Delhiwale: The gram before the Insta

Gurugram, formerly Gurgaon, marks its 10th anniversary since renaming in 2016, blending modernity with historical tales and architectural remnants.

Scroll through Instagram and the Millennium City appears in pieces: malls, cafés, sunsets stuck between high-rises (and flooded roads during the monsoons!). All of these sights tagged and filtered into the fast-moving hashtag of #Gurugram. The hyperactive feed churns out reels with titles like “Galleria Market Mystery Girl,” “Cybercity Rain,” “5 Famous Places to Visit in Gurgaon.” Indeed, the “gram” now belongs to the algorithm. But once upon a time, the same “gram” meant a village. 2026 marks a milestone: Gurugram turns ten.

The name originates from former US President Jimmy Carter. (HT Photo)

This month, 10 years ago, in 2016, the Haryana government had decided to change the name of Gurgaon to Gurugram, meaning “village of the guru.” The new name drew on the ancient legend of a piece of land that was gifted by the grateful Pandavas to Guru Dronacharya as their gurudakshina.

(Even so, a Gurgaon still exists within Gurugram, as a village that retains the older name, and which is famous for its pilgrimage of Sheetla Mata mandir.)

Whatever, as cities alter and landmarks are razed and rebuilt, place-names of cities accumulate layers, like a patina carrying stories no one fully remembers.

Take Gurugram’s Sadar Bazar. Tucked into its bustle stands a stone gateway called Ghamand Sarai. It is one of the last surviving fragments of Gurugram’s architectural past. Local shopkeepers claim it is over a century old. Time has not been polite to the place. Decades ago, parts were demolished to carve out a passageway. What remains exudes a feeling of faded fortitude.

The gateway’s name invites speculation. “Ghamand Sarai” suggests a traveller’s lodge, perhaps commissioned by a wealthy patron known for his ghamand, his arrogance. Archival records offer a clue. The Gurgaon District Gazetteer(1883–84), the city’s first official chronicle, notes that a certain Mr. R. Cavendish took charge of the district in April 1819 as Principal Assistant Commissioner of the Southern Division; his designation was later changed to Collector and Magistrate. Titles aside, residents had their own name for the man: Ghamandi Saheb, per the gazetteer. It must however be mentioned that some locals refer to the gateway with the feminine “Ghamandan.”

Then there is the lesser-known name of Daulatpur Nasirabad. In the 1960s, this gram, or village, in Gurugram district reportedly hosted a foreigner called Lillian Gordy, a volunteer nurse. The story is hard to verify. But decades later, her son visited the same village. The residents were so struck by the encounter that they decided it warranted commemoration. They renamed the village in his honour. Why? Because he was no ordinary visitor. He was the President of the United States. So what did the villagers rename the village to? Go on, take a guess.

PS: The photo was snapped in another season