Between a Rock and a Hard Place? - An Evening Walk at Safdarjung Tomb

They say that even the setting sun possesses defiantly radiant glory. Staring at the late-Mughal, mid-18th century magnificence of Safdar Jung's mausoleum may deceive equally - perhaps its very grandeur raising the most questions. Why would the last noteworthy example in the capital of a funerary style entirely synonymous with a dynasty house the grave of a political 'outsider' ? Who was this 'outsider' and how do these definitions change over time ? What dictated the politics of monument-building in a Dehli 'between empires' and a neighbourhood between divergent spiritual poles ? And, in a century less studied and privileged than either it's predecessors or successors, and overwhelmingly characterized by decline, strife, invasion and plunder, what sources of prosperity and 'success' could fuel such ambitious construction ? For this, a pleasant evening and much more, join us this Saturday, the 25th of February!