Bhopalnama

Bhopalnama captures the uniqueness, and often, the unique quirkiness, of the city of Bhopal not just in its history, but also in the everyday hubbub, in the pulsating vigour and liveliness of life. Anecdotes and events which otherwise would have remained punctuation marks, ignored and languishing in the annals of history, have been meticulously selected from the abundant historical material available.This book is not a pedantic scholarly research on Bhopal, but is a documented manifestation of the author’s love for it. It revisits many intriguing nuggets from the bygone life history of this magical city – its shimmering waters; its gentle hills; the reverberating walled city; the enigmatic darwazas; the mysterious havelis; the megalomaniac Pindari founder, Dost Mohammed; the magnificently successful matriarchy of the Begumat in a century otherwise replete with anarchy; the opulent grand Durbars, and the time when the visiting Prince of Wales suddenly went missing. A firangi siren who jolted the amourous pulse of a sleepy Bhopal of the forties, and even a rollicking royal ménage à trois to boot, there are tales galore to tickle every palate. There is more that reveals persons, places and things in the relatively contemporary existence of this Janus-faced city. This book is an effort to make people, particularly the younger generations, aware of the historic legacy of Bhopal, to embrace it and learn from its past failures as well as achievements, and to inculcate in them a sense of pride for their city.