Perpetual City A Short Biography of Delhi

Capital to successive empires andthe independent Indian republic, Delhi is finally coming into its own as thenation’s first city in the twenty-first century. In so doing, it has leftbehind once and future contenders for the title – Bombay, Madras, Calcutta. Howdid this small settlement, founded in the lee of an ancient range of hills ineighth century by a Tomar Rajput chief called Suraj Pal, become one of theworld’s great cities, home to nearly twenty million people, witness to the riseand fall of empires and dynasts and eccentrics as magnificent and notable asthe Tomar Chauhans, the Mamluks, the Khiljis, the Tughlaks, the Sayyids, theLodis, the Mughals, the Nehrus, the Gandhis and dozens of others too numerousto count. Drawing upon her unparalleled knowledge of the city she has spentmost of her life in, Malvika Singh gives us a book that reveals the pith andessence of Delhi through the memorable people who lived (and live) in it, itsgreat buildings, its extraordinary food, its unforgettable music and thecenturies of blood and history that have seeped into every square inch of itssoil.