The early modern city of Shahjahanabad, often called ‘Old Delhi’, was planned axially around the Mughal emperor’s fort-palace, on the banks of the river. The architecture of the city, when explored in terms of its social demography in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reveals different constructions of power and its expression. This walk intends to ‘read’ the Red Fort as a politico-aesthetic text, by looking at the little niches, fading frescoes, and hidden pietra duras, and pondering over their possible meanings in the language(s) of the Mughal court. The walk, while according centrality to the fort-palace, will explore a couple of sub-imperial structures in the kuchas and galis of the ‘old city’, and briefly look at some characters from Shahjahanabad public life: courtesans, mirzas, begums and munshis. The walk will terminate at the quaint Fatehpuri Masjid, along the central axis of the city.

Meeting Time: 10:15 AM

Meeting Point: Ticket Counter, Red Fort, Old Delhi

Nearest Bus/ Metro Station: Lal Qila (Violet Line)

Walk Leader: Somok Roy

Somok Roy studies History at Ramjas College, University of Delhi. His study interests include the histories of gender, performance and visuality in early modern court cultures. He has been published by the Wire, Cafe Dissensus, Indian Writer’s Forum, and Sabrangindia. He has served as a research assistant at the Daricha Foundation, Calcutta, and at the Mehrangarh Fort Museum, Jodhpur. He received his foundational training in Hindustani vocal from Vidushi Girija Devi of the Senia-Banaras tradition. Born and bred in Calcutta, Somok lives in Delhi.

• Entry fees of INR 50/- (Indian nationals) and INR 600/- (foreign nationals) are to be borne by the participants.
• Please carry drinking water and wear comfortable and appropriate footwear as you will have to remove it at the mosque.
• Photography allowed, please maintain decorum in sacred spaces.
• Authorised parking facilities are available at the meeting point. Parking charges (if any) are to be borne by the participant.
• Email: walks@sahapedia.org