City of Djinns: 8 key ideas
The core ideas of City of Djinns, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.
- IDEA 1 OF 8
A year in a many-layered city
Dalrymple describes a year living in Delhi as a young writer.
He explores the city's present while digging into its past, showing how many earlier Delhis lie beneath the modern one.
- IDEA 2 OF 8
Neighbours bring the city alive
Dalrymple's Punjabi landlady Mrs Puri and his taxi driver Balvinder Singh appear throughout the book.
Through their stories, he shows the energy and humour of ordinary Delhi life. They also show how Delhi changes around them.
- IDEA 3 OF 8
Partition reshaped Delhi
Many Delhi residents, like Mrs Puri, came as refugees from Punjab after Partition in 1947.
Dalrymple describes how their arrival changed the city's culture and how painful memories endured. Their energy helped build modern Delhi.
- IDEA 4 OF 8
The 1984 violence left scars
Dalrymple recounts the riots against Sikhs that followed Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984.
Through interviews, he shows how this violence affected families and left deep wounds. Many victims were still waiting for justice.
- IDEA 5 OF 8
British Delhi has faded
Dalrymple explores the remains of British rule, including New Delhi's grand buildings and old cemeteries.
He meets elderly Anglo-Indians whose world has largely disappeared. Their memories offer a glimpse of a vanished age.
- IDEA 6 OF 8
Mughal glory lingers in ruins
Moving further back, Dalrymple explores Mughal Delhi, its monuments and its decline.
He describes how the city's courtly culture slowly faded long before independence. Its poets and nobles slowly lost their world.
- IDEA 7 OF 8
Hidden communities keep traditions
Dalrymple meets members of Delhi's hijra community, who trace their roots to Mughal times.
Their traditions show how old customs survive in the modern city. They also face prejudice and hardship today.
- IDEA 8 OF 8
Spirits guard the city's story
A Sufi tells Dalrymple that Delhi is full of djinns, spirits that love the city and never leave it.
He uses this belief as a symbol of Delhi's endless ability to rise again.
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