Delhiwale: Inside the Urdu publisher’s personal ‘tree house’

Asif Fehmi’s office has a Neem tree growing inside it. The tree goes up through an opening in the ceiling and you can spot it from Jama Masjid, a few buildings away.

A life spent reading under a Neem tree — stuff dreams are made of. Asif Fehmi, owner, publisher, editor, and designer of the monthly Din Duniya Urdu magazine, lives that dream. His office, a small room, is like no other. A majestic Neem tree grows inside it.

The office is part of his family mansion in Old Delhi’s Chatta Sheikh Manglu. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

Mr Fehmi inherited the 95-year-old magazine from his father. The office is part of his family mansion in Old Delhi’s Chatta Sheikh Manglu. The tree goes up through an opening in the ceiling and you can spot it from Jama Masjid, a few buildings away.

“The tree must be 100 years old as I’m 63,” says Mr Fehmi. Initially, a tin shed sheltered the magazine’s printing machine. The room was built in 1980. Mr Fehmi turned the place into his office seven years ago. He now gets his magazine printed from a small press nearby. Looking at the tree, he says, “The Neem looks beautiful… but I don’t notice it any longer because it is a part of my life.”