City Season – Cold Mist, Jama Masjid General by The Delhi Walla - December 18, 2013December 18, 20134 The winter’s tale. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One freezing December morning the unthinkable happened. Jama Masjid vanished. The Delhi Walla tried hard to look for the grand Mughal-era mosque but it had left the city. Shivering with cold, as I came closer to where the monument used to be, I gradually perceived a flimsy impression of grey-seeming stairs, pillars, gateways, towers and domes. It was probably an illusion that drew sustenance from the fact that the red sandstone mosque had stood on this patch of land for more than three centuries. Saddened by our city’s great loss, I turned into an alley that was crowded with people in blankets and monkey caps. Looking upwards, I discovered that the rooftops on both sides of the street were also leaving the city. I too joined the exodus. Shakespearean tragedies 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. FacebookX Related Related posts: City Series – Stones of Jama Masjid IV, Shahjahanabad City Series – Stones of Jama Masjid – I, Shahjahanabad City Food – Kashmiri ‘Noon’ Chai, Around Jama Masjid City Series – Stones of Jama Masjid – II, Shahjahanabad City Moment – Winter Sunset, Jama Masjid, Gurgaon
I have always known winter mornings to be misty in Delhi. Only now I often wonder if Shahjahan (and people in his time) too woke up to the mist on cold days. Cutting to the chase, is this fog or is it smog?