Rome and Carthage.

Chandigarh

Chandigarh was a delight. This carefully planned, grid-based city, has a number of open gardens and playgrounds on every block. It was overcast and cold with an occasional drizzle when I was there; I felt like I was in Europe.

Many of the locals were well-built. I was mildly troubled when I urinated, as the urinals were fixed higher than they are in other parts of the country, indicating that the height of men here is above the Indian average. However, the poor migrants working on the streets were visibly poorer and had comparatively slender builds.

I visited the Rose Garden and Nek Chand’s Rock Garden. The grey skies made the rocks all the more grey. Without much sunlight to highlight the features of sculptures, the feel was cold and austere. And that’s exactly why it was so wonderful. It was so not Indian. The "garden" did not depend on bright colours, but on sharpness, size, and the repetition of coarsely shaped elements for its impact. It is a strange, surreal but natural landscape made of man-made objects and materials.

I felt sad to leave the city as we drove back to Delhi. It’s very clear where Chandigarh ends; suddenly the organization and green spaces are gone.

Times View - Is this something to worry about?

In today's Sunday Times, I noticed an insert in a front page article on the insane Aaja Naachle (starring Madhuri Dixit) censorship issue, titled Times View. It gives the newspaper's opinion on the issue. It's quite overt. I have very ambiguous feelings towards this and can't figure our if this is a good or bad thing for a newspaper to do. Do you have any views on this?