#qasbah

View of a lane in qasbah Bilgram with some remnants of the past. 

“The architectural remains and ruins of of mosques, havelis (mansions), imambaras (enclosures for Shia rituals), madrasas (Islamic schools), and darwazas (gates) still tell us stories of an eventful, if not glorious, past. Pallid papers, furbished and embellished genealogies, faded portraits, termite-eaten furniture, Victorian souvenirs, hanging frames made of antlers, the narrow lanes of grain bazaars, and restored old buildings speak of a cosmopolitanism, a commingling of different cultures in time and space. While qasbahs reflect the syncretistic side of Indian society, they can also serve as windows for understanding larger worldviews, tensions, and segmentations defining Indian social and Muslim life.”

From Locale, Everyday Islam, and Modernity: Qasbah Towns and Muslim Life in Colonial India by M. Raisur Rahman