17/09/2023
166 years ago, late on this date, September the 17th, 1857, Bahādur Shāh II, 'Zafar', left (or fled) the Qila-i Mubārak/Laal Qila for the final time as its (at least titular) owner and master, while the 'Siege of Delhi' concluded its final, gory chapters and the Company Bahadur's regiments and commanders began exacting a terrible revenge; the last Indo-Timurid (again, at least symbolic) sovereign exited the premises of the imperial complex which was the crowning zenith of their 17th century apogee, and Shāh Jahān's indulgent, aesthetic vision hewn in sandstone and marble, jewel and flower - fitting indeed for the Sāhib-i Qirān-i Sānī. Ironically, the helpless octogenarian and his companions headed to Humāyūn's maqbara further south, where Mughal hegemony had been seared into the spiritual and emotional geography of 16th century Dehlī, this time due to the architectural intervention of Akbar. A story - the greatest story of'em all, all-consuming and unforgiving though it often was - had truly, and finally, come to its circular end. This morning, at least for a long while, the weather recounted its own version of the final 'hijr' of no return, even if the thronging crowds were merrily oblivious to our sad, old elegies..
