She had white hair, playful eyes, and a dimpled smile. She was kind and friendly, even to strangers. And she wore starched saris. Among the oldest surviving members of Old Delhi’s small Christian community, Georgina Lazar died on Saturday evening, aged 94. She had been lately suffering from cough, stomach pains and fever.
Georgina’s life was successively centred on two historic Walled City churches. One church was built in the pattern of Italian Gothic style, the other took inspiration from Byzantine architecture.
St Stephen’s Church, near Old Delhi Railway Station, was the church closest to Georgina’s childhood home in Gali Bandook Wali. Following her wedding in 1952, she moved to her husband’s home, which is part of a tiny enclave nestled within the premises of Holy Trinity Church, near the Turkman Gate gateway. There she spent the rest of her life.
The serene compound of Holy Trinity Church is very much a part of Old Delhi, but shares nothing of Purani Dilli’s noise and chaos. The compound, instead, bustles with the discreet charms of a suburban neighbourhood: children play hopscotch and football, teenagers fiddle with guitars, and grownups gossip in groups. The compound also houses a school; many of the classrooms open into the churchyard.
During winter afternoons, Georgina would often sit in any of the sun-soaked corners of the sprawling yard. She would sometimes be nudged by the young folks of Holy Trinity to recall her childhood in Gali Bandook Wal. Georgina would say that her father, Dulichand, operated a leather-work stall, and her mother, Birjo, always dressed in a gown called sayo. The gentlewoman was particularly attached to the memories of her naani, who lived on the same street.
{{/usCountry}}During winter afternoons, Georgina would often sit in any of the sun-soaked corners of the sprawling yard. She would sometimes be nudged by the young folks of Holy Trinity to recall her childhood in Gali Bandook Wal. Georgina would say that her father, Dulichand, operated a leather-work stall, and her mother, Birjo, always dressed in a gown called sayo. The gentlewoman was particularly attached to the memories of her naani, who lived on the same street.
{{/usCountry}}Georgina had to bear the deaths of many loved ones, but, nevertheless, expressed gratitude for having the fortune to live, literally, in the shadow of her beloved church. She was also grateful to have eventually become her community’s grand old lady. Tripti Christopher, a community member who first told this reporter of Georgina’s passing, says Georgina “had seen almost every Christian kid born in Old Delhi.”
This Sunday morning, as the regular weekly service unfolds in Holy Trinity Church, Georgina is lying in a casket in one of the school classrooms that overlooks the churchyard. Georgina’s many children and grandchildren are sitting silently on the classroom’s small chairs. One of her daughters says: “Each time any of us would step out of the house, mummy would inevitably say—dhyan se jaana (go carefully).”
PS: Later in the day, Georgina Lazar was buried at the Indian Christian Cemetery in Paharganj, her body interred into her husband’s grave. The photo shows her daughters Daisy, Sweety and Neeru standing by her casket.
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