VIGNETTES OF CHANGE
Delhi Then and Now by Narayani Gupta and Dilip Bobb (Roli)
What did Delhi’s famed monuments and palaces look like a century ago? How did Shahjahanabad get its name? How is the Indian capital transforming itself from a stodgy, bureaucratic city into a dynamic world class metro? If such questions intrigue you, Delhi Then and Now is a must buy.
The 202 page tome is really two books rolled in one — one side opens as Delhi Then, the other as Delhi Now. Historian Narayani Gupta, a founder member of the conservation Society of Delhi, recreates the Delhi of sultans, emperors and viceroys, while Dilip Bobb, managing editor of India Today, overviews the city as it is today.
Delhi Then stands out for its wealth of 19th century miniatures of Delhi and rare archival photographs, many of which have been published for the first time. Nineteenth century photographer Felice Beato’s first real panorama of Shahjahanabad shows us the landscape of Delhi as modified by 70 years of British rule. Through Beato’s lens we see how much wider Chandni Chowk was and how the course of the river Yamuna has altered. The reader is also treated to some stunning pictures of the ceremonial darbars held in various places in British India.
The narrative scores over the visuals in Delhi Now. Bobb loves his Delhi and does an excellent job of summarising and analysing trends, debates and issues relating to the city. This part of the book could have done with more photos of Delhi’s zeitgeist, its changing lifestyle and its new symbols of status and power. Visuals of Delhi’s multiplex culture and emerging socialite scene, which Bobb talks about in his essay, are conspicuous by their absence.
On the whole, the book is a passionate effort. The treasure trove of rare photographs and insider insights into Delhi’s past, present and future is a treat for Delhiphiles.

DESIGNS ON MUMBAI
Mumbai Masti by Krsna Mehta and Bachi Karkaria (IBH)
Designer Krsna Mehta and writer Bachi Karkaria team up to pay a quirky tribute to a quirky city in Mumbai Masti. This pop-art take on Mumbai life is an attempt to innovate the standard linear coffee-table city book format through the use of multiple visual layers that add comment, humour and dimension to familiar images of India’s buzz centre.
Mehta’s innovation lies in his layering of photographs contributed by various photographers. A typical page has at least three to four visual layers of photo and graphic art. The Andy Warhol-like duplication of Mumbai’s leitmotifs — the Fiat cabs, dabbas and BEST buses, and their superimposition on colourful abstract shapes — are the designer’s interpretation of the layers of Mumbai’s everyday life.
The book’s strength lies in its innovative non-linear format and visual chutzpah. Mehta’s graphics, though a tad monotonous and self-indulgent, are original.
The writing is trademark Bachi Karkaria, replete with puns and witticisms, but the word play gets a bit laboured. Weaving in the city’s tapori idiom in her narrative, Karkaria attempts a Transport Rap and a literal translation of cliched Bollywood dialogues, but the humour falls flat.
A clear case of form over substance, the book is much like a Bollywood production with a wafer-thin script. Though Mehta says he aspires to breathe life into the lesser noticed facets of the city, the reader doesn’t get any unique insights or sample lesser glimpsed slices of Mumbai life. Mumbai Masti is worth a casual dekko. No more.