Spices, Stories and Song: A Festival Maps the Many Worlds of Delhi

Khari Baoli, located in Old Delhi, is intrinsic to the city’s culinary history—a market in existence since the 16th century and today’s one of Asia’s biggest spice markets of its kind. This weekend, this historic market becomes the inspiration for an installation by Edible Archives at New Delhi’s Travancore House. Chef Anumitra Ghosh Dastidar, who helms the award-winning restaurant and arts endeavour, brings hand-picked spices from the market for guests to explore spice mixes, create their own blends and taste meals recalling the city’s gastronomic legacy.

The installation is one of the highlights of ‘Kahaani Dilli Ki’—a two festival celebrating the history, culture and communities of Delhi—its story of spices apt for a city that Aishwarya Jha describes Delhi as a melting pot like no other. “You can’t say that Delhi belongs to this community, or that, because Delhi belongs to everyone. As we say, ‘Dilli Dilwalon Ki’,” says Jha who has curated the festival with Sara Abdullah Pilot. Jha and Abdullah are co-founders of Indophile, a multidisciplinary initiative that aims to showcase cultural stories of India and “present it to people in an accessible and engaging manner.” The concept emerged from a vision of the duo’s Advait Vedanta teacher, who they refer to as Guru Maa, and the desire to preserve lesser known community stories and material culture.

The debut edition of Kahaani Dilli Ki, offers a mix of performances, exhibitions, panels and experiential events. Abdullah says that the idea is to transport visitors to a different world. “As people meander through the crafts bazaar, they will not only be buying things that catch their eye but also come across someone doing calligraphy or writing old-fashioned letters. They will be able to see and, if they are hungry, there will be food from communities that even those of us who live in the city don’t always have the opportunity to sample. The culinary section, in association with The Lalit, will trace the city’s Mughal, Kayastha and Baniya recipes with a mix of street foods and family recipes recreated by home chefs. The exhibitions and heritage experiences will archival photography & photo booth by Mahatta Photo Studio and Rathin Mitra’s Ink & Empire showcase. A series of panels and conversations will bring the likes of William Dalrymple, Swapna Liddle, Simran Lal, Ratish Nanda and several others in conversations about Delhi. The intention is to have people from all walks of life, adds Abdullah—people working in fashion, historians, authors, architectures, “all sorts of people who are connected to Delhi in their own way and will speak from their perspective.” ‘Sheher ke Gaon’, a panel featuring Dr Ekta Chauhan, Anica Mann and Gagandeep Singh with Dr Hugo Ribadeau Dumas, will posit Delhi as a “city of villages” while the session titled ‘Diplomatic Delhi’ will have Diana Mickevičienė, Ambassador at Embassy of Lithuania in India, and Kevin Kelly, the Irish Ambassador to India, speaking of their experiences of the city.

Among the performances, Priyanka Sharma and troupe will present a street theatre performance titled Phoolwalon Ki Sair on day one followed by a Kathak recital by Gauri Diwakar and a musical performance by Deveshi Sahgal. Sonam Kalra and Indians are lined up for the final day’s performance along with Saeed Zafar Khan, the Delhi-based sitarist who will showcase the musical tradition of the Dilli gharana. “We wanted to bring together names, who are closely associated with Delhi and its history, as well as communities and people who are not so well-known but deserve a platform to shine,” Jha adds.

It is an ambitious undertaking that has expanded with community engagement. Abdullah says that many people reached out to seek how they could be part of the event. “The coordination and getting it together has been challenging, but we want to give that platform to people. The festival grew bigger and bigger, which is wonderful.” Following this debut edition, Abdullah and Jha are aiming to create more experiential events under the aegis of Indophile, from Kahaani editions in other cities to curated events centred on food or textiles.

 (Kahaani Dilli Ki be held at Travancore House, New Delhi, on February 14 and 15.)