Lost And Found

Mehrauli is as much a state of mind as a New Delhi suburb, a place most Capitalwallahs bypass on their way to outlying colonies near Gurgaon. A pity, as we learn from Mehrauli: A View From The Qutb (Harper Collins, Rs 1,995), photographed by Karoki Lewis with accompanying text by Charles Lewis.

The coffeetabler takes one on a journey through a part of Delhi that attempts to recreate one of it most important historic settlements, where Hinduism met, and reconciled, with Islam, and which has a rootedness in traditions that have survived in its religious shrines, its teeming bazaars, and its social milieu.

From wrestling pits to fireworks specialists, from budding cricketers to rent-a-tomb residents, Mehrauli forms a unique part of Delhi, and always with the Qutb looming tall in the background.

In his Foreword, writer William Dalrymple describes Mehrauli as a place