“Delhi” by Kushwanth Singh as usual makes an interesting reading due to the raw
inimitable style of the author he is famous
for.The chapters are divided into accounts from the past and present.They are alternatively placed in the prose but there never seems to be a “continuity issue” in the narrative. The
historical account is offered on a backdrop of the current story of the relationship of the author with a hijda(eunuch). The rulers of Delhi namely Nadir Shah, Taimur and Aurangzeb , and Bahadur Shah Zafar come live and you are basically transported to the era thanks to the first person style of narration.Sensous and erotic description were never a new thing for Singh which finds it place in this novel too.Throughout the novel,however,”Delhi”,the apt title for this narrative,stands out as a unperturbed ,calm witness to all the dramatic incidents in the pages of history.Bhagamathi,plays a major character ,who finds a space in the heart of the author and gives him company throughout the storyline .The novel ends with the episode of Indira Gandhi’s (then prime minister of India) assassination by her Sikh security Guards.The communal riots which followed,creating havoc in Delhi with mass massacre of Sikh Community,has been effectively put through to the readers.Though Serious History students may find this book to be a mix of fact and fiction,this book would still have enough of admirers.