Full moon nights are the stuff romance is born for. Our own Delhi may not have a Taj Mahal and a horde of love-birds on nights of the full moon, but the city that embraces the ancient, the medieval and the modern by turns, is not short of sights to behold when the sky is lit up by a lamp of its own, the one that shines in reflected light.
At Humayun’s tomb, said to be the precursor of the Taj, you may not, in this age and time, find young birds crooning “Chaudhvin ka chand ho ya aftab ho”, but hang around a little longer.
Look around, see how the moon kisses the top of the dome, how its rays dissolve in the niches of the tomb, how even the grass basks in the gentle light.
Over at Purana Quila, not too far from the Abode of the Lord, young men and women face a quandary. The full moon with its petals of temptations brings them to its lawns, its walls, its stairs, not too far from Sher Mandal where Humayun fell to his death. Yet it is the Moon and its luminosity which prevents them from taking the next step, very much akin to the dilemma of Nargis and Raj Kapoor in the song “Dum bhar jo udhar muh phere…” in Awara .
It has been more than 60 years since Awara graced Moti cinema in Chandni Chowk but on the night of the full moon, one does not mind being a wanderer, a wayfarer. Talking of Moti, for many years there has been a market of music cassettes and CDs next to it. Once it was not unusual to hear the shops play “Aadha hai chandrama aur raat aadhi”. That was the age when the name of V. Shantaram helped sell a thousand box office tickets. V. Shantaram though completed his innings long ago. Now, the speakers in the market have gone on mute mode. It is only the mind that plays the best of songs. Like the inimitable Hemant Kumar and his “Na Yeh Chand Hoga Na Taare Rahenge” or Noor Jahan’s “Chandni raatein”, which recounts those heady days when the world sleeps and love birds stay awake. “Jab sab soye aur hum jaage….taaron se karein baatein”.
Too much of Old Delhi with its narrow lanes and damp havelis on Chaudhvin Ka Chand? Drive down to India Gate and its vast spaciousness. Look, gape and wonder how beautiful the monument that has a brick with the name of a soldier, looks in moonlight! For a moment forget the families out on a picnic, children running after a ball, look at the stars and the moon.
Too much history on a romantic night?
Drive up to a flyover and stop by the railings at the highest point. The philosophers might tell you that this life is like a bridge, and advise you to pass over it but do not build upon it. But on this night, be like the black cat in a dark room that the philosophers can never find. Standing on the flyover, by the Yamuna, watch the Moon tease the ripples of the river. Life is in a moment. Live it.
