Copyright thedelhiwalla
A door is gone. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ignorance can be kind, for sometimes there is no comfort in the truth. This piece of news unfolded some time ago, but without catching the notice of the world. The lingering ignorance kept a thing alive that was no longer alive. It was among Delhi’s most beautiful doors. See photo—snapped four years ago. The door is gone. The door was in Old Delhi’s Gali Badliyan, an alley so ordinary that only an unreasonably optimistic person would have explored it to seek an object of such profound beauty. The wooden door marked the entrance to a private house that had rust-coloured walls and a finely sculpted balcony. One of the members of the household’s extended family says that the door was dismantled more than a year ago, when the house was being razed down for a new construction. He says that the door was eventually sold away, suggesting that it is still intact wherever it might be. Nevertheless, the day the door was removed was full of sadness for the whole family, he says. The door was extremely tall, and extremely narrow. Its entire surface was sculpted with sceneries depicting legends and stories. One superbly detailed pane showed a hunter, with a moustache and hat. He was aiming his gun towards a lion. The lion was running after a deer. The deer was plunging into a ravine. Another pane showed a vase filled with flowers; the stalks of the flowers were disproportionately tall compared to the short vase. The panes at the bottom showed parrots. The aforementioned person says that one of his forefathers, who apparently built the house, was fond of hunting, and would keep a living tiger to guard the beautiful door. (It sounds like a lore, but this is Dilli, and anything is possible!) The facade of the old house additionally had a set of two smaller wooden doors. They were also finely sculpted, but had the misfortune to be too close to the main door, and could not command the attention they deserved. That the beautiful door is gone springs regret, but no surprise. The megapolis is urgently adapting to meet the needs of the moment. Throughout Delhi, old beautiful bungalows have given way to standard-issue apartment complexes. Throughout Old Delhi, old beautiful havelis have given way to “flat culture.” The doorway, and the house it fronted, eventually met the same kismet, replaced by a modern multi-storey. This afternoon, the site of the old door is unrecognisable. On its place stands three metal doors with overhanging cables. See other photo.
