Narayani Gupta’s pioneering scholarship, concern with the fate of Delhi and campaigns to make the city a habitable space continue to inspire generations of people from diverse fields. Among her writings, Delhi Between Two Empires (1981) remains a classic work of urban history. One of the founders of the Conservation Society Delhi, her activism over many years has generated a new civic consciousness around monuments, heritage and shared spaces. Her work with Delhi schools has been equally significant. She has edited and authored school textbooks in Hindi and English, guidebooks to historical sites for children, and promoted innovative teaching methods.

Cities, Citizens, Classrooms and Beyond is a tribute by scholars, colleagues, students and friends which includes memoirs as well as discussions of various facets of urban history, teaching methods and pedagogy. In this volume, divided into three sections, the contributors have explored medieval Srirangam, the legacy of Agra, the marsiya in Delhi, the urban natures of colonial metropolises and the conservation of the Nizamuddin complex. There are essays on Patrick Geddes, the fascinating phenomenon of informal towns, early nationalist Delhi and the activities of Communists in the city. Architects, planners, historians, teachers have all reflected on Narayani Gupta’s enduring legacy: the personal and humane touch she offers to all her endeavours.

Contents:

History Woman by Mukul Kesavan

Introductory Note by Partho Datta and Kumkum Roy

PART I: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING NARAYANI

1. A Shared Ownership by Ramu Damodaran
2. The Narayani I Know by Srimanjari
3. Worlds Within a World by Geeta Wahi Dua
4. The Historian and Two Architects by Snehanshu Mukherjee and Anisha Shekhar Mukherji

PART II: THE MANY TEXTURES OF TOWNS

5. The City and Colonial Planning: A History and a Survey by Partho Datta
6. Patrick Geddes, Town Planner? The Nature and Scope of his Work in India, 1914–1923 by Helen Meller
7. Modernizing Historic Cities in India: The Relevance of Patrick Geddes by A.G. Krishna Menon
8. Kinetic City: Issues for Urban Design in South Asia by Rahul Mehrotra
9. Reading the Town, Reading History: The Koil Olugu and Srirangam in the Tamil Region by Ranjeeta Dutta
10. The Former Capital: Mughal Legacy in Agra by Shailaja Kathuria
11. Urban Profile in Late Medieval Punjab by Indu Banga
12. The Life of Dead Bodies: Corporeality and Memory in Pre-Independence Bombay by Jim Masselos
13. Memory, Space and History by Krishna Kumar
14. City-making in ‘Imperial’ and ‘Colonial’ Capitals: A Scaffolding for Urban History (Delhi and Calcutta, 1690–1857) by Atiya Habeeb Kidwai
15. Marsiya-e-Dehli-e-marhum: Mourning a Lost World by Swapna Liddle
16. The Asaf Ali Trial: A Little-known Episode in Delhi’s Nascent Nationalism by T.C.A. Raghavan
17. The Communist Party of India in Delhi: The First Decade by Amar Farooqui
18. Profiling Women’s Political Activism in Delhi, 1930s–1940s: Snippets from Indraprastha

College for Women, University of Delhi by Meena Bhargava

19. Nizamuddin, History and Conservation by Ratish Nanda

PART III: THE CHALLENGES OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

20. Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Learning to Teach History to Undergraduates at Jamia Millia Islamia

Prabhat Kumar Basant

21. Knowing Narayani by Sohail Hashmi
22. Making History Accessible: Connecting the Past with People Navina Jafa
23. Does Making (History) Textbooks Matter? Our Pasts and Possible Futures by Kumkum Roy

Notes on Editors and Contributors

Select Bibliography of Narayani Gupta’s Writings

Index