4/5 Sahil Aata C. 4 months ago on Google
Just
past Delhi
Gate,
you
come
to
a
haveli
with
a
stone
doorway
adorned
with
intricate
floral
patterns.
Inside,
a
teak
doorway
leads
to
a
large
courtyard
where
a
nearly
century-old
charpoy
and
an
heirloom
brass
pot
catch
the
attention.
The
traditional
house
could
pass
off
for
any
well-preserved
haveli
of
old
Delhi.
Gopi
Singhal,
the
owner,
is
a
cloth
merchant
and
has
spent
many
years
conserving
this
ancestral
haveli
in Najafgarh in
southwest
Delhi.Yes, Delhi
Gate
and
havelis recall
the
lingering
old-world
charm
of
old
Delhi.
But
Najafgarh,
unknown
to
most
people,
is
also
a
hub
of
havelis.
Unfortunately,
the
town
which
bears
the
name
of
Mughal
official
Mirza
Najaf
Khan,
is
burdened
now
with
burgeoning
modernity
and
slowly
losing
its
heritage
character.Perhaps
the
most
striking
example
of
this
time-eroded
legacy
is
Delhi
Gate.
The
words
on
the
top
of
the structure now
call
it
the
Vad
Kishan
Lal
Duar.
The
old
gateway
is
so
completely
revamped
that
it
looks
like
a
contemporary
construction.
Sudheer,
who
runs
a
book
store
opposite
the
gate,
recalled
its
renovation
by
a
local
politician
two
decades
ago.
“Some
people
call
it
Delhi
Gate,
but
most
of
us
know
it
by
its
new
name,”
he
shrugged.The
gate,
which
has
a
plaque
to
commemorate
the
martyrs
of World
War
I,
is
covered
with
tiles
now.
Suraj
Kumar,
senior
conservator
at
Intach’s
Delhi
Chapter,
rued
that
far
removed
from
public
consciousness,
there
was
nobody
to
prevent
the
gateway’s
shabby
treatment.
“Remnants
of
its
old
self
are
visible
in
the
quartzite
stone
base
and
the
Mughal-favoured
Lakhori
bricks
interior,
discernible
at
the
spots
where
the
tiles
have
fallen,”
Kumar
pointed
out.
SHARE
FOLLOW
US
NEW
DELHI:
Just
past Delhi
Gate,
you
come
to
a
haveli
with
a
stone
doorway
adorned
with
intricate
floral
patterns.
Inside,
a
teak
doorway
leads
to
a
large
courtyard
where
a
nearly
century-old
charpoy
and
an
heirloom
brass
pot
catch
the
attention.
The
traditional
house
could
pass
off
for
any
well-preserved
haveli
of
old
Delhi.
Gopi
Singhal,
the
owner,
is
a
cloth
merchant
and
has
spent
many
years
conserving
this
ancestral
haveli
in Najafgarh in
southwest
Delhi.
Yes, Delhi
Gate
and
havelis recall
the
lingering
old-world
charm
of
old
Delhi.
But
Najafgarh,
unknown
to
most
people,
is
also
a
hub
of
havelis.
Unfortunately,
the
town
which
bears
the
name
of
Mughal
official
Mirza
Najaf
Khan,
is
burdened
now
with
burgeoning
modernity
and
slowly
losing
its
heritage
character.

Perhaps
the
most
striking
example
of
this
time-eroded
legacy
is
Delhi
Gate.
The
words
on
the
top
of
the structure now
call
it
the
Vad
Kishan
Lal
Duar.
The
old
gateway
is
so
completely
revamped
that
it
looks
like
a
contemporary
construction.
Sudheer,
who
runs
a
book
store
opposite
the
gate,
recalled
its
renovation
by
a
local
politician
two
decades
ago.
“Some
people
call
it
Delhi
Gate,
but
most
of
us
know
it
by
its
new
name,”
he
shrugged.
The
gate,
which
has
a
plaque
to
commemorate
the
martyrs
of World
War
I,
is
covered
with
tiles
now.
Suraj
Kumar,
senior
conservator
at
Intach’s
Delhi
Chapter,
rued
that
far
removed
from
public
consciousness,
there
was
nobody
to
prevent
the
gateway’s
shabby
treatment.
“Remnants
of
its
old
self
are
visible
in
the
quartzite
stone
base
and
the
Mughal-favoured
Lakhori
bricks
interior,
discernible
at
the
spots
where
the
tiles
have
fallen,”
Kumar
pointed
out.
Past
the
gate
and
the
statue
of
Jawaharlal
Nehru
lie
several
havelis.
Many
of
these,
such
as
the
old
haveli
adjacent
to
an
Arya
Samaj
Mandir,
have
just
the
Lakhori
brick
exterior
surviving,
the
thin,
flat
red
bricks
proving
their
Mughal
provenance.
This
is
where
Singhal’s
haveli
stands.
“My
home
is
150
years
old
and
is
still
stronger
than
most
new
houses,”
said
the
49-year-old
cloth
merchant,
who
claimed
that
his
grandfather
was
often
called
up
for
jury
duty
in
British
courts
prior
to
independence.
Singhal
remembers
how
people
mocked
him
when
he
decided
to
conserve
the
old
haveli.
“They
advised
me
to
spend
my
money
on
a
modern
house
instead,”
he
said.