Ronald Vivian Smith is an author of personal experiences – a rare breed to find in a time

when even journalists hesitate to put pen to paper without scanning through the internet.

A definitive voice when it comes to some known and unknown tales and an inspiration to a

a new generation of city-scribes, Smith is a master-chronicler of Delhi’s myriad realities.

Among the capital most ardent lovers, Smith believes in the power of observation and interaction.

His travels across Delhi, most often in a DTC bus, examine the big and small curiosities – seamlessly

juxtaposing the past with the present. Be it the pride he encounters in the hutments of one of Chandni

Chowks age-old beggar families or his ambling walks around Delhi’s now-dilapidated cemeteries,

Smith paints with his words a city full of magic and history. This anthology features short essays on the

Indian sultanate, its fall after the British Raj, and its resurrection to become what it is today – the National Capital Territory of Delhi