Delhiwale: This way to Gali Good Luck
Kucha Chelan in Old Delhi, once a site of massacre, now features Good Luck businesses and serene spots, reflecting a rich yet tumultuous history.
Sorry, the headline is misleading. This Old Delhi street isn’t Gali Good Luck, although it really should be known by this name. This street has Good Luck Tailors (see photo), Good Luck Tea Stall and Good Luck Hair Salon.
The place is actually Kucha Chelan, and it actually has a very bad luck past. Following the 1857 uprising, the avenging British massacred 1,400 citizens here. Those martyrs must have comprised some of Old Delhi’s wealthiest gentry, for Kucha Chelan’s name is said to have evolved from Chehel Amiran, forty wealthy men.
Today, no sign of that violent history exists. All is serene along the lane, the serenest aspect being a small gurudwara. Every morning, an elderly lady is seen seated cross-legged beside the holy Guru Granth Sahib, alone chanting the prayers. Her meditative singsong voice streams out into the silent lane, empty during this early hour. By late morning, a small stretch of the street, close to the gurudwara, becomes the karambhoomi of Bhai Naeem. His street establishment is Kucha Chelan’s living heritage.
As any Purani Dilli ghumakkar will attest, the neighbourhood kalai wale are the Walled City’s endangered specie. The traditional coppersmiths used to gloss up old faded copper/brass utensils with new coats of tin.
Bhai Naeem happens to be one of those few remaining kalai wale. All day long, he sits by the crowded street-side, busy at work, surrounded by his punkha machine, bhatti and sandasi, and his newly polished utensils glowing brilliantly.
Otherwise, the Kucha stays submerged in dull shade, crammed tight with shops and residences, veined with numerous side alleys, each a self-contained universe.
One side alley—Gali Mandir Wali--is lined with a book binding workshop, two tailoring units, a travel agency, a chai stall, a computer institute, a beauty parlour, many houses, a dead peepal tree, and Shri Nav Durga Mandir. The mandir gives its name to the alley.
Another side alley, Gali Salim Muhammed Shah, is very small, but is home to the area’s stateliest residence. Qaiser Manzil is more than a hundred years old; its beautiful porch frequently gets chirpy with the soft melodious gossiping of its resident sparrows.
These days though, the main gossip among the Kucha’s humans is about the fresh news from Bhai Bhoore Hotel. The eatery has hiked the rate of its single roti to six rupees and of its double roti to nine rupees.