Delhiwale: Man of time
Javed Khan sells and repairs secondhand watches in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. He values honesty, deep friendships, and dreams of living in a bungalow. His motto: Respect time.
The slim and dapper Javed Khan sells secondhand hand-wound Swiss watches as well as secondhand made-in-India HMT watches for a bargain. He also repairs watches and clocks. His silence-cloaked workshop in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti’s New Markazi Market is like a shrine to old time.
A Rampur native, the soft-spoken gent is always seen working intently over family heirlooms, mending this or that tiny part of some old Swiss. This slow-moving afternoon, over a homemade lunch of dal and roti, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences.
The principal aspect of your personality.
My zindagi (life) with watches and clocks.
Your favorite qualities in a person.
The skill to make others happy, and to have a honest heart.
What do you appreciate the most in your friends?
The ability to understand me, to have an idea of what I’m about to say even before I could utter out the first word, to determine the extent of my khushi (happiness)—or gham (sadness)—merely by looking at my face.
Your idea of happiness.
When I’m with this ek shaksh (particular person) whom I will not name.
If not yourself, who would you be?
I always wanted to be an actor. Now one of my two sons is an actor.
Where would you like to live?
In a kothi (bungalow).
Your favourite colour and flower.
Saanwla, chameli.
Your heroes/heroines in real life
My wife Aiysha. She died of cancer in 2015.
Your favorite food and drink.
Ghiya-tinda ki subzi with roti, chai.
The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with.
It is not a natural talent I aspire for, but for my stomach to be cured of irritable bowel syndrome.
How do you wish to die?
Chalte chalte (while walking, also implies—while carrying on with life).
What is your present state of mind?
I’m thinking of my weak stomach.
Faults for which you have the most tolerance.
When customers talk rudely… my heart hurts, I forgive them after a day or two.
Your motto in life.
Respect time.