In the by lanes of old Delhi is hidden a past of Mathurs of Delhi, which is mostly unknown to their present generation. WALK THROUGH THE Galis of Purani Dilli’ was organised for children from the Mathur Building. We were joined by few other friends. The children were introduced to the day to day life in old Delhi and the connections between their families and the place.
With hats, caps and water bottles about 20 of us tucked into two cars and an auto to get to Welcome Metro Station. On a fancy Metro rail ride from Welcome station we reached Chawri Bazaar.
Sites visited:
The first place visited was Indraprastha Hindu Girls School near Jama Masjid. The century-old school is located in a beautiful haveli built in 1857. Initiated by Annie Besant this first girls’ school in the country still stands strong with over 500 students. But the fact that excited our group most about the school was that the grandmother's and mother's of many of us studied here and their names still appeared on a board meant to display merit list near the courtyard. Founded on May 21, 1904, it was then called Indraprastha Kanya Shikshalaya. The haveli was owned by a rich theosophist and Kayastha, Lala Balkrishan Das. And accepting the challenge of bringing the girls was another theosophist and Kayastha Lala Jugal Kishore, who took it upon himself to convince parents to send their daughters to come to school. This Kayastha connection probably played a role in convincing the parents. And it is perhaps for this reason that most girls from the Mathur and Kayastha families go to this school till date when other options are available.
Apart from disseminating education, the school also offered a platform for freedom struggle. According to the school authorities, the Delhi branch of the Theosophical Society of India functioned from a room in the school. Indraprastha College, the city's first college for women, also began in the third floor of the school in 1924, before it was shifted to the Civil Lines in 1936. The building is three-storeyed and built around two courtyards. The entrance from the Jama Masjid is a pointed archway with plaster ornamentation; the rear entry is through an ornamental stone gateway. There are also taikhanas in this haveli, a typical feature of havelis from that era. But what sets this haveli apart is that the taikhana till date is in use, at this point as the music room. (The Hindu)
Unfortunately, because of the renovation work being undertaken this summer vacation, we were confined to the courtyard.
We then walked through Chipiwada to shop for typical Mathur accessories like chaump baindi (type of Bindi worn on festivals), Chaubandi Chudiyan (bangles considered auspicious, worn on weddings and festivals) and Chunri (a tie and die red saree printed in Rajasthani style worn on the wedding day by the bride and her mother. It is also worm on other auspicious occasions like karwa chauth and asthami). The sign boards outside these shops in Chipiwada proudly state “mathuron ki shadiyon ke sabhi saman yahan milte hain” (traditional accessories for Mathur weddings available here). Children bought bindis and bangles for their mothers.
Through the myriad lanes and by lanes the group moved towards Kacha Katra. Once owned by the Mathurs entirely, Kacha Katra now has two Mathur havelis. An old Mathur haveli at some point of time housed a temple of the diamond-studded Radha-Krishna moulded with gold. The riches have gone now, but the temple remains and a family of a priest owns the house now. Next to that house is another house that belongs to a Mathur who still lives there with his familiy. He invited all of us to his house and it was amazing to know that the family was related to more than three members of our group! So, therein we discovered the cross-ties of relationships that exist among Mathur families of old Delhi, that is the relationships of one family to another through blood ties and marriage.
From there we proceeded to Gali Kayasthan towards Cheera Khana which till a few years after independence was an area with almost 100% kayastha population. Here we visited Ashish and Tannu’s family house. (Ashish Mathur moved to the Mathur building little over a year back. He still maintains strong ties with Sheher. Ashish helped us a lot in organising and planning this trip. He was also our guide for the day). This house was built in the late nineteenth century. Ashish’s grandmother and relatives still live here. Despite the saultring heat we hung out on Ashish’s terrace for some time. From the terrace of this four storied house we could see the congested landscape of Purani Dilli. Ashish pointed out the drastic change this area has witnessed in last few years, “we could clearly see Jama Masjid and Old Delhi railway station from the terrace. Our house was the tallest but everything has changed in last ten years or so. The double storied havelis have now turned into multi storied commercial buildings” he explained. Ashish told us about the influx of “bangalis” in this area. “Sometimes more than 50 of them stay in a single house, they are dirty and make the neighbourhood dirty” he argued.
He wishes his family house is never sold. The deteriorating condition of the houses makes this place unlivable. He showed us some beautiful purane bartans (old/ antiquated utensils) stored in a loft for several decades.
Four stories high this house is built as a block around a central courtyard. Much like the other house we visited called Bagichi in Hardayal Street. Bought by Master Bhairon for rupees 600 over 150 years ago, Bagichi gets its name from the garden around which it was built. Bagichi was counted amongst the biggest havelis till it was partitioned in 1906. It is belived that before partition hockey matches were played here. Today there is barely any space for people to hang their clothes to dry in the courtyard. Bagichi is located in a street named after Lala Har Dayal a freedom fighter and Kayastha. Babli dada who lives at Bagichi is serious kite flier. He showed us a lovely collection of kites built over several years. We had lunch at Bagichi.. Bedhmi-aloo..n raita(dahi- curd with boondi in it) a typical dilliwala and Mathur cuisine.

After lunch we visited Ghalib ki Haveli in Ballimaran, where the great poet spent the last years of his life. The walk from Nai Sarak to this place through Patli Gali and Jogiwada is very interesting. Jogiwada is an area predominantly inhabited by Hindus and is segregated from Ballimaran by a door painted in the Indian tricolour. This ’precautionary door is indeed a disturbing one. It is a metal structure, which clearly delineates the Hindu and the Muslim sections in the area.
We also visited a Chitragupta Temple. Built almost 200 years ago and renovated in 1936, this temple is the only Chitragupta temple in the city. Near the temple is Sultan ki Chaat and Kulle wala. (see). We had really yummy and super spicey kulles. Kulles are a must in every Mathur function.
Other places visited by the group were Chunna Mal ki Haveli in Chandani Chowk, Sheesh Mahal, Dariba and Kinari Bazaar.
Overall it was a wonderful experience for the kids as well as for the organisers. Around 6 pm we all pushed ourselves into auto rickshaws and went back home.

 

(with inputs from aneesha mathur)