Judiciously parceling out strands of Indian history, Dalrymple shows that the unique Delhi ways have always been able to withstand the worst of wars and other calamities. At first, Dalrymple finds that much of the old life, including the belief in djinns, seems to have faded but after some digging, he learns that these old customs are simply hidden and very much alive. The title refers to the spirits that according to legend have, throughout the ages, watched over the inhabitants of Delhi. With his wife, Olivia Fraser (whose pen-and-ink illustrations help the book along), Dalrymple finds a Delhi that is still trying to overcome the traumas of British colonialism and the partition of 1947, in which most Muslims migrated from India to the newly created Pakistan and many Hindus, expelled from the Punjab, fled to Delhi, creating a new, less sophisticated class of resident. Dalrymple, whose debut book of travel writing, In Xanadu (not reviewed), received much praise, spent a year wandering around the dilapidated city of Delhi uncovering the layers of history found in its architectural and human ruins. A charming portrait of the ancient Indian capital of Delhi by a talented young British travel writer.
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