Delhiwale: This way to Tiraha Bairam Khan

Tiraha Bairam Khan, a vibrant Old Delhi intersection, blends history with daily life, featuring diverse stalls and a towering peepal tree.

As part of our ‘Walled City dictionary’ series, that is chronicling every significant Old Delhi place.

A rare Delhi Tourism plaque planted on the site. (HT Photo)

Tiraha Bairam Khan is a tiraha, a three-way avenue. One crowded passage goes to Chitli Qabar, one goes to Kucha Chelan, one goes to Dilli Gate.

The center of the intersection is most fascinating, ringed by a mishmash of sights, sounds and colours. It comprises of a chhole kulche stall administered by Umesh Kumar, a tall letter box unlocked daily by the postman at 4pm to pick up the post, veggie stalls of Arshad and Irfan respectively, a fruit-and-clothes stall owned by Taufeeq (the stall was founded 50 years ago by his father, the late Syed Ahmed), and a display counter of plastic bins administered by vendor Amit.

Overlooking the intersection is a ring of brick-and-mortar bazar businesses—including Lakshmi Confectionery Shop and Al Sikander Confectionery Shop.

The Tiraha’s living icon is Raju, the pavement fruit-seller who has been hawking at the intersection for more than 30 years. But neither he, nor anyone else at Tiraha Bairam Khan is able to give any gyan on Bairam Khan. No problem! A rare Delhi Tourism plaque planted on the site informs that hundreds of years ago the area was a part of the family estate of Mumtaz Mahal, the queen for whom her emperor-husband built the Taj Mahal. The forgotten Bairam Khan belonged to her illustrious family.

In any event, the exertions of contemporary living leaves no room to care for history’s super-rich. Throughout the day, daily-wage painters and carpenters gather on one side of the intersection waiting to be hired by clients for day-long assignments. One afternoon, house painters Madan Lal, Gopal, Jagdish and Malik were sitting on their haunches, holding onto their paint brushes and paint buckets, and got up only for a quick lunch at “Sanjay ka Hotel.”

Finally and above all, Tiraha’s signature landmark is its great peepal tree. Standing at the heart of the intersection, it soars high into the air, its branches bending towards upper-floor balconies and windows. One veggie seller jokingly suggests that generations of vendors who enjoyed the peepal’s shade over decades and centuries are now enjoying a permanent sleep underground at Delhi Gate Qabristan.

By midnight, the Tiraha establishments wind down their businesses, leaving the peepal to rest in silence.