New Delhi: An exhibition titled “Sair-e-Dilli: Chronicles of Change” is drawing visitors to Bikaner House as part of DAG’s inaugural “City as a Museum” festival. The show, which runs until September 15, presents Delhi’s historic sites through maps, photographs, prints, and architectural plans, offering an alternative to conventional textbook timelines.
Curated by historian Swapna Liddle, the exhibition highlights monuments like Jama Masjid, the Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, and Nizamuddin. Liddle explained that Delhi is often reduced to the story of seven cities, but the aim here is to explore Indian sources and lived experiences instead of relying solely on colonial accounts.
One of the central displays is a panoramic photograph, “View of Delhi from Jumma Masjid” by Felice Beato. At first glance, it shows a simple 19th-century skyline, but closer inspection reveals how the British converted parts of Jama Masjid into quarters for soldiers after 1857. Another striking photograph by Samuel Bourne from the 1860s documents the clearance of entire neighborhoods between Jama Masjid and Delhi Gate.
The exhibition traces Delhi’s layered history, from Feroz Shah Kotla and Mehrauli to Jantar Mantar and New Delhi. A section on the Ridge recalls the 1911 shift of the capital from Kolkata to Delhi, with early layout plans revealing colonial ambitions for educational enclaves that never materialized.
Through rare maps and images, the exhibition presents Delhi’s monuments not as relics of the past but as evolving parts of the city’s living history.
