Beato’s Delhi: 1857 and beyond

History’s refuge

Name of the book: Beato’s Delhi: 1857 and beyond

Author: Jim Masselos, Narayani Gupta

Publisher: Ravi Dayal and Viking

Pages: 258

Price: Rs 1,499

T he revolt of 1857 is of obvious historical importan­ce. What is less apparent is the event’s significance in the history of journalism and photography. William Howard Russell set new standards of reporting when on behalf of The Times he moved first with Havelock’s column and later with the army of Colin Campbell and left behind detailed accounts of the British counter insurgency measures in north India. A few months later Felice Beato, an Italian photographer, arrived in India and documented the impact of the rebellion and the manner in which it was quelled. He thus left behind images of Delhi and Lucknow that are of undying historical value.

The subtitle of the book reads “1857 and beyond’’ but it actually goes beyond Beato. One of the authors, Jim Masselos, in 1997 followed Beato’s footsteps in Delhi and photographed the same sites as far as possible.

The photographs reproduced here are not all from Beato’s album and do not relate to the great uprising. The first photograph is that of the Jain temple between Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid. Beato’s photograph of it is reproduced here. Today, it looks different: cleaner and the land has changed its character.

The second picture is taken by Masselos and is that of a more familiar monument, the Jama Masjid. In the aftermath of the rebellion, there were sche­mes, stopped by Lord Canning, to raze Jama Masjid to the ground. The masjid actually remained under military control for five years and thus escaped vandalism. It stands today virtually unchanged from what it was in 1857. The third, another familiar Delhi monument, is here captured in Beato’s camera. The fourth-century pillar stands framed by a 13th century arch. Masselos notes that Beato may have been the first to photograph this view. It has changed little over time.

The next picture is a view of the Jantar Mantar. When Beato photographed the landscape was bare and of course without a modern hotel looming over the observatory built in the 1720s by Jai Singh II of Jaipur. The mos­que seen in the last picture is from Beato’s collection but the mosque in it cannot be identifi­ed. The style, Masselos comments, is distinctly Mughal.

The book by juxtaposing photographs tells a history of Delhi and the way the city has chang­ed. In her essay, Narayani Gupta — and very few know the history of Delhi after the revolt of 1857 more than her — places Beato’s view(s) of Delhi in the context of the European gaze on Delhi.

In the pro­cess she offers a glimpse into the many layers of Delhi’s unique history. In the 14th century, Gup­ta tells us, the city was called Jahan-Panah (the refuge of the world) and it has remained that ever since. Past Lutyen’s elegant bungalows, on tree-lined avenues one can drive to the ruins of Mughal grandeur.

RUDRANGSHU MUKHERJEE

Published on November 25, 2011