The Silent Artist of Nizamuddin

Meet Om Pal, for whom the street outside Mirza Ghalib’s tomb is a canvas

It’s 7 am and Delhi’s historic Nizamuddin basti is slowly stirring to life. At this hour, a handful of dry leaves, sapped flowers and a mud-caked dog are the only ones on the street. Wait, there is someone else too—a man in rags sweeping away the remnants of the previous night’s devotion. He flashes a dazzling smile as sleepy flower sellers wave out greetings to him. Stories about him have become legends in their own right. There are not many in the basti who don’t know of 54-year-old Om Pal.

If he could talk, he would probably have brushed off all this fuss over him. But Om Pal was born with a hearing impairment, as a result of which he can’t speak either. Now, he communicates through his art. The early morning mist fades away and the dust settles to reveal intricate patterns on the ground right outside Mirza Ghalib’s tomb. Mosaic designs studded with materials such as buckles, dice, bottle caps and tiles. All created by Pal.

If you go down the street, you will notice arrows made of similar materials leading right up to the Nizamuddin dargah (Sufi tomb), close by. Even people who know him can’t fathom Pal’s inexplicable genius. “He is illiterate and has never studied art. All these designs come from within him. He is blessed,” says Mohammad Ismail, a flower seller and Pal’s friend. Piecing his life together is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. Everyone around him narrates a different aspect of his life—some about what his existence was like before he came to Nizamuddin, some about his attachment to the dargah and others about his everyday chores. 

One of the best authorities on Pal is Shakeel Hossain from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC). Hossain has been working in the area as part of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, which aims at improving the quality of life of people in the area and saving its rich culture and heritage. The project integrates conservation, socio-economic development and urban and environmental development objectives in consultation with local communities.

Hossain chanced upon Pal’s work while walking around the basti. Enquiring about the artist from the local chaiwallah and shopkeepers, he heard several versions of Pal’s life. One tale suggested that Pal came to Nizamuddin five or six years ago from Bihar. Back home, he used to work as a labourer on a construction site to support his wife and nine children. One afternoon, he fell down a building and lost his right arm. “I think the trauma of no longer being able to provide for his family forced him to run away. He caught the first train and came to Delhi. He felt a certain attachment to the dargah and that’s what brought him here,” says Hossain.

For years, he made a tiny section of the street outside Ghalib’s tomb his home. Having no other resources, Pal survived on alms from devotees who came to pray at the dargah. For the first time in his life, Pal felt unfettered, unattached to anything.  He had no past to reflect on and no future to worry about. He was living in the moment. Slowly, his art began to flower.

“We all think that, for him, creating these patterns was like decorating his home. Daily, he would clean the small space that served as his bedroom, kitchen and living room all rolled into one—and then begin designing the mosaic arrangement,” says Mohammad Ismail.

Having lived on the road for so many years, Pal has managed to touch several lives with his art. “We all get along with him; he appreciates a good sense of humour. Log sochte thhe ki woh paagal hai (people used to think he is crazy), but we always knew he was special,” says Javed, who owns a tea shop in the area. The only time that the usually cheerful Om Pal turned despondent was when fundamentalists in the area broke his design of a qila (fort). “That’s the only time I have seen him sob like a baby. He was inconsolable,” remembers Ismail.

This unusual set of companions share a great sense of camaraderie. Ismail has instinctively picked up sign language to communicate with Pal. He makes him laugh, acts as a critic and keeps an eye on him like a watchful brother. And when Pal greets him every morning with his toothless grin, it just makes his day. “Woh bhi road pe hai, aur hum bhi road pe. Baat isi tarah ho jaati hai (We’re both on the road, we communicate just like that),” grins Ismail.

Hossain shares Ismail’s enthusiasm about Pal and his art. “I was on such a high when I met him. Here was a true artist in front of me. He can’t speak, can’t hear, he is missing one arm and yet his devotion to art is unparalleled. He creates art not to feed his ego. He doesn’t want to exhibit his work in a gallery. He creates to answer a call from within,” gushes Hossain.

The AKTC has now employed Pal to assure him a chance to express himself as well as earn a livelihood. He will work with the AKTC for as long as he likes and use his art to beautify public spaces such as water points, streets, schools and the polyclinic in the Nizamuddin basti. “Mosaic has been an integral part of Indo-Islamic art. You can’t develop a basti with sandstone; a touch of the vernacular is needed. And who could be better than Om Pal, who already has a relationship with the area?” says Hossain. 

For the last two months, Pal has been creating mosaic designs around a tree that serves as a meeting point for people in the basti. He goes about it in a methodical way. The first half of the day is spent sourcing tiles and other materials from AKTC. He then arms himself with gloves, a chisel, hammer and cement, and begins work on the enclosure around the tree. As the shimmering patterns begin to emerge, his face settles into an expression of contentment. “All these compositions are his own. He is self-dependent. A little guy is supposed to help him, but more often than not Om Pal chases him away,” chuckles Hossain.

Pal refuses to be distracted by anything. When he is working, it is like he is one with his art. You might thrust a camera into his face or try to ask him questions, but he just carries on with his work as if you don’t exist. He works from 9 am to 6 pm with few breaks. A crowd of kids usually gathers around him, fascinated by the life that Om Pal breathes into his design. It seems as if this was the experience that Pal had been searching for. “Earlier he would not be able to sleep at night. But ever since he started working on this project, he sleeps soundly,” says Ismail.

If you walk around, you will see some signature patterns in his designs—wheels and floral arrangements. “Though he is unlettered, he loves going through magazines. He then picks up letters and numbers that he likes and uses them in his designs,” says Hossain. As of now, his favourite word seems to match his disposition, and that happens to be ‘happy’.

“There is a passion in him that is so inspiring. I just wonder how many other artists like him, hidden behind crowded curtains of the city, are just waiting to be discovered, to be given their place in the sun,” adds Hossain.

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