Living in diversity,Delhi has kept its peace,says CEC

A well-attended talk at the India International Centre saw a mix of IAS officers,historians,Delhi aficionados,writers and friends of the CEC.

Quraishi’s presentation put together an entertaining and insightful virtual walk of the Walled City,Nizamuddin and Mehrauli.

The CEC highlighted the cultural “intermingling” witnessed in the city with five places of worship and their followers living cheek by jowl,mostly in peace. He spoke of Old Delhi families,who despite tumult over the years,have kept its robustness going — be it the sajjada-nasheen of the Nizamuddin dargah,“which at any given point has more people who are Hindus,Christians and Sikhs,than Muslims,” or people like Lala Chunnamal,who “was given the Fatehpuri Masjid after 1857 by the British,for Rs 20,000,with a suggestion to turn it into a market. But he preserved the sanctity of it,and 20 years later,restored it to the mosque that it was.”

Quraishi touched on how the welcoming ambience of religious places led to them becoming centres of social and economic life — such as the Digamber Jain temple,Gurudwara Sis Ganj and Jama Masjid. On the literary aspect,the CEC spoke of how poets of significance,Mir,Ghalib,Zauq,Momin and Daagh,all shared the fascination for Delhi.

The talk was not without irony as Quraishi reflected on the etiquette in the era gone by,when “ugaldaan,or the spittoon,was as central as the paandaans,so people then spat into it,rather than in public spaces”.

The talk ended with images of Turkman Gate juxtaposed with the Delhi Stock Exchange,as an example of Delhi moving along with time gracefully,and conversation about how the Delhi Railway Station,which despite being “an eyesore,architecturally,is so welcoming and hospitable to migrants and to those who have come over the years and made the city their home”.