Mandirs of a Mughal city: History, myth, and magic of Old Delhi’s temples | Cities News,The Indian Express

Did you know Old Delhi has temples dedicated to Radha and her friend Lalita, or to the chief deity of the Khatris? Here are some temples in this neighbourhood, recently highlighted by writers Rana Safvi and Sam Dalrymple.

A temple where lights are magically snuffed out, one dedicated to Radha because her idol appeared under a Jamun tree here, and one with a shivlinga the Pandavas had worshipped. Two things unite these temples—they are all located in Old Delhi and they were all built during the Mughal era, flourishing then and since then.

Recently, writers Rana Safvi and Sam Dalrymple turned the lens on many of these temples. Dalrymple photographed the temples and both posted the pictures on social media, with short descriptions drawing from the research Safvi did for her book, Shahjahanabad, The Living City of Old Delhi.

Shahjahanabad, built by Shahjahan, is today known as Old Delhi. In the narrow, cramped bylanes of Old Delhi, the past, the present, and the eternal find easy co-existence, each burnishing the other.

The many Mughal-era temples of Shahjahanabad have the same quality. Their structures have been built over and rebuilt. Their histories are inextricably mingled with myth and magic. They are located in busy lanes, near salwar kurta shops and aata chakkis. Devotees flock here, as they did hundreds of years ago. The tiny temples stand firm, sure of their place in history and in the present.

For Safvi and Dalrymple, the project began when they visited one such temple, Charan Das ki Baghichi, near Chawri Bazar.

https://indianexpress.com/article/delhi/old-delhi-mughal-era-temples-7960198/


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