Ring Out the Old & Ring in the New

Year 2010 is almost at an end. It’s amazing how fast this entire year went! They say ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ so I am sure I must’ve had a lot of fun this year. Let me sit back and recount the most memorable of the good times I have had (amidst all the humdrum happenings) in 2010.

This most exciting event was a special visit to the Red Fort at Delhi. The last time I had been there was some three decades ago. An unforgettable experience this -shopping at the exclusive bazaar that has existed  within the portals of the Red Fort since the time of Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan! Buying trinkets at this bazaar gave me such a thrill that I imagined myself sliding down the timeline and being present in the great Mughal court. I was surrounded by heavily decked women in brocade and silk with millions of bangles and tiny bells on their feet, gliding through the arches and sweeping regally in and out of the shops. Large damask covered trays being carried by maids- heaped with miscellaneous and aromatic wares. Doe eyed beautiful women with their shy smiles, the soft rustling of their shararas as they inspected the wares before indicating their preference-ah! graceful beyond description and with a quality of timeless beauty, alas found no more.

The shops were filled with glittering merchandize, lacquer pens and gift boxes bejewelled with tiny pieces of mirrors, rag dolls, puppets, ivory boxes, chess pieces and jewellery, hand bags of all hues and styles,  sandals and nagras, rows of beaded jewellery, brass decoration pieces, glass bangles, silk scarves, Kashmiri shawls,  masks, carpets with brilliant designs, finely carved wooden fruit bowls, miniatures of the Taj Mahal encased in glass boxes, peacock feathers- rainbow colours displayed in rows and swathes - spilling over to the pavement. That time has stood still within the portals of the Red Fort is evident in this narrow gully lined with tiny shops. Such finery, such splendour and the shadowy remembrances of the courtesans and musicians and the magnificence of days gone by- a heady enough mixture to make me feel quite dizzy.

The babbling of people and the scented incense wafting through the cool morning air added to the grandeur of a lost era. I breathed deeply for one last draught of the perfumed air before being transported back to reality. I had only intended to buy bangles for my daughters and some brass ware for my Puja room but ended up buying a considerably larger bagful of knick-knacks and gift items. My mood was uplifted and I felt like a queen and petty considerations like money did not really matter at that moment!

I remember using more Urdu than Hindi on my way back from the Red Fort- such is the charm of being caught in time and being part of the grandeur of a world gone by.