Delhi: Light, Shades, Shadows holds an academic interest as its contents cover the monuments of Delhi. It also stands apart as a narrative of the changing social fabric and landscape of the heart of India, telling the story of the Delhi that was.

Whether it is the narrow lanes of Old Delhi, partition and the dramatic days that followed, the River Yamuna in flood, the Delhi railway station or college life at Delhi University, Delhi: Light, Shades, Shadows captures the spirit of the capital city of India. Indeed, Dhruva N Chaudhuri has seen Delhi from close quarters. Son of the famous ‘Unknown Indian’, the late Nirad C Chaudhuri, Dhruva presents Delhi’s history in a vivid and natural way. Delhi: Light, Shades, Shadows holds an academic interest as its contents cover the monuments of Delhi. It also stands apart as a narrative of the changing social fabric and landscape of the heart of India. Here is a book that will prove to be nostalgic for some and absolutely fascinating for others. The photographs, legends and text combine to tell the story of a Delhi that was. It was adjudged the Best Book, 2006, in General Category by the Federation of Indian Publishers. ‘Few people are better equipped to write about the dramatic change in Delhi’s character than Dhruv Chaudhuri, son of Nirad C Chaudhuri. He came to Delhi in 1942, when his father rented a flat near Mori Gate. He never went to school, but learnt everything from his distinguished father. He took up photography as his profession, starting with a box camera before going in for more sophisticated instruments. He has recorded his impressions of the Delhi that was with beautiful photographs and lucidly written text in Delhi: Light, Shades, Shadows (Niyogi Books). I recommend this pictorial biography of the Delhi that was and what it became to all lovers of the city.’ Khushwant Singh Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 26.11.2005