Arya is the Founder-editor of PublicTunes Media and the Chief Editor of Insaniyat Magazine. PublicTunes Media is an open resource for the history, arts, and culture of India, and also the network which produces Insaniyat Magazine. Arya has had a long stint in the field of Arts and Humanities, as he has served as an Art Director for various international festivals. Arya specializes in the history and culture of Delhi, and that is reflected in his work which follows a line of the eccentric Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb Culture. Arya has also transcended into different fields by venturing into travel writing, as his first travel-based account about a journey across India in only 540Rs, is all set to release later this year. A unique aspect of Arya is that he carves his work through oral accounts and stories of people living on the edge, while taking influence from the environment and a socio-cultural atmosphere which also inspires him to explore new themes and auras of history. History, heritage, art, people, culture, food, music, and travel is what Arya feeds on for his curiosity as a history buff.
The city of Delhi as we knew it in 1947, has fundamentally changed. Pre-1947, Delhi was the city of Shahjahanabad mainly and after the partition, the areas of Delhi were expanded, and with it came along a demographic change in the city, as the Urdu speaking population was decreased as most of them moved to…
Around 26kms from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, near the Jhelum river is a monumental jigsaw puzzle in stone. The place with an array of stones is called Parihaspura (the city of stones) which is one of Kashmir’s most marvelous ancient township built by a well-known king Lalit Aditya in the 8th century BCE. Aditya…
The Jama Masjid was completed in 1656, which was 16 years after the formal inauguration of the city of Shahjahanabad. The Jama Masjid, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was one of the first mosques to be built, which was to become the stereotypical design for all the upcoming mosques that came to be…
Built-in the 17th century, the Qila-e-Moalla (Red Fort) is credited as one of the most marvelous creations of the Mughals. Commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1638, when he decided to shift the capital from Agra to Delhi; the Red Fort was dismantled by the British, and today only 20% of it stands for…
The Safdar Jang tomb was built for Mirza Muqin Abul Mansur Khan, whom we today know as Safdar Jang. The tomb was built by his son Nawab Shuja-ud Daula in 1754. Mirza Muqin or Safdar Jang succeeded his father as the second Nawab of Awadh, and when Ahmad Shah became the Emperor, he was appointed…
On 20th September 1857, the British consolidated their control over Delhi and it was the end for many sepoys that were fighting the British. Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was the last leg of the Timurid line of succession, also threw the towels in, the next day by surrendering. 19th-21st September, 1857 were the most fateful days…
Delhi, the capital of India is known for its vibrancy, culture, and illustrious past. Delhi is built up of 8 cities, with the first one being Mehrauli built by the pioneers of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mamluks, or the Slave Dynasty as people recognize them. Today Mehrauli is not just a place known for its…
Our initial view of the traditional Kalighat paintings that emerged along the Kali Temple in South Calcutta comes from the early 19th century, but as every art form, Kalighat paintings also emerged out of people and places and their complex and dynamic relationship with the spaces in which the art form emerged. Rural Bengal has…
Bibi Zuleikha Saheba, the mother of Sultan ul-Mashaikh (chief of the saints), Mehboob e Illahi Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya is today known as Mai Saheba, and lies buried in the same room where she lived. Tracing her origins back to Central Asia, Mai Saheba’s parents Khwaja Ali and Khwaja Arab migrated to India during the Mongol…
As the later Mughals ascended on the throne and got coronated as emperors, the was a massive decline in the atmosphere of the court, as the pomp and glory that existed during the early Mughals had vanished. The state of affairs at Shahjahanabad was pathetic, and the buildings built by Shah Jahan were being neglected,…
