City Of My Heart - A Book Review

Delhi is supposed to be the heart of India and Delhi’s heart beats in the Red Fort.The Red Fort has been a witness to many things – The rise and fall of the Mughal Empire,the British invasion of Delhi,India’s independence movement and finally the moment when the flag of an independent India was first unfurled from it.
Living in Delhi we have always taken the Red Fort for granted. It has always been there, defining Old Delhi’s skyline, a part of our history and heritage. We have all visited it, know the basic history, how it was built by the Mughals, how it was turned into British barracks after the 1857 revolt. But how much do we know of the people who actually lived inside the Fort and the kind of life they led. It was not only the Mughal emperor who resided there, the red fort was a city in itself housing thousands of people. A peak into their lives would give us such a fantastic idea of the life in that era.

Rana Safvi’s book “City of My Heart does just that. It gives us a unique and never seen before glimpse into the lives of people who lived inside the fort. The book is a translation from Urdu of four narratives written by people who had a very deep insight into the life within the Red Fort during the twilight years of the Mughal Empire. 

The first three books; Aakhiri Deedar (The Last Glimpse of Delhi) by Syed Wazir Hasan Dehlvi, Bazm-e-Aakhir (The Last Assembly) by Munshi Faizuddin, Qila-e-Mu’alla ki Jhalkiya’n (Glimpses of the Exalted Fort) by Arsh Taimuri all have colorful snippets about the daily life of the emperor, the antics of the queens and princesses and others living in the Fort as well as the intrigues and jealousies that form the intricacies of every court. It also describes in detail about the festivities and celebrations and how “Delhi was a gay and lively city where every day was Eid and every night was Shab –e Barat”.

It is very clear from these narratives that though the Mughal Empire was at a decline, culture and literature thrived and Delhi’s people were considered to be the epitome of etiquette and grace. What I found the most interesting to read was how some festivals unique to Delhi such as the Phool Waalon Ki Sair came into being and how both Hindu and Islamic rituals and festivals mingled together and created a very cohesive, pluralistic way of life.

The last book, aptly titled Begamat kein ansoon (Tears of the Queens) by Khwaja Hasan Nizami describes the life of royals who fled the fort after the British took over it after the 1857 revolt. Most of the inhabitants were captured and hanged at the kotwali chabutara where the present day Gurudwara Sisganj stands. The ones who survived lived a life of abject poverty and misery.

The book has been translated from Urdu. Urdu is a flowery language full of nuances and idioms and is not easy to translate. Rana Safvi has done full justice to the translation, even better she has left some idioms and phrases as they are in Urdu (providing a footnote of course) so that those of us familiar with Hindi and a bit of Urdu can get the full flavor of what the writer is trying to say.

Before I read the book, I had an opportunity to attend a heritage walk to Red Fort by Rana Safvi. Reading the book was delightful as her translation is flawless but it was the heritage walk with her that actually brought alive the Fort for me.

At the start of the walk Rana Safvi told us that the Red Fort was originally called Quila e Mubarak and represented the zenith of Mughal grandeur, money and architecture. But slowly as the Mughal empire declined, the Mughals themselves started using the jewels embedded in the walls and it’s gold and silver panelling to fund themselves.The last straw was when the British took over the fort after the revolt, built barracks and started demolishing buildings they felt were not required.Had it not been the intervention of Lord Canning the British would have changed the face of the fort completely. To feel and experience the actual grandeur of the fort Rana asked us to see the Jain Temples in Old Delhi. The paintings and art there is very similar to what the Red Fort had at one point of time.

As she took us through the Fort, telling us stories and narrating snippets from the book, the noise and the pollution of modern Delhi slowly receded and we were transported into a bygone era.

Red Fort was no longer just a cluster of buildings.They came alive as she described each one as it once was.We felt as if we were witnessing the Diwan e khas in all its imperial glory,with the emperor sitting on the peacock throne surrounded by courtiers. The Rang Mahal and the Heera Mahal were no longer bare empty walls but lavish living quarters full of gold and silver and precious stones and brocade and lush carpets. We could almost see the Nahar –I – Bihisht ( The river of paradise) as it came through the marble flooring to form a graceful fountain. We could almost taste the dishes in the royal kitchen as Rana described them and hear the laughter of the royal ladies as they flitted through the Hayat Baksh Bagh dressed in their finery.The anguish that we felt as she described the British taking over the fort and turning the beautiful garden into barracks was very real !

The Red Fort no longer looked over busy a road teeming with vehicles, we could see the Yamuna flowing from it’s pavilions and the citizens gathered on it’s sandy banks for their first glimpse of the emperor or to watch the sports that were played there every winter.
Rana peppered her talk with interesting tit bits like how the royal women spoke in a “Begmati zabaan” that was full of idioms but beautiful to hear and how the emperor released a Neelkanth bird (considered auspicious to Hindus) every Dushera.

Rana is a passionate Historian and a story teller par excellence. Her knowledge is based not only on her translations but her very extensive research and study of Delhi and it’s Quila –e Mubarak.

Her attempt through her walk and her book to show us a Delhi that was once the epitome of the Ganga Jamuni Tehzib and a perfect example of social and religious cohesiveness is truly commendable.

Himalayan Orchard - The Hidden Gem of Apple Country

A few hours beyond the crowds and mayhem of Shimla, in the quiet village of Rukhla, lies a charming farm stay called the Himalayan Orchard.

I was there earlier this month when the monsoon was still lingering in the mountains and the apple season was at its peak. With all my love for Himachal I have never been there at apple picking time. I have looked longingly at the trees when they were bare and shorn of their fruit or when the apples were the size of small green golf balls but an Apple Orchard in its full glory had continued to elude me.

The roads from Chandigarh are excellent and we made good time inspite of the constant rain. I can understand the concerns about not traveling to the hills during the monsoon, but the peaks playing hide and seek behind the mist, the verdant greenery, the sudden flashing streak of sun through the clouds is something you will only see when it rains in the mountains.

As we neared apple country we could see apple trees dotting the mountain side, looking like shrouded giants under the white nets to protect them from parrots who love to feast on the fruit. As we went in deeper, the apple trees started appearing on both sides of the road, tempting us to just reach out and grab the ripe, shining red fruit. The trucks trundling down the winding roads carrying their loads of apples were another sign that we were really and truly in Apple Country.

Himalayan Orchard sits prettily on a sloping hillside, besides a pocket handkerchief sized garden with an immaculately kept lawn laced with a riot of multi coloured flowers. Painted a pristine white with a pink roof and green trimmings, pretty flower displays peeping out of huge windows gleaming in the sunshine, the cottage looks very welcoming. Beyond the cottage are steeply terraced hills, with their patchwork quilt of apple orchards and thick deodar forests, bumping and merging into each other before stretching on to the rugged peaks beyond.

The Farmstay is run by Devanshe and Mike and is actually Devanshe’s family home. They both met when they were teaching English in Japan and they decided to come back and turn this delightful property into a Farm stay.

Himalayan Orchard is a very beautifully curated home, tastefully done up with either family heirlooms or curios that Devanshe and Mike picked up during their travels. The art and artefacts, the various musical instruments, the ceramics from Japan, the colourful canvases on the walls, the wind chimes and the Koi nobori blowing gently in the wind all reflect a very personal style statement. This is a home where every nook and corner has a story to tell.

The pretty picture windows in each room allow an unhindered view of the mountains and the orchards. I loved the morning times the best with everything serene and quiet and the soft sunlight pouring in through the windows.

We had all staked our favorite corners at the Farmstay and mine was this sit out where Mike and Devanshe have made a pretty trellis for the grape vine. The view from here was picture perfect. The brown knobs that you see supporting the vine are actually from fishermen’s nets in Japan that Mike has painstakingly collected over the years during his walks on the sea shore.

The best thing about Himalayan Orchard is that it is not exactly on the tourist map so along with a peaceful and unspoiled environment you also get a chance to see what life is like in rural Himachal.

The farmstay has its owns stock of cows, chicken and a few goats. There is also a cock that will make sure you are up at day break whether you like it or not. The first morning when I was woken up by the insistent crowing I stumbled outside to hear a different kind of noise, somewhere between shouting and screeching. I started to wonder if this is how the people in this village greet each other but then I couldn’t see any one in sight. Devanshe told me later that this is the noise the workers make to scare away the birds from the apple trees.
The Farm is always busy but there was feverish activity going on in the orchard since it was apple picking time. Usually extra hands are called in to work during the picking season but Himalayan Orchard also gets people from Workaways to stay and volunteer with them. It is a fantastic concept where you can live with a family as a volunteer and in turn get a fabulous insight into the local culture. 

When we were there, we met Olivia and Luke from Britain and Dominique from Slovenia. They not only helped Devanshe and Mike around the farmstay but also chipped in with the apple sorting. 
We decided we wanted to ‘help’ too and made our way down to the apple shed where Devanshe’s father was busy supervising the work. After the apples are picked from the trees, they are brought into the apple shed to be cleaned and then sorted according to size using a machine that has different sized outlets through which different sizes of apples fall into different trays. After sorting the apples are packaged for their Journey in to all corners of India.

Later we made our way down to the orchards where workers were busy picking the apples. Our intention was to help again but I think the only help we did was eating half the apples off a tree!

Tired by my efforts to pick and sort apples I was delighted to discover that the Farmstay has a library and a game room. The library warmed my heart. The book collection is eclectic and the view from the windows fabulous. You not only have hundreds of interesting books to choose from but very picturesque surroundings to read them in. I had to be dragged out of there at meal times.

Meals at the farmhouse table were ambrosial. There was Devanshe’s home made sourdough bread, cheese, plum, gooseberry and ginger chutneys, mushroom pickle and jams and of course freshly made apple juice along with other Indian and continental dishes. When we were there, we had pasta with home grown kale pesto with delicious apple crumble one day and Sidkus made by Devanshe’s mother the next. Sidkus are a traditional Himachali dish made with wheat and stuffed with either lentils or Jaggery. I have eaten them before but I have never eaten more tastier ones than the ones cooked by Devanshe’s mother !

Everyone ate together and the conversations hopped from one topic to another with Devanshe’s father telling us about the orchards, Mike talking about the local folk lore and history, Luke, Olivia and Dominique discussing their travel plans while Devanshe kept an eye on all of us making sure our plates were full and we were eating well.

Devanshe is a wonderful artist and glimpses of her art can be seen everywhere, from the beautiful signboards, the décor inside the house, her gardening, her flowers to the food she cooks.

If you are lucky, in the evenings when the frenzy of activity has died down and every one is in a relaxed and mellow mood, you might catch Devanshe at her Piano, playing something soft and beautiful. Olivia, one of the workaways happened to be a Piano teacher and both she and Devanshe made our stay that much more memorable by their music.

Mike very good humouredly says he is good at something the British would call bodging but we in India call Jugaad. He is excellent with his hands and can do anything from making an apple juice press to building a yoga studio on his own. As you go around the farmstay you would see always see him tinkering with something or the other.

His interest and knowledge about the area’s natural history and topography surpasses that of even the locals. He has spent months mapping and curating trails around the farmstay and has up to 12 trails clearly marked till now. This is no small feat considering the terrain. One of the highlights of our trip was the trek up to Sararu pass with him to get milk for Devanshe’s cheese making and a hike into the surrounding areas for mushroom foraging.

Himalayan Orchard has something for everyone. For people interested in the outdoors there are hikes and treks as short as two hours to as long as two days. For nature enthusiasts and photographers there is an abundance of flowers and plants and butterflies to photograph and identify. You can potter about the farm and take part in the milking, the cheese making and other farm activities. For writers and artists there is peace and solitude and a picturesque view for inspiration.



If you are someone like me who just wants to vegetate, there are many cheerful corners with comfortable chairs and plump cushions that invite you to doze or read or simply be.

Himalayan Orchard is the best of Immersive tourism where you get a deep insight into local culture and lifestyle. There is no television there but fabulous views, books to read, delicious home grown food and interesting conversations.

For me this was a fabulous Detox not only from the digital but also the urban world and an invaluable opportunity to explore the beautiful surrounding area. I will definitely be back for more.

Himalayan Orchard from a Distance 

For more Information about Devanshe and Mike and their farmstay, please refer to their website.


Coming up next – Hiking up to Sararu Pass with #JugaduMike and artisanal cheese making with #FarmerDevanshe

Of Gateways to Heaven and Freedom

I remember watching the news one sultry June evening when I was all of thirteen.The channel kept showing images of a man standing infront of a long row of tanks on a wide road. He was directly in the line of fire and was trying to stop the tanks from advancing. The tanks moved left. So did the man. The tanks moved right, so did the man. This went on for many minutes till he climbed the first tank in the row and started talking to the soldiers inside. 
That unknown man became famous as the “Tank Man”. The road he was standing on was at Tiananmen Square, the city Beijing. This visual became an epic image of what would later be known to the world as the Tiananmen Square Rebellion.

To someone like me who has grown up in a liberal democratic environment, Tiananmen Square rebellion epitomized the struggle for democracy and human rights - short lived and ruthlessly squashed but very courageously fought. 
So,when I was in Beijing in the beginning of this year, I grabbed the opportunity to visit Tiananmen Square. 

The entrance to the square is through a gate where you need to queue up for security checks. The day I visited it, a legislative meeting was being held at the Great Hall of people across the road. The security was very tight and the checks stringent even by Chinese standards. Later I found out that it was one of the meetings to discuss removal of presidential term limits effectively clearing way for president Xi to rule for life. 

The queue of Chinese people and tourists like me snaked for kilometres. It took me 2 hours just to get in the Square.I came out through a narrow doorway and was immediately staggered by the sheer size of the square. At 110 acres, Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest paved square. Straight down the square are the Monument to the People's Heroes and then Mao’s mausoleum. Across the wide road is the Great Hall of people (Where the parliament meets) and other government buildings. To the North of Tiananmen square lies the Forbidden City, the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty. 

Mao built the Tiananmen Square as a magnificent showcase of the strength and grand scale of the communist party. 

I spent my first fifteen minutes in the square looking for some sign, some symbol of the rebellion. But there was nothing. Not even a signboard or a memorial. It’s as if the Movement for Democracy never happened. 

I tried talking about it with my Chinese colleague who had accompanied me but he seemed very very hesitant to talk about it there. 
At a glance Tiananmen (Ironically, it means gateway to heaven) seems like any other square. You could almost imagine flowers blooming there in spring. Children were running around, people strolling hand in hand and tourists clicking pictures of the life size picture of Chairman Mao infront of his mausoleum. But beneath this atmosphere of gaiety there was an uneasy feeling of constantly being watched that kept me on my toes. Policemen were everywhere, surly and silent, with their eyes on everything. ` 

Inspite of the size of the square, there didn’t seem to be any place to sit. You had to keep walking. Numerous fire extinguishers were scattered all over but not just for fire safety, they were there should someone set themselves on fire in protest. On the side of the road were huge lamp posts that I was told have hidden camera on them. 

Back in my hotel room, I tried searching for Tiananmen square on some Chinese search engines and all I could come up with was a few mentions about how it is a big square in china and surrounded by important landmarks. Apparently, all sites talking about the movement have been censored and blocked. The government frowns upon and suppresses all discussions about it online or otherwise. Journalists and activists who write about it do so under great peril. The government has managed to erase all traces of the movement from books, journals, websites and even public memory. 

A whole lot of youth born after the revolution have a distorted and government fed view about it. If at all it’s mentioned in text books, it is portrayed as a counter revolutionary attempt to harm the country. 

It is amazing how history is distorted and minds shackled into believing just what they are taught. 

In many ways China continues to stride ahead like a great giant. Beijing is very modern and sparkling with fantastic infrastructure and a great transport system. It is a safe, beautiful place to live in and it’s commendable how China has managed to control its seemingly unresolvable problems of both population and pollution. But behind this shining façade, there is something sinister and dark and foreboding that seems to suffocate you. 

Then you come back to the chaos and disorderliness that is India. A country with a thousand wrongs but still a Democracy where the people have the right to raise their voice, the freedom to protest against what they feel is unfair. 

For this freedom I am eternally grateful. And it is this freedom that we must always endeavour to protect and fight for, especially in these changing times, because if we lose the freedom of thought and speech, we are nothing but slaves of the people who rule us.

Of Sawan, Lord Shiva and Pretty Ladies

Sawan in Delhi means monsoon, the devout praying and fasting for lord Shiva and for people like me, long hours of commute as the kanwariyas

take over the roads.

Sawan up in the mountains means something else. It means long lazy days of rain, lush green forests, mist floating among the deodars and a very festive atmosphere in the ancient Shiva temples dotting the mountains.

One such Temple is Jageshwar, nestled in the mountains near Almora. What is interesting about Jageshwar is that it is actually a cluster of 124 large and small temples inside a walled complex. Some of the temples are so small that you have to bend double to go in and there is no place for even the priest to sit. Some are really huge with their own carved doorways, and sculptures of gods and goddesses in the area leading to the sanctum.

The most famous temples in the cluster are Shiva temples such as the Mritunjaya temple, Jageshwar temple, Lakulish temple, Dandeshwar temple but there are Ganesha, Devi, Kuber and Surya temple amongst others.

No one is certain when the temples were built but the archaeological Survey of India estimates that they were constructed somewhere between the 9th and 12th century AD. The temple architecture is predominantly of the Nagara style, with shikhara or a wooden roof covering most of the temples Almost all temples have stone sculptures as well as carved panels depicting mythological stories about the god that temple represents.

Walking around the temple complex is like browsing through a pictorial book of stone about archeology and mythology. 

The walk to Jageshwar is through thick deodar and pine forests. It’s like walking through a great green cool cathedral that consists of the best things of nature, birdsong, tall, magnificent trees and a cool cool breeze.

Jageshwar is usually a quiet place, but it really comes into its own during July - August when the annual Sawan mela takes place and people from the surrounding areas descent to the temple to pray.

It was on the second day of Sawan, two weeks back that we found ourselves at Jageshwar.
We had looked forward to wandering around the complex clicking pictures and spendng some quiet time in the picturesque area. So we polished our camera lenses, replenished the batteries, got out our raincoats and began our walk to Jageshwar through a fine mist of rain.

What we had not anticipated was how much the locals love Jageshwar during Sawan.
The crowds started a few kilometers from the temple and by the time we reached there we were in the midst of an animated throng of devotees.

Another shock awaited us as we entered the temple complex.Ugly blue and green tarpaulin covered the entire area to protect the devotees from rain. The beautiful arches and carvings that we wanted to photograph were used to string plastic from one temple to another to protect those walking under them. There was no way we were going to get our tranquility or even one clear shot of the temple. 

Part of the Temple complex 

Some of the carvings and panels 

 But the ugly tarpaulin were offset by something really lovely and exquisite that we would have missed had we not come during Sawan. 

In the hills, as it is with every small and big town in India religion is always interlinked with gaiety and celebration. People see religious festivals as a chance to dress up in their best clothes and make a big social occasion out of it.

That was what was happening in Jageswar. Every seemed to be dressed to the hilt, but the women outshone everyone.
They were dressed in their finest sarees, wearing the traditional mang tikka and the famous Uttarakhandi nath studded with stones. Draped over their sarees was a beautiful shawl called the Pichoda. The Pichoda is a cotton drape in saffron colour with patterns and designs in brick red. Sometimes the Pichoda is decorated with gota and glass stones to make it more dressy. Every Kumaoni bride gets one when she gets married and on every social or religious occasion, the Pichoda comes out to be worn over their sarees. 
At Jageshwar, we saw every married woman right from the old grannies to young brides flaunt their Pichodas.

They looked like exotic colorful birds and added bright splashes of colour to the drab brown and black of the temples. They didn’t mind talking to us, showing off their jewellery and even allowing us to click pictures.

Jageshwar temple is also known for it’s Parthiv Shiv Pooja where the devotees make Shivalings out of mud or cow dung or butter depending on what they are praying for. Entire families were there, making those small Shivlings and then doing elaborate Poojas with the help of the priests. 

Parthiv Shivlings made of butter and Mud. And the lady of the house performing Pooja ! 

Thanks to the sawan mela we couldn't get the pictures we wanted or find the serenity we had hoped for, but we experienced the bonhomie and exuberance that comes with a festival in India and saw the otherwise silent temple turn into a vibrant, lively place.

I think even Lord Shiva would have enjoyed that bit of fun and celebration!

In Defence of Sneakers

The one picture that will stay in my mind forever from Sonam and Anand Ahuja’s wedding is the groom serenading the bride at their reception wearing a nifty Sherwani paired with - hold your breath, Sneakers ! 

The sight of those sneakers brought a ray of hope for me.

You see, I have broad feet. And when I say broad I mean one foot can cover North America, the other South America and perhaps the toes would still dip in the Ocean.

On top of that, my feet distinctly have a mind of their own and refuse to be comfortable in anything else but good old fashioned sandals or sneakers.

I go into shoe stores and look with great longing at those glittering, classy pairs of footwear all lined up to entice me. They seem to whisper to me – look at me, pick me up, I will make you look stylish and hot. Almost reverently, I try them on, only to find that they cramp my feet so much it feels as if someone is slowly and steadily crushing my toes. Then from a corner a comfortable but plain pair of sandals smirk and says haa look all you want, but it is to me you will come finally.

And that’s the truth. Try as I might to cram my feet in those dainty footwear I invariably turn to the comfortable shoes because in my case comfort always wins over fashion. I have tried to buy trendy shoes or juttis with pretty embroidery by convincing myself that a shoe takes a day or two to become comfortable but after a few days of wearing them all I have to show for my effort is blisters and callouses on my feet and toes that are ready to fall off.

Then I decided to go and work in Japan. The Japanese have very tiny feet that they cram into even tinier shoes. The only time I tried buying shoes in Japan is etched in my memory forever. I went into the shop and asked to see some shoes. The lady had one look at my feet and almost reeled in shock. She brought in the largest shoe size she could find and I could barely fit one toe into them. After an hour of trying every pair of foot wear in the shop, she finally asked me to go the men’s section and perhaps look for sneakers that were slightly unisexual as there was no hope of finding anything even remotely lady like in my size.

My life became infinitely easier when Clarks opened in India. They have a range of shoes for broad feet that also look awesome on you. To them I am eternally grateful that I don’t have to wear frumpy and orthopedic looking shoes any more.

But sneakers remain my first love. I have them in all shapes and colors and they occupy more space in my shoe rack than all other shoes combined.

If you are a Punjabi you would know that there is no wedding complete without at least two full nights of mad dancing. And to dance you need comfortable shoes. I have been known as that mad girl who flings away her shoes to dance barefoot or simply changes into her jeans and sneakers to dance the night away.

If I was not even as momentarily fashion conscious as I am now, believe me I would not think twice before wearing sneakers to work. But then decorum demands that I dress in formals. And I even with my nonexistent sense of fashion I would never combine anything formal with Sneakers. Unless of course I am Anand Ahuja.

But honestly nothing compares with sneakers. They are simple no nonsense shoes that don’t you give any grief. It doesn’t matter if you squelch in mud wearing them, get them wet or dirty, all you need to do is wash them and you are sorted. They are the epitome of comfort. The soft sole, the laces that make for a comfortable fit, the extra room for your toes, all this keep your feet snug and happy. You can walk fast in them, run in them, come down stairs as quickly as you want without being terrified that you’ll break your ankle. Sneakers are your friend for life, you can walk miles and miles in them, climb Mountains or even the Great Wall of China and they will not even whimper. The older the sneaker, the more character it has and the more comfortable it gets. Nothing tells travel tales better than a travel worn mud splattered sneaker.

So the world can laugh all it wants at Anand Ahuja’s sneakers, I am going to simply assume this is now a fashion statement and wear them all the time with great panache!