‘Historian, art historian & photographer, Mehrauli goatherd, kabooter baz & baadfaroosh. Writes the occasional book.’ Any guesses whose Twitter bio this could be? Well, the headline is kind of a giveaway! But yes, that is how William Dalrymple describes himself.
Of late, I often get disillusioned by the negative stuff happening around me. Being a Delhi loyalist, it sometimes gets quite difficult to actually maintain the loyalty in the wake of awful news reports. In the midst of all this, I start forgetting why I love Delhi in the first place. That is, until I open Instagram and come across William Dalrymple’s profile.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bubc4ptn0v3/
Dalrymple is well known for his literary works, including being a key member of the huge Jaipur Literature Festival. But he is also a great photographer. I often open his Instagram account when struck by the desire to see a nook of unexplored Indian history. And even in the simplest of images, captured beautifully, I wonder how he is still managing to tell us stuff about ‘our’ history that we did not know.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvI9EktnGly/
These little nuggets of history interspersed with photos of his three children and some from his farmstead make for a truly unique Instagram account. Here is a little looksie.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvTLQJ1HO8p/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuS_EepnuNJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu5yU2ynS7e/
The blue-eyed journalist from Scotland came to Delhi in the 1980s as a foreign correspondent with his artist wife. Who knew that he will be so enamoured by Delhi’s charms that he would spend the next few decades laying down roots in the city? Wandering around like a Dilliwala in the streets of Purani Dilli, gorging on kababs, or golgappas from Bengali Market, engaging in endearing tête-à-têtes with neighbours and the artistic circles in the capital. Dalrymple has been living the life of a true Delhiite.
The world-famous writer’s love for Delhi is by no means a secret. If one has read his City of Djinns (it was a recommended title even in school, although the author’s name doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so easily), it is fairly evident that the writer fell in love with the city at a pretty young age. But it still makes you wonder. Can a white Scottish fellow really make a city like Delhi his home? Well, it’s been three decades and Dalrymple and his family still stay in a Mehrauli farm house, complete with chickens and goats running about the place.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtdH6T0nsRv/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrFVlDrHoEu/
He knows Delhi better than any person actually born in Delhi. And owing to his remarkable scholarship and writing on the history of Delhi and of India, Dalrymple’s name has become a yardstick where this subject is concerned. He has written a number of books on Indian history, each one exploring a new facet of history. His last release was Kohinoor, exploring the story of the world’s most famous diamond. He is not working on his next, The Anarchy, a history of the East India Company.
Over numerous interviews given to various newspapers, Dalrymple has stated explicitly that India is his home and if he had many more lives, he would live all of them here. That is saying a lot considering that most people make a run for it when things start changing or going bad. But not Dalrymple. He has obviously seen Delhi (and India) changing dramatically since he first arrived here. However, he says he does not mourn the loss of Delhi as he knew it.
William Dalrymple’s assertions about Delhi and his Instagram posts continue to inspire me. And on days when you feel that you need a little reminder of why you love Delhi, think of Dalrymple’s works and his pictures.
