The Mughals’ last stand

As the living heritage of Shahjahanabad slowly crumbles to dust, take a tour of those parts still standing

“I reckon they should build a wall around the city again,” quips Rakesh Kumar Jain. Jain, the owner of a haveli in Shahjahanabad, also known as Old Delhi, the area of the country’s national capital that was built in the Mughal era, may not be entirely joking.

Age-old havelis can be found aplenty in Old Delhi: they may not be as grand as those in Rajasthan or Old Lucknow, but their magnificence lies in their aura of tenacious elegance(Saad Ghani)

Around these two buildings, Dharampura Lane is a depressing sight. Some rickety havelis stand forlorn, bereft of dwellers. One haveli has been turned into a primary school

His beautifully restored haveli on Dharampura Lane in Chandni Chowk stands right opposite the haveli owned by Union Minister Vijay Goel. Goel has turned the haveli into a swanky heritage hotel, which obliquely mirrors the culture of bygone era. Jain’s own haveli has marvellously intricate artistry in its railings, veranda and doors, and its entrance and façade. “Can you see the figures of birds engraved on the railing?” he asks, pointing to the metal handrail of the first floor. “These days such craftmanship is hard to come by because such skilled workers no longer exist.”

Perhaps heritage hotels might be a good idea. Done well and bustling with residents, they may return this area to what it was before the colonial British blasted Shahjahanabad in retaliation for the uprising of 1857

Today, the streets and bazaars of the old city resonate with chaos, its vicissitudes of fortune discernible everywhere. Beaten to near dust by the British in 1857, it took a further thrashing in 1911 when the British transferred their capital from Calcutta to the place where the Mughals once ruled from – and built an entirely new city called New Delhi.

There is a rich profusion of well-maintained havelis in Sita Ram Bazaar, which were once inhabited by the natives of Kashmir

What homes remained after Old Delhi’s twin humiliations in 1857 and 1911 were taken over by refugee families who came from newly created Pakistan in 1947. These residents have no idea of the history of their homes. Ask them about the antiquity of their havelis and they give you perplexed looks.

There’s a street near Fatehpuri Masjid in Chandni Chowk, where once stood the mansion of Haider Quli who oversaw the Mughal artillery during the reign of emperor Muhammad Shah

But if you look closely, you’ll find a rich profusion of well-maintained havelis in Sita Ram Bazaar, in areas such as Kucha Pati Ram, which were once inhabited by the natives of Kashmir. Urdu Poet Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlvi’s ancestors were among the many Kashmiri Pandits who were summoned to Jahanabad (Delhi) by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, in 1648. His ancestral home still exists in Street Kashmiriyan. And Bazaar Sita Ram is named after one of his ancestors, Pandit Rairayyan Mirza Sita Ram Zutshi. “My ancestors knew 10-12 languages such as Turki, Persian, German, Awadhi, English, French and others. They were translators at the court of Shah Jahan,” he says. “We were given many jagirs in Delhi, Agra and Patiala by Mughal emperor Farrukhsiyar as well, and titles were bestowed upon us.” His sister’s children still live in his ancestral haveli, while Dehlvi himself has moved to Noida.

Entrances adorned with tracery comprising Persian motifs (Saad Ghani)

There’s a street near Fatehpuri Masjid in Chandni Chowk, where once stood the mansion of Haider Quli who oversaw the Mughal artillery during the reign of emperor Muhammad Shah. The street has many well-maintained havelis. Quli’s massive mansion was not far from where Zeenat Mahal would be built later — the palace which the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar built for his favourite wife. Like Zeenat Mahal, only the grand entrance and the front portion of Quli’s residence has survived.

The heritage property tag means that the property cannot be used for commercial purposes, nor can it be renovated in any way without permission from the authorities

At the end of this street — the whole of which once must have been Quli’s mansion — stands a haveli owned by Aggarwal brothers. The textiles merchants use the ground floor as their office. According to SK Aggarwal, the haveli is a notified heritage property on the Municipal Corporation’s list. “There are no benefits in the heritage tag. In fact, it is a pain,” Aggarwal says with a touch of scorn. “We have to take permission from the corporation even to get the smallest of work done.”

Shah Jahan’s treasurer’s haveli popularly known as Khazanchi ki haveli in Dariba Kalan is also in ruins (Saad Ghani)

Old Delhi’s havelis are none of Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) concern either. Romel Singh Jamwal, director (conservation) at ASI says, “We are doing our best for the heritage sites and monuments of national importance that we have listed as protected.”