A bespectacled, dhoti kurta-clad gentleman haggling over the price of fish in heavily accented Hindi — if that’s your idea of a typical Bengali, then most Dilliwallah Bengalis would definitely not fit into the frame.
As you find your way through the motor spare parts shops, leather goods showrooms, hawkers, carts and the general cacophony of Kashmere Gate, a narrow staircase welcomes you to the very different world of the Bengali Club.
As you walk along the corridor of the outer circle of Connaught Place’s K-block, a signboard above the stairs reads: “The Gidney Club: The All-India Anglo Indian Association (Delhi Branch)”.
It’s a hot Delhi afternoon and Philomena Berkeley, 79, listens to Song Sung Blue by Neil Diamond.
Anglo-Indians make up an essential part of the Raj’s story. Delhi, too, has its share of Anglo-Indians.
Seven students of The Indian School in south Delhi tell how their lives have shaped up in Delhi. HT writes.
On a cloudy morning in early March, Abhay Rajput is feeling nostalgic about the Delhi that was. Sidhartha Roy reports.
Century-old books, paintings and sketches of Delhi’s monuments—one man’s collection has it all. Sidhartha Roy
Rajinder Chand Katoch (61) is perhaps the only Delhiite who has never faced traffic snarls while driving on the Capital’s roads. But then he doesn’t drive just about any other car either.
In 1937, the Guptas from Sitaram Bazar, Chandni Chowk, decided to buy a portion of the upcoming Connaught Place and rent out the property.
When the Banerjees first moved to their new house near Connaught Place, there was no Connaught Place. The year was 1930 and this family of small-time Bengali businessmen, who had migrated to Delhi from Calcutta in the 1870s, wanted to leave the congested Walled City for more salubrious environs.
Delhiites of every generation have had a rather curious way of appreciating grand architecture — by spitting on the walls and throwing around filth.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. The unique quirks, characteristics and problems that we associate with New Delhi today, were very much present even 100 years ago.
Civil Lines, which served as a temporary Capital was also considered as a site for New Delhi
It took 20 years to build New Delhi and a few more years for its new residents to warm up to the Capital.