Chandni Chowk Calling

SHAHJAHANABAD, OR Old Delhi, is a storied neigh­bourhood in Delhi. Built in the second half of the 17th century by Shah Jahan, when he moved the Mughal capital from Agra to Delhi, the neighbourhood contains layers of history. Today those who don’t live there, perhaps, wander into its congested lanes lured by its world-famous food and monuments like Jama Masjid and Red Fort. What gets lost in these trips often are the remarkable havelis of the neighbourhood that have long been forgotten by history.

These havelis—with whimsical names such as Zafar Mahal, Zeenat Mahal and Haskar Mahal—lie today in a derelict condition and are hazardous to enter.

But a slow and concerted effort is being made to restore a few of these havelis to their original glory. Entrepreneur Atul Khanna is at the forefront of this movement, restoring two havelis— Neem Haveli and another that houses the Kathika Cultural Centre (KCC).

Both the havelis were in a dilapidated condition, unattended and uncared for till recently. Situated in Imli Mohalla, a visitor would need to walk through the packed streets of Old Delhi to find themselves in front of the havelis. But the interiors tell a different story. Khanna and his organisa­tion have tried to maintain the charm and antiquity of the old havelis, while repairing and maintaining the run-down and peeling ceilings and walls.

KCC is not only a restored haveli, it has also been turned into a cultural centre in Old Delhi. And Khanna is proud of it. “Everyone needs a calling,” Khanna tells Open. “When I turned a certain age, I felt I should follow my heart. I enjoyed heritage properties. I thought I should do some dil ke kaam [things one loves].”

Khanna says he heard his calling when he visited Shekhawati in Rajasthan and noticed abandoned havelis. The Marwaris who built the havelis had planned to stay there but their trades took them to port cities like Calcutta and Bombay. A few abandoned havelis were then bought and restored by Khanna. “I felt there was a huge potential to develop these havelis into heritage hotels,” he says.

Khanna was moved by a newspaper article about an abandoned haveli in Old Delhi, his ancestral home. “I came to Old Delhi looking for the haveli that was mentioned in the article, and I was lucky to take over the havelis and restore them and bring them back to life.” And thus was born the Kathika Cultural Centre and the Neem Haveli.

The project took eight years to be completed, says Khanna, laughing and adding that he did not expect it to take that long. Besides Khanna, former MP Vijay Goel is passionate about giving Old Delhi its charm back and has restored two havelis—Dharampura and the Golden Haveli—besides the Mirza Ghalib Haveli, now a memorial dedicated to the renowned poet.

Ooditi, co-founder of Vayusukta, an organisation that works to “bring back the charm” of old neighbourhoods as­serts that renovation of such old havelis is not a common trend in the walled city. She says Neem Haveli has many stories, for instance about the migration of Kashmiris. Her friend, Taksh, a stylist, is a Kashmiri migrant and it is his first visit to the haveli, which was then holding one of its cultural events.

During the Deepavali week, KCC went with the theme of Halloween, which is celebrated on October 31. A heritage walk was organised that began at the Feroz Shah Kotla Fort, popularly considered a home of djinns, and culminated at KCC, where Khanna was engrossed in decorating the venue prior to the arrival of guests. With an ever-lasting smile, he continued to put up decorations, even once guests had arrived. Dimly lit to create the vibe of a terrifying night, KCC soon resembled a haveli out of a horror movie.

In general, both the havelis have unique designs. KCC’s first room is filled with items that give a vintage look. Go­ing further inside, you will come to the courtyard, the centre stage for events, that has been refurbished to resemble a scene straight out of a Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie. The Neem Haveli, in contrast, is much more grounded to its original design. The courtyard has a large neem tree, giving the place its name, and is sur­rounded by an open dimly lit hall.

Vidyun Goel, the daughter of Vijay Goel, says Dharampura is not a work of renovation but it’s a restoration. With a smile, but also with conviction, Vidyun, who manages the daily affairs of the haveli, explains that a renovation is when the main structure is torn down and reconstructed. On the other hand, restoration is when the structure is kept as it was but repaired, she explains while showing then and now photos of the haveli. “We did not tear down the struc­ture but improved it,” Vidyun says.

The path to Dharampura or the Golden Haveli is as twisted as the rest of Old Delhi. But as you are about to reach the heritage hotels, the streets begin to change. Unlike most of the walled city’s narrow lanes, the path to the hotels is clean and maintained. Vidyun says her father (who has twice represented Chandni Chowk in the Lok Sabha) thought it wasn’t enough to just restore the haveli but it was also necessary to maintain the lanes connecting it too.

Dharampura stands apart from the rest of the havelis in the area. A beautiful tall gate welcomes guests inside to one of its two courtyards—the mardana and the janani—where people mingle, as classical music plays in the background. The ground floor houses a restaurant and a century-old treasury in which visitors would earlier store their valuables. The upper floors are hotel rooms for the guests and the roof provides a panoramic view of the Red Fort, Chandni Chowk and the neighbourhood.

Everyone needs a calling. When I turned a certain age, I felt I should follow my heart. I enjoyed heritage properties. I thought I should do some things one loves, says Atul Khanna, conservationist

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The haveli, before it was renovated, had 60 living rooms but now has 14. Vidyun explains that the original haveli did not have 60 rooms but the rooms were created in a makeshift fashion by those who occupied the place later. “For example, the railings [on the first floor] have been put in new,” she says. “But the previous railings were not the original ones put up by tenants and owners who occupied the building. These newly installed railings have what the most common design was when the haveli was built.”

Just like Khanna, Goel didn’t expect it would take him so long to restore the haveli. He expected it to be done in six months but the project took six years. Vidyun quips that her father’s project was taking so much time that it had got­ten on her mother’s nerves. But for Goel, it was his passion.

“Heritage is in my heart,” he says. “I was very fascinated by Chandni Chowk. I contested twice from Chandni Chowk and won. So, I know its nooks and cran­nies. It is a heritage city, but it is dying day by day. This is because no govern­ment is taking any interest in preserving our heritage.”

Heritage is in my heart. I was very fascinated by Chandni Chowk. I contested twice from Chandni Chowk and won. So, I know its nooks and crannies, says Vijay Goel, former minister and conservationist

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Goel has been trying to rejuvenate the walled city for many years. In 1998, he or­ganised the Chaudhvin Ka Chand festival to celebrate the heritage of the city and its historical grandeur. During the festival, besides performing arts, a stretch of 2.5kms from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Mosque was lit with torches and the street lights turned off. A whopping 5 lakh people attended the festival.He has also constructed the Chatri Lal Goel Heritage Park on a 4-acre plot in front of the Red Fort, and is planning a toy museum.

Both Khanna and Goel say that Shajahanabad needs to be restored to its old glory. But there are few takers, as the projects can be expensive and time consuming. Historian Swapna Liddle says that the restoration work is a great example of how heritage protection can lead to rejuvenation of a neighbourhood but agrees with Khanna and Goel that more needs to be done.

“I would love to see a future where not only boutique hotels and cultural centres, but private residences, bed and breakfast accommodations, and even shops and restaurants in Shahjahanabad will be run out of restored havelis,” she says. “Such a pattern of development is sure to bring greater footfall, giving greater returns to owners and investors, and generate more business locally.”

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Neelabh Raj