In the tumultuous aftermath of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Delhi became a focal point of British retaliation, witnessing a swift and brutal imposition of colonial authority. The vengeance unleashed upon the city manifested in a dual assault, both physical and symbolic, reshaping the urban landscape and the socio-cultural fabric of its inhabitants. The punitive measures employed by British forces ranged from indiscriminate hangings to the deliberate desecration of key landmarks symbolizing Mughal power. The once-thriving heart of the Mughal Empire bore witness to a systematic dismantling of its institutions, with mosques converted for military use and educational centres shuttered or razed to the ground.

Amidst this backdrop of upheaval and oppression, the Shahr Ashob, a profound genre in Urdu poetry, emerged as a poignant testament to the socio-political tumults that have shaped the annals of Indian history. Originating in the alleys of 18th-century Delhi, this poetic form evolved from its Persian and Turkish predecessors into a compelling narrative of urban distress and societal upheavals.

Among the myriad epochs chronicled by Shahr Ashob, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 stands as a watershed moment, casting a long shadow over the canvas of Indian history. As the echoes of rebellion reverberated through the lanes and bylanes of Delhi, poets seized their pens to immortalise the harrowing tales of anguish and defiance. In the aftermath of the tumult, the cityscape itself became a canvas, etched with poignant verses of lament and remembrance.

The Space and Nostalgia of 1857:

Following the 1857 rebellion, a poignant shift occurred in the poetry landscape, particularly in Urdu literature, where verses became vessels of lamentation for the demise of the Mughal empire and its cultural legacy. These poems aimed to stir the emotions of the "Weeping Hindustani," narrating tales of trauma and identifying with the collective anguish, a theme notably embraced in Bengali literature.

The British retaliation post-revolt left a tangible mark on Delhi, the erstwhile capital of the Mughal Empire. Gallows dotted the cityscape, while suspects faced blank shootings, imprinting a stark "material stamp of the British punitive imprint" on the city.

Consciously, the British desacralized key structures, transforming the Red Fort into a military outpost, Diwan-e-Aaam into a military canteen, and claiming Jama Masjid for military purposes. Survivors sought refuge in the suburbs, returning only in 1858, reshaping Delhi's demography and redrawing its city lines, leaving two-thirds of the once vibrant city abandoned.

"Between the Jamia Masjid and the Rajghat Gate, there is nothing but a vast wasteland, dreary and desolate…so how can Urdu survive? I swear to God, Dihli is a town no more. You might call it a military encampment, but the Fort and the city are no more. The Bazar and the lovely canal are no more." (Ghalib on Shahajahanabad)

‘Map of the Red Fort’, by Nidha Mal, Delhi, c. 1774.’ Source: A City Besieged and a Love Lamented: Representations of Delhi’s Qila-i Mualla.

Moreover, the British left their mark by inscribing symbols of authority upon remnants of Mughal grandeur. The Red Fort witnessed unwarranted destruction, with a 500-yard radius cleared in front, demolishing surrounding structures. As Vasudha Dalmia notes, the scars of this imposition remain etched upon the city's landscape.

In the years following, these [Mughal] structures were replaced by staid Victorian architecture. A massive Town hall was built over 1860-5 and adorned with a statue of Queen Victoria at its entrance. A Clock Tower now graced the centre of the square, a fountain would be added later; Begum Bagh, the garden at the back of the Sarai, was renamed Company Bagh. The passing of the old order was being concretely marked… A large number of houses were demolished in order to build the cantonment and the railway line. The East-West alignment of the railway line broke the concentric pattern of Shahjahanabad, cutting the city into two vertical slices and destroying a part of the city wall in the process. The hundred feet wide Queen’s Road and Hamilton Road, driven through the town to facilitate troop movement over the densely populated regions of the city, displaced many hundreds. The new roads were consciously designed to symbolize an order forcibly established.

'Delhi, the Capital City of the Great Mogul', a panel from the Mutiny Scroll, British Library, Add Ms 37153. Photo credit: British Library, via Scroll.in

The aftermath of the conflict witnessed the British memorializing sites associated with the rebellion, integrating them into an organised "Mutiny Pilgrimage," significant for British visitors to India. However, this narrative of British remembrance and memorialization transformed North India. As Santhi Kavuri-Bauer highlights, these monuments became spaces where power manifested itself, serving as arenas to enact the fantasies and contradictions inherent in the empire. Structures once emblematic of Mughal grandeur were repurposed into edifices recounting tales of imperial conquest, symbolizing a shift in historical narrative and the appropriation of space to reinforce colonial dominance.

The Evolution of Shahr Ashob: From Celebration to Lamentation:

In the annals of Urdu literature, the genre of Shahr Ashob, or "city lamentation," emerges as a poignant literary form encapsulating the ethos and collective consciousness of urban spaces. Originating from the Persian tradition, wherein cities were extolled as bastions of virtue and harmony, Shahr Ashob underwent a transformative evolution upon its adaptation into Urdu during the eighteenth century. Initially conceived as a celebratory ode to urban life, the genre gradually metamorphosed into a poignant reflection of societal disarray and nostalgia, particularly lamenting the decline of the Mughal Empire.

The genre's Persian antecedents date back to the eleventh and twelfth centuries when it flourished as 'Shahr Ashub' or 'Shahrangez'. Its defining characteristic was the portrayal of a beloved figure, often a young craftsman, whose appearance in the city triggered upheaval. This figure, admired for both physical allure and artisanal skill, served as the focal point around which the poet crafted vivid depictions of bustling marketplaces and urban life.

Upon its transition into Urdu literature in the eighteenth century, Shahr Ashob underwent a significant evolution spurred by the decline of the Mughal Empire and the repeated invasions of Delhi. While traditional Persian elements persisted, Urdu Shahr Ashob's poems began to reflect a lament for the deteriorating urban landscape. Economic and social crises plagued the city, with satirical undertones highlighting the breakdown of established orders and the inversion of social hierarchies.

Key figures such as Qalander Bakhsh Jurat and Wali Muhammad Nazir Akbabrabadi infused their Shahr Ashobs with absurd imagery, illustrating a world in disarray. The inversion of societal norms, depicted through occupations and juxtapositions, underscored the pervasive chaos within the city. Mirza Muhammad Rafi Sauda's masterpieces on the destruction of Delhi further exemplify the genre's evolution, employing extensive satire to portray professions as debased and unprofitable.

The Revolt of 1857 marked a significant juncture in the trajectory of Shahr Ashob, with post-revolt compositions predominantly focusing on the devastation of Delhi. Departing from earlier instances, these poems adopted a mournful tone, reflecting the profound impact of historical events on the urban landscape and its inhabitants.

Shahr Ashob's poetry's structural and thematic evolution is exemplified through seminal works like Tafazzul Husain ‘Kaukab’'s anthology "Fughan-e Dehlı" (The Lament for Delhi), published in 1863. Comprising fifty-nine poems by thirty-eight poets, the anthology is structured into three thematic segments, each offering a unique perspective on the events of 1857. The poems transition from pre-1857 compositions, setting a historical foundation, to musaddas and ghazals that capture the essence of the uprising through vivid imagery and poetic flair.

The thematic underpinning of Shahr Ashob's poetry intertwines with the notion of rupture – a rupture not merely confined to the physical landscape of Delhi but one that reverberates across the socio-cultural fabric of Urdu-speaking society. Through the meticulous crafting of verses, poets articulate a profound sense of loss and displacement wrought by cataclysmic events. The depiction of Delhi as a city ensconced in nostalgia for its pre-1857 splendour becomes a recurring motif, symbolizing a lament for a bygone era of grandeur and tranquility - navigating the labyrinthine corridors of memory, inscribing their anguish and longing onto the very fabric of Delhi's narrative tapestry.

In the next blog post, the focus will shift to how the loss and nostalgia of 1857 was textualised. 

References:

1. Dudney, Arthur. “Literary Decadence and Imagining the Late Mughal City.” Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies 18, no. 3 (2018): 187–211. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26899551.

2. Farooq, Nirma. “Remembering and Re-telling 1857 and late Mughal rule in early 20th century Urdu literature.” University of California, 2021.

3. Kavuri-Bauer, Santhi. Monumental Matters: The Power, Subjectivity, and Space of India's Mughal Architecture. United Kingdom: Duke University Press, 2011.

4. Khan, Prisha. “ The Lament for Delhi (1863).”

5. Lahiri, Nayanjot. “Commemorating and Remembering 1857: The Revolt in Delhi and Its Afterlife.” World Archaeology 35, no. 1 (April 1, 2003): 35–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/0043824032000078072.

6. Petievich, Carla R. “POETRY OF THE DECLINING MUGHALS: THE ‘SHAHR ĀSHOB.’” Journal of South Asian Literature 25, no. 1 (1990): 99–110. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40873115.

7. Sharma, Sunil. "The City of Beauties in Indo-Persian Poetic Landscape." Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 24, no. 2 (2004): 73-81. muse.jhu.edu/article/181661.

8. Siddique, Soofia. “Remembering the Revolt of 1857: Contrapuntal Formations in Indian Literature and History,” n.d. https://doi.org/10.25501/soas.00013540.

9. Tignol, Eve. “Nostalgia and the City: Urdu Shahr Āshob Poetry in the Aftermath of 1857.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 27, no. 4 (2017): 559–73. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26859347.

10. Waraich, Saleema. “A City Besieged and a Love Lamented: Representations of Delhi’s Qila-i Mualla (‘Exalted Fortress’) in the Eighteenth Century.” South Asian Studies :/South Asian Studies 35, no. 1 (January 2, 2019): 145–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2019.1605575.

Vidarshna Mehrotra is a passionate third-year history undergrad from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi - interested in exploring the intricate tapestry of history, society, culture, and politics. Her heart beats for the written word, and she finds solace in the art of storytelling. With an open heart and an inquisitive spirit, she thrives on connecting with diverse individuals and eagerly embraces every opportunity to immerse herself in novel experiences that broaden her horizons.