Two influences coexisting in Deelhi.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

The world is watching three nations locked in conflict. For Delhi, the confrontation carries an unexpected intimacy. The cultures of two of these countries are deeply woven into the city’s life.

The American imprint is easy to spot. It flickers across OTT platforms through films and shows (Ross and Rachel!), lines the streets with coffee and burger chains (India’s first McDonald’s opened in apna Basant Lok!), and travels through family WhatsApp groups connecting Delhi homes to uncles and cousins in New Jersey and Silicon Valley. A village in Gurugram is in fact named after a US president.

Iran’s influence in Delhi is less conspicuous but far older. The United States emerged a few centuries ago; Iranian civilization stretches back millennia. For long stretches of history, Persian served as Delhi’s court language, and the city still bears traces of that era.

One significant figure linking Delhi and Iran is Abdul Qadir Bedil, a poet born in today’s Jharkhand who spent most of his life in Mughal-era Dilli, writing in Persian. Truth be told, Bedil is barely known in Delhi. But in Iran, the same Bedil enjoys a cult following, with literary societies devoted to his work across the country. His poetry so thoroughly expanded the expressive possibilities of Persian, coining phrases and metaphors that Iranian writers continue to draw upon to this day. As Delhi-based scholar Sharif Qasemi says, “Bedil did to Persian what Joyce did to English.” Bedil’s grave lies near Bharat Mandapam, rarely visited by Delhiwale (see photo with the Persian inscription on the tombstone).

Another towering presence is Delhi’s 19th-century celebrity poet Mirza Ghalib. Much of Ghalib’s Urdu and Persian work took the form of the ghazal, a poetic genre that originated in Iran, as historian Abbas Amanat notes in his book Iran: A Modern History. Ghalib, incidentally, prized his mastery of Persian even more than Urdu.

Iran’s imprint is also visible in Delhi’s physical landscape. The serene Lotus Temple is one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks. The marble structure, shaped like a lotus in bloom, serves as a Bahá’í House of Worship. The Bahá’í faith traces its origins to 19th-century Iran; its founder, Bahá’u’lláh, was born in Tehran in 1817.

A more somber reminder of Iran lies tucked behind Khan Market. It is the cemetery of the Parsis, followers of the ancient Zoroastrian faith that arose in Iran. Delhi’s living Parsis however tend to gather at the Delhi Parsi Anjuman near Dilli Gate, whose premises include the Dar-e-Meher—the only Zoroastrian fire temple in North India.

Finally, Persian has left its mark on everyday Dilli bhasha. Words such as bazar, zameen, dost, parinda, khana, khushboo, rang, subzi, and baraf all come from Persian, as scholar Mahdieh notes, who has long worked with the city’s heritage. She herself embodies this cultural bridge: the child of two Iranians, she was born and raised in Delhi.