Haveli Nawab Mirza Dawud Khan

Nawab Mirza Dawud Khan was a minister in the court of Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.

Dawud Khan resided in a haveli located in Churi Walan near Chawri Bazaar in…

Music in the time of Muhammad Shah Rangila

Of the many hundreds of pen names that crowd the columns of Urdu poetry none is perhaps as apt or true as Rangila (Joyous), the moniker of the 14th…

Kala Mahal

Kala Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and was allegedly used as his residence temporarily before the completion of the Red Fort. However, the same is said…

Mubarak Begum Masjid

As one starts walking down Lal Kuan, passing a police station and a row of shops selling nuts, bolts, fittings and electric wires, one will see a red sandstone…

Bazm-e-Shahjahanabad

The culture of mushaira held quite a significance in Old Delhi in the pre-Independence era. In fact, mushaira were very popular during the reign of the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah…

Dastangoi

Dastangoi is an art and tradition of storytelling that goes at least as far back as 9th century Iran. Heavily inspired by the verse epic Shahnamah, dastans eventually evolved…

Town Hall

In the laying out of the Faseel Bandh Shahr of Shah-e-Jahan Abad, Princess Jahanara ordered for the construction of a caravan serai for the comfort of Persian and Uzbek…

Mir Ashiq

Not much is known about Mir Ashiq except that he was a nobleman in the court of Akbar Shah II. The best recorded description of Mir Ashiq comes from…