Celebrating Delhi !

SURAJ KUND CRAFTS MELA - 23RD YEAR

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Suraj Kund Crafts Mela - The annual venture of the Haryana Tourism was inaugurated by the President of India - sans the Haryanvi 'nagada' players immaculately dressed in white dhoti kurta and wearing 'kesari' turbans and garlands of marigold flowers and the other folk musicians and dancers from the different States of India. Welcome to the advent of the 23rd Spring season of the fair was all very silent due ot the national mourning on the demise of the ex-President of India, Shri Venkataraman. Every year a State of India is chosen as the theme of the Mela. This year, Madhya Pradesh has been chosen as the theme. Madhya Pradesh, dotted with world heritage sites such as Khajuraho, Sanchi and Bhimbetka and other archealogical treasures like Mandu, Orchha and Gwalior, is also the land of The National Parks of Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Panna. Tigeres and many other wildlife species find home at these amazing National Parks. This vast plateau of Central India lies in the cradle of Satpura and Vindhya mountain ranges with the lush valleys and the rivers Narmada and Sone bringing serenity to the land. The capital city of Bhopal and the hillstations of Panchmarhi and Shivpuri are an ideal and authentic tourist attractions.

Madhya Pradesh offers a fascinating range of handicrafts. Chanderi Sarees with it's delicate weaves, is a work of captivating handicraft exhibiting hereditary skills and painstaking.

The tribal traditions and the rich folk of Madhya Pradesh are minefested in the many joyful celebrations and fairs and festivals of it's colourful people.

As a part of the 'Incredible India' campaign to attract tourists from all over the world, Pranay Shrivastave has coined some catchy lyrics that have been tuned to a catchier tune in the form of a poem, for Madhya Pradesh Tourism. It has been sung, both in Hindi and English. Here are the lyrics (in Hindi and English) for the readers of my blog.

तिल देखो ताड़ देखो, आँखें फाड़ फाड़ देखो !
शेर की दहाड़ देखो, मार्बल का पहाड़ देखो !
चंदेरी के साड़ी देखो, बांधवगढ़ की झाडी देखो !
उज्जैन के संत देखो, बोद्धिक महंत देखो !
बुधा के निशान देखो, गीता और कुरान देखो !
इंदौर की शान देखो, कैसे बनता पान देखो !
खजुराहो श्ल्प्कारी देखो, भिम्भेटका कलाकारी देखो !
आँखें मींचे मींचे देखो, आँखें फाड़ फाड़ देखो !
सतपुरा की रानी देखो, भोपाल राजधानी देखो !

राजधानी में झील देखो, बहता पानी झिलमिल देखो !
धरमों के महफिल देखो, हिंदुस्तान का दिल देखो !
हिंदुस्तान का दिल देखो, दिल देखो !! दिल देखो !!!

The English version, it goes like this :

See a man, see a tree; eyes open, open see !
roaring tiger you'll see;

marble mountain come and see!
Chanderi famous for saree;
Bandhavgarh for greenery !
See the Royal Mandu Mansion;
See jungle go into acion !
Look Cheetal look; look bison look;
look swamp deer look, look peacock look !
Take a closer look at Shivpuri,

See silver train go chook chook,chook!
look look look, look look look!
See holy men of Ujjain,
and some, who are not yet, man !
The Buddha and his wisdom, The Indore, Royal Kingdom !
Check out Gita and Koran, And then go and eat a paan !
Khajuraho eroticity; Bhimbhetka graffitti.
Prehistoric University, don't shut your eyes and see,
It will open your eyes, you see !
Panchmarhi, the Queen of Hills;
Bhopal capital full of thrills !
Take a dip in Bhopal lake; so cold, you'll shake !
Don't stop at the start of India;
Welcome, to the 'Heart of India' !!!!

THE SMELL OF VINYL AND THE SOUND OF MUSIC !

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:34:00 +0000

This post may look like a sequel to one of my earlier posts "For Records' Sake". But in all earnest, it is not. Mr. Lakhwant Singh an engineer by profession and in the business of building bodies for buses, saw the post that I had done for Shah Music Centre. He called me up one day and asked if I could come over to his place as he had something similar to show to me, that I had done for the Shahs. Like the Shahs, Lakhwant Singh too is a collector of vinyl records of the yesteryears. But the similarity ends there. Unlike Shahs - who have been into collecting records for three generations and are into the business in a hardcore way - Lakhwant Singh does it purely for the passion and pleasure of it. It all started during his hostel days at Pant University,where he was pursuing a degree in engineering. He bought his first 78 rpm record of 'Udan Khatola' to listen to the song 'Na Toofan Se Khelo Na Saahil Se Khelo, Mere Paas Aao Mere Dil Se Khelo'. He shelled out two-and-a-half rupees for it solely for the listening pleasure. Hardly did he imagine at that time that collecting records would become a passion for him. While other fellow students were collecting stamps and coins as a hobby, Lakhwant gradually developed the hobby of collecting records. Today, after five decades, Lakhwant has almost all the hindi film and non film records released so far. Apart from Hindi numbers, Lakhwant has a huge collection of old Punjabi records too.

An ardent music lover Lakhwant swears by the quality of sound of vinyl. According to him, vinyl records might have long ago vanished from the shelves of music shops throughout the world, surpassed in quality and convenience by cassettes and compact discs. As older recordings are transferred onto the newer mediums, one might think that progress has plied its logical course. But lost in the grooves of those unwieldy wax discs is the treasure trove of valuable heritage. This seemingly inevitable march toward the digital future has prompted a widespread misunderstanding; while digital media is undeniably more convenient than its analog equivalent,it is by no mans guaranteed to be superior. And there's no better example of this than the vinyl record. This 'dead' technology offers the potential for sound quality that's far superior to what one hears from a CD or MP3 players, so much so that the joys of vinyl are being redicovered by a new generation of music fans. Had this not been the case, Yash Chopra, in this era of digital sound, would not have come out with the vinyl version of the music of two of his great works, 'Dil to Pagal Hai' and 'Veer Zaara'.

There are times when you can feel and smell the music coming from the vinyl record, especially, if live musicians were playing at the time of the vinyl recording. (Like it was done when Lata Mangeshkar performed live at Albert Hall London in 1974 and Naushad had conducted the orchestra). It retains a retro appeal and a visceral aural aesthetic that an endless stream of bits and bytes will never be able to equal.

Apart from being a music lover, Lakhwant is a historian and encyclopaedia of sort as far as trivia of anecdotes and events that had happened while making of various films and recording of various songs, is concerned. While playing a record on his old and favourite Garrard 301 turntable, he pleasurably narrates interesting incidents that took place while making of that film. For instance, while playing a record of 'Sholay' he told about a track of Qawwali which was recorded for the film but was chopped off as the film had already become too lengthy. Lakhwant Singh then played that eight minute track which was sung by Kishore Kumar, Bhupender, Manna Dey and Anand Bakshi (the famous song writer who also wrote songs for Sholay). The Qawwali, "Chaand sa Koi Chhehra na Pehloo Mein Ho, To Chaandni ka Mazaa Nahin Aata, Jaam Peekar Sharaabi Na Gir Jaaye to Maikashi Ka Mazaa Nahin Aata", was picturised at Soorma Bhopali's shop.
(CLICK HERE FOR SOME MORE IMAGES AND TRIVIA)

Old English records also are a part of his vast library. He proudly displays a rare collection of a set of thirteen LPs of Beatles' records, which were released in a hard bound pack with the signatures of the Fab Four - John Lenon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey) - on the pack. It's a rare piece of collector's item, nearly impossible to find.

Andy Williams, Billy Joel, Cliff Richard, Micheal Jackson and many more pop stars' of 50s and 60s add to the collection of Lakhwnat Singh's treasure trove.

Among these is one particular record of Cliff Richard - CLIFF RICHARD AND THE SHADOWS - a rare red coloured vinyl 12-track Odeon label stereo LP made in Japan, complete with near impossible to find 3/4 length 'hankake obi strip' - A stunning addition to any Cliff collection.

Apart from the Hindi, Punjabi and English records, Lakhwant has a huge collection of Pakistani films and non-films records. Ranging from the rendition old and all time stalwarts like Mallika Pukhraj, Mehdi Hasan and Sabri Brothers to the not so old Mussarat and Munni Bai

The glossy picture cover sleeve of Lakhwant's records remains in excellent condition with just minor creasing around the perimeter and a very slight ringwear impression on the covers (considering that some records are as old as forty years). The curved flipbacks are secure, there are no seam splits and distinctive pinched-edge spine is strong, with clearly legible print along the length. And to maintain all the collection of records, he is ably assisted by his disciple Gurmeet Singh and nephew Ramanjit Singh

(This post in no way is a comparison between the collections of Shah Music Centre and Lakhwant Singh. Shahs would always be 'SHAHS' as far as the collection of records is concerned. Lakhwant in his own esteem is passionate about the collection - Shahs are 'SHAHENSHAH' and 'SINGH IS KING' !

FAREWELL, JUMBO !!

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 13:37:00 +0000

So, Anil Kumble, the "Jumbo" of the Indian cricket, has bid farewell to the game. The highest wicket taker for India chose his favourite hunting ground, The Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi, to call it a day. Nine years ago, it was on the same ground when Anil Kumble had created a Jumbo history by bowling out all the ten players of the visiting Pakistan team - all alone by himself !! Academically, a trained mechanical engineer, Kumble discovered early the virtues of precision and accuracy, which he put to telling effect on the field. Savour this! Ball one.... the batsman fumbles trying to play defensively. Reaction : the batsman doesn't know where did the ball go after pitching and Kumble constantly looks with perched lips at the spot where he pictched the ball. Ball two ..... lands a couple of millimeters away from the earlier spot. Reaction : the close-in fielders all, raise an appeal but the ball has just missed the bat. A confident smile on Kumble's face and calculations in his mind. Ball three ..... pitches right on the spot. Reaction: the Indian players are shouting and running jovially with hands raised to give a high ten to Kumble and the batsman walking back to the pavillion with a feeling of despair for his team. That's how Kumle used to 'engineer' the ball !

Making a test debut in 1990 when India toured England, Kumble established himself as a quality international spinner, taking eight wickets in a test when India toured South Africa in 1992. Later that year when England toured India, Kumble took 21 wickets in just three test matches. By the time he had played ten test matches he had already scalped 50 wickets. He reached the mark of 100 wickets in his 21st match and became the fastest wicket taker after Prasanna. Then 200 wickets in 47 matches; 300 wickets in 66 matches; 400 wickets in 85 matches; 500 wickets in 105 matches and finally the 600th wicket in his 124th match.

Dedication and commitment were the middle names of Anil Kumble. Inspite of the worst of injuries, Kumble rose to the occasion and stood for his team. Remember that dare devil, with his face packed in bandages to hold his broken jaw in the West Indies series taking a hard hit return catch from Lara. Why go far. Only till his last match today, Kumble's fingers had been dipped in general anaesthesia and were bandaged, as he insisted to play on.

619 wickets in 132 test matches (No.3 in the world after Shane Warne and Mutthia Murlidharan); 10 wickets in one innings (Jim Larker of Englandbeing the only one to have done it in 1956); 10 times the Man of the Match (Sachin Tendulkar being the highest at 11) and a century to his credit. These are no mean feats.

Delhi feels proud for Jumbo, who chose this venue to declare his retirement. 'Hip Hip Hurray' !!

(the images are a grab from the various channels of TV)

A TRYST WITH FRAGRANCES !!

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:52:00 +0000

Period of the episode – The unrest of Year 1857 in Delhi
Place of incident – Dariba Kalan, Delhi

One day, I was passing through Dariba , when I saw a cavalcade of Tilangas coming from one end. Every passerby hurriedly got to a side to let the cavalcade pass. I too, stood aside in front of the shop of Gulab Gundhi (pronounced Gun-dhi as in sun....fun...gun) and watched the cavalcade pass by. The procession consisted of 50 to 60 horsemen, led by a band of drummers. The horses were burdened with huge bales, condemning them to look more like a washer man’s (dhobi’s) donkey, rather than a horse. Anyone could guess that the bales contained the loot from Delhi’s rich and prosperous gentry. Any one, wealthy and worthy, would be threatened with the charges of siding with the British and would be let off only after he paid up for his innocence. The wealthy and worthy gentry of Delhi would have long ago deserted Delhi, had they not seen a ray of hope in the British companies, who were still surrounding Delhi.

The contingent, shouting slogans in the name of God, marched passed in front of me. In the crowd of the contingent was their commander – Aali Janab Bahadur Khan Sahab. From the uniform that he was wearing, he looked more like a bridegroom than a commander. He had adorned himself with ornaments studded with jewels. And while wearing them he had not even bothered to distinguish between the ornaments that were worn by the men and the ones that were meant for women! And in the way the commander was embellished in the studded ornaments, his horse too was decorated likewise. When Gulab Gundhi saw the cavalcade coming, he quietly shut the doors of his shop and kept peeping at the passing parade, through the door.

God knows, what a coincidence it was, that Bahadur Khan’s horse stopped right in front of his shop. Bahadur Khan looked around and asked whose shop was it. His orderly replied, “Gulab Gundhi’s”. Bahadur Khan was furious. “Does the wretched man not know that His Highness is passing by? Why has he shut the doors of the shop? Get it opened ! Pronto !!”

Unaware of what would have Lalaji gone through by this ‘deadly sounding decree’, all we saw was that a soldier hit the door with the handle of his sword and commanded, “open the door!” At the order, the door of Gulab Gundhi’s shop opened like the door that used to instantly open at the words, “open, sesame”, in the story of Alibaba and Forty Thieves. Gulab Gundhi stood at the door with folded hands, panting and trembling. He wanted to say something but his tongue refused to be with him. On that day, Bahadur Khan was comparatively in a happier mood. Probably he had a field day. He asked if the attar (essential oils) used by the King were sent from his shop ? Lalaji, vigorously jerked his neck in affirmative. He was ordered to present the best product that was available in his shop.

Stumbling, Lalaji went inside and appeared with two decanters full of attars. It’s not sure whether the attars were priced at Rs.20 per tola (10 gms.) or Rs.30. Bahadur Khan took both the decanters and without bothering to remove the stoppers, he clashed the necks of the bottles with each other and broke them. He smelled from the one; liked it and poured it on his horse’s nape. With the other he drenched the hair of the tail of his horse and after throwing away the bottles he ordered his army - “Forward !” leaving Lalaji behind, with a loss of hundreds of rupees.

(the text is a translation of the original article printed in the Hindi daily 'Navbharat Times', New Delhi, 19th July, 1965 P.4 Column 7&8 by Ayodhya Prasad Goyalia)

Gulab Singh, the sufferer at the hands of Bahadur Khan in the above passage, established the shop of Attars at Dariba Kalan in Chandni Chowk in 1816. Now famous as Gulab Singh Johri Mal (Shop No.320), the tradition of manufacturing attars is being carried on by the great,great,great grandsons of Gulab Singh Ji.

It is said that during the reign of Akbar Shah II, the nobility, including the nawabs, rajahs, landlords and subedars, sat for hours with Gulab Singh Ji, delicately sniffing and selecting their attars placed in exquisite boxes with ivory in-laid work. Belgian cut glass decanters were sent to the inner sanctums of the Mughal queens and princesses, to sample and select their favourite frangrances. Now after two centuries, a steady stream of discerning customers and the connoisseurs can still be seen selecting their favourite attars.

Ram Singh the fourth descendant in the clan of Gundhis, explains how their ancestral work began around two centruries ago. The 70 year old Gundhi, nostalgically recounts his Grandfather Lala Banarsi Das telling him that there was a lake called Nahr-e-Bahisht (Lake from Paradise) in Chandni Chowk when their shop was opened. And Dariba Kalan was the main shopping centre for the Shahjahanabadis.

Attar is a Persian word meaning 'fragrance'. Attars have been famous in the Arab and India for over 5,000 years. The English word otto is a transliteration of the original Arabic word ('itr). These are the essential oils extracted majorly from the naturally occurring odoriferous substances such as flowers, roots, herbs and spices. Aromatic perfume materials are blended together to form true fragrances in pure concentrate forms, free from alcohol and spirits. As easy it may sound, the process of extracting attar is very tedious and requires a great amount of skill.

Inspite of the latest technology available for distillation, yet the Attars are made traditionally by Deghs (copper stills) and Bhapka (steam distillation) system, which is a hydro distillation process. Archaeological excavations have revealed round copper stills, used for making attars, that are at least five thousand years old. These stills are called deghs. Following the seasons of the flowers, traditional attar-makers, with their deghs, traveled all over India to make their attars on-the-spot. Even now, rural areas often lack good roads to quickly transport the harvested flowers, and a few traditional attar-makers still travel with their deghs to be close to the harvest. Their equipment has changed little, if at all, in the last five thousand years.

The fresh harvest is placed inside the stills (deghs) and filled with water. The degh is then hermetically (perfectly water proof) sealed with a lid (sarpos) and clay. From the sarpos (lid) runs a bamboo pipe (chonga) through which the vapours are collected in long-necked barrels (bhapka) which is kept immersed in a water tank (gachchi). The still is heated by lighting a fire underneath with the help of wood or cow dung. The temperature and speed of the distillation is controlled by regulating the fire.

The distillation is managed by highly skilled workers called Dighaa, who knows when the correct quantity of vapours have condensed inside the receiver by feeling the round part of the receiver under water. The water in the tank is changed continuously to prevent the temperature rising too high. Managing the still (large copper kettles) is highly skilled job, as the operator must keep the boiling at a level that matches the condensation in the receiver, so as to keep the pressure under control. When the desired quantity of vapour is condensed, the Dighaa rubs a wet cloth around the body of the still for a temporary pause in distillation and the filled receiver (bhapka) is replaced by another receiver. If necessary, the second may be replaced by a third receiver. The receiver is then allowed to cool.

The mixture of oil and water is then separated either directly form the receiver through a hole at the bottom or pouring the whole mixture in an open trough, after the separation, the water is removed from an opening at the bottom.

After desired concentration of the attar is reached, it is then poured into leather bottles for sedimentation and removal of moisture. The concentrate thus obtained is filled in crystal bottles with a matted glass stoppers called itradan.

Apart from the original shop established in 1816, Gulab Singh Johri Mal, has another show room in the Main Chandni Chowk (opposite The Town Hall).

Mukul Gundhi, one of the brothers of the seventh generation of the two-century old clan narrates about the customary practice in nobility to offer attar to their guests. The most common method of applying Attar practised by them was to rub a small amount of oil over the extended right hand palm down. This is also the etiquette of receiving attar when offered by someone. The regular way of wearing attar is by applying it behind the ears beneath the lobes. This is done with the help of a small stick attached to the cap of the bottle and which remains immersed in the perfume when the cap is shut. Connoisseurs also put one or two drops of attar oil on a small piece of cotton (about the size of the end of a cotton bud or swab) then insert the cotton piece in the ridge like edge of the ear.

The ornate shelves in the orginal shop at Dariba and the Showroom at Chandni Chowk are decoratively lined with Belgian cut glass decanters of different shapes and sizes containing the fragrances of various flowers. The brothers relate the tale of tiresome and time consuming process in searching and gathering of fresh and pure flowers. For Rooh Gulab, the attar of Rose, they visit the flower gardens of Kannauj, Sikatra near Aligarh, Ghazipur and Jaunpur (all in U.P). The condition is that the flowers must be plucked at dawn and used before the sun rises. For after that, the fragrance begins to leave the blooms. For Chameli and Motia, they have to go to Sikandarpur and some villages of Varanasi. For Kewra, Molsari, Champa and Harsingar flowers, they have to visit the villages of Orissa. As the harvest of flowers used for making attars has to be fresh, Gulab Singh Johri Mal have distillation units at all these places.

Attars have their medicinal and climatic uses too. Unlike the alcoholic deodorants and sprays, attars have never been classified separately for men and women. The subtle blending of the various aromas is like the creation of a melody - the top note, middle note and the end note. And like various the various ragas, the use of attars match the season of the year. Spring and summer are for the bright, happy, flowery fragrances. And especially for the very hot summer months, there is the sharp clean freshness of Khus. The cool taaseer (tendency/character) of the Khus protects from the hot surface winds. The Gill essence is more exotic. It captures that ever fresh aroma that emanates from the earth after the first summer showers. It is made by creating same conditions in the still (degh) that prevails when when the first rains of the season falls on the parched land after a long summer. Just like Khus and Gill are cooling and appropriate for use during the summer, Hina and Musk are ideal for winters becuase of their hot taaseer.

People using foreign perfumes keep changing from brand of perfume to another, sans satisfaction. A very specific fact about attars is, that people keep using the same fragrance for years together - in fact for the whole life !
A little bit of trivia now!

After the bewitching model Naomi Campbell fell for the attar Mehndi, the fragrance is in vogue in the Parisian fashion seminaries.

The ex-President of India, Late Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was fond of attar Majmua and ex-President Late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, used to wear attar Chameli while attending formal functions. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was also fond of attar Majmua.

The queen of all attars happens to be Rooh Gulab. It was discovered by Noorjahan, the wife of Mughal emperor, Jahangir. Once while she went for her morning bath, she found an oily layer over the water which was kept to cool overnight with rose petals in it. When it was distilled later on her orders, it turned out the costliest attar.

FOR RECORDS' SAKE !

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:08:00 +0000

In 1877 the U.S. inventor Thomas Alva Edison heard “Mary had a little lamb” emanate from a machine into which he had just spoken the ditty. Thomas Edison ran a paraffin coated paper under a stylus while shouting into a telephone speaker, the vibrations left a faint impression of his voice which could be played back. It was the first time a recording of the human voice had been reproduced, and the event signalled the birth of the phonograph. By the end of the 19th century the invention took the shape of the gramophone which soon became popular as a medium of entertainment.

Year 1928. Sayed Ahmed Shah, who had learnt the skill of repairing gramophones used to repair the faulty gramophones at the Mazar Hare-Bhare near Jama Masjid. Many Britishers and Indians from the elite class left their faulty gramophones with him for repairs. Listening to the songs, day in and day out, while repairing the machines, Sayed Ahmed Shah became fond of music and songs and soon started collecting records. The interest of collecting records was sparked to a bigger magnitude when qawwalis of Bibi Dholki and Kallan Khan were released on vinyl in 1930. Over the years Ahmed Shah's interest turned to film music and he began buying records of K.L. Saigal, Noorjehan, Millika Pukhraj and other great singers of that era. He would buy two copies of each release - one for his collection and the other for his listening pleasure. Ahmed Shah earned such a fame during his life time that leading music companies producing 78 rpm vinyl records like HMV, Young India, New Theatres, Lahore Music Company used to consult him on the kind of records that should be released. Amazingly, he could almost accurately predict the number of copies a record would sell by listening to it for a day or two.

At the time of his death in 1977, Ahmed Shah had possessed a formidable collection of records. The baton was passed on to the son, Akbar Shah, who proved to be a worthy inheritor of the legacy. He further added to the huge collection by picking up records from private collectors, old curio shops and even junk markets. Akbar Shah narrates an interesting incident when he was searching for a particular song. The long search turned futile and Akbar Shah gave up. Then once while rummaging through the records at a 'kabadi' (junk) market in Hyderabad, he struck gold. The record which Akbar Shah thought that no longer existed was found in the junk. The song was from the 1954 film, "Shaan-e-Haatim" and contained Mohammad Rafi's soulful rendering of, "Sabak Raza Ka De Gaye, Karbale Wale". No just this. The collection includes Suriya's songs from her first film, Natak; Naushad's first film, Prem Nagar; O.P. Nayyar's first film, Aasmaan; Ravi's first film, Vachan; Dilip Kumar's first film, Jwar Bhata and Raj Kapoor - Madhubala starrer, Neel Kamal. Besides he has practically all the non-filmy songs of Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. The qawwali collection has works of great Qawwals of yore like Habib Painter, Mumtaz Shabbir, Ismail Azad, Kalwa Banne, Abdur Rahman Kanchawala, Kallan Khan Secunderabadi to name a few. Among the Ghazals collection he has the records of Begum Akhtar, Mallika Pukhraj, Kamla Jharia, Kanan Devi and songs sung by actresses like Shanta Apte and Naseem Banu. Apart from adding to the collection, Akbar Shah systematically catalogued the collection of records and the system of cataloging too is unique in itself. Songs and records which are easily available are put in the category 'chalu'. Those which have gone out of circulation are put in the category 'cancelled'. And those which belong to the pre-partition (before 1947) era are categorised as 'Khandani'. One of the unique features of his collection is the collection of records of songs sung by Mohd. Rafi in twenty different languages. He proudly mentions that he has every single song of Rafi in his collection. He has in his possession songs of some films which even the old timers have not heard of. These include films like 'Ha Ha Hi Hi Hu Hu', 'Tin Tin Tin', 'Dr. Z, 'Dr. Shaitan', 'Rocket Girl', and 'Rocket Tarzan' . The songs have been sung by leading singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mahender Kapoor and Mohammad Rafi. In 1991, the HMV wanted to relaunch the music of some of their old films but found that the records were not available in their archives. They contacted Akbar Shah who helped HMV by lending them the records of 'Dulhan Ek Raat Ki', 'Bahu Beti', 'Saanjh aur Savera', 'Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya', 'Mastana', 'Chingari', 'Baat Ek Raat Ki', 'Punam Ki Raat', and 'Akeli Mat Jaiyo'. The HMV gave due credits to Akbar Shah by putting his name on the recordings. Fifty years after his father Sayed Ahmed Shah had set up business, Akbar Shah shifted to Meena Bazaar near Jama Masjid. Meena Bazaar though primarily a spare parts and tools market has a shop No.256 by the name of Shah Music Centre and the Shahs are fondly called as Record Wale Shahenshah !

Akbar Shah too has retired now. And the business has passed over to his son, Sayed Zafar Shah and the love for music has spilled over to the third generation. Zafar Shah too has some interesting anecdotes to narrate. Once he received a feeler that Saira Banu, was searching for the records of ghazals cut by her grandmother Shamshad Bai Dilli Wali (not to be confused with Shamshad Begum). Now, all Zafar knew was that Saira Banu was the daughter of Naseem Banu, the legendary heroine of the the 40s and 50s. He had no clue about Naseem Banu's mother Shamshad Bai Dilli Wali (also known as Chhamiyan Bai) and that she had cut a record of her ghazals. Zafar was helped by his father Akbar Shah in locating the record and Zafar personally delivered the recording to Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu at their official residence at Lodhi Estate where Dilip Kumar used to reside as Member of the Rajya Sabha. Tears kept flowing from Saira's eyes on hearing the recording as she had given up the hope of ever listening to her grandmother's melodious voice.

Apart from the Hindi songs, Shahs have a variety of collection of English records containing, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Ventures and many 78 rpm English records.

Nobody has this kind of collection of records. Zafar Shah adds that if he does not have a record, chances are that no one has it. He possesses records that even All India Raio doesn't have. In fact if they require an out of circulation record they contact him. For true blue music lovers, Shah Music Centre has acquired a legendary status. Interestingly they are only who still repair old gramophones. This has largely got to do with gramophones becoming antique pieces in elite drawing rooms.

"NOT JUST PARANTHAS"! AN EARNEST TRIBUTE TO PARANTHE WALI GALI

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:44:00 +0000

The best way to realise your dream is: TO WAKE UP ! And that's what Varun Agarwal - the founder owner of the food chain "NOT JUST PARANTHAS' ! - learnt at a very young age. After obtaining a degree in Hotel Management from Manipal (India) he worked with various prestigious hotels of India for some years, learning the ropes. But the adventurous bug in him to do something different, kept coaxing him, that the run of the mill jobs were not meant for him. One day he quit all and set out on a tour of India to see what kind of cuisine he could come out with that would be traditional as well as 'innovative'. The tour of India did not generate much of ideas. Continental was continental everywhere; Mughlai had nothing more to offer beyond kebabs, tikkas and kormas; Punjabi was only butter chicken and dal makhni; Chinese and Thai were becoming more 'Indian' in taste, and the ones those were authentic, were drawing only connoisseurs , Italian was doing good but only the international chains; and Mexican was neither developing much taste nor revenue. Within a year, Varun was back to his home in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, with no clear concept. His father, Parshottam Sarup Agarwal, suggested him to take a cue from the Paranthe Wali Gali and develop that as a concept. Sister, Bhavana Agarwal, an architect by profession, worked out the interiors that resembled the heritage of Old Delhi and a food chain was born in August 2003. And now, Varun along with Supra - his partner in business and life too - together serve some sumptuous and mouth watering paranthas ! ..........errrrr...........well.......... "NOT, JUST PARANTHAS !!

NOT, JUST PARANTHAS, because it is not, just the paranthas here, that is the main attraction. It is also the ambiance - the architecture, the music, the over all 'feel' of the restaurant - that influences you and makes you feel as if you have been energised in a time capsule that has landed in the Chandni Chowk of yore. The props like the doors, lanterns, clocks etc. have been meticulously collected from the old havelis of Purani Dilli, to enhance the decor of the restaurant. Old Hindi songs, play pleasantly in the background, to complement the period.

Now the food ! The restaurant caters to both, vegetarians as well as non-vegetarians. After being guided and comfortably seated by the steward, a tabloid, "THE NJP TIMES" is placed in front of the guests. The tabloid, in fact, contains the menu ! And the variety is sumptuous, scrumptious and incredible !! Designed on the range of food available in Purani Dilli, there is a variety of Chuskis, Soups, Chaats, Kebabs, Curries and Dals available.

Now, the Paranthas ! Paranthas ? NOT JUST PARANTHAS ! Going through the menu, it seems like an unending journey through Paranthey Wali Gali ! You name a filling or a combination of stuffing and they have it. Almost a hundred to choose from. The fillings and stuffings are categorised as regular and premium, and the paranthas come in six inches and nine inches size. You can have them all in crispy tawa fried (fried on a griddle) or tandoori (roasted in clay oven) There is a choice of special Diet Parantha (made with special whole-wheat chakki flour, with crushed outer layer of wheat called bran which is supposed to be rich in fibre, roasted in clay oven and served with an option of olive oil).

Then there are Pocket Paranthas (an innovative pocket shaped parantha stuffed with whole kebabs), Speciality Paranthas, Chur Chur Parantha (a unique combination of four different flavours kneaded to perfection with butter and ajwain, stuffed and roasted in clay oven, crushed and soaked in butter), Italian Pizza Paranthas, Continental Sandwich Paranthas. One more specialty parantha is Sharabi Parantha. A little bit of burning alcohol is poured on the parantha at the time of serving and a blue flame keeps burning on the parantha for some time keeping it hot on the top.

NOT JUST PARANTHAS, in a way can be counted in the category of a theme restaurant. But unlike other theme restaurants, where food usually takes a back seat to the presentation of the theme, NJP makes sure that their paranthas remain in the forefront and the decor complements the food. After all, it's the food that drives a successful theme restaurant !

PARANTHE WALI GALI

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:15:00 +0000

A decade-and-a-half had passed since the Mutiny. Chandni Chowk had started settling under the new governance of the British. Year 1872 - Pt. Gaya Prasad, a yong man in early twenties, left his home in Tehsil Bah in Agra and came to Delhi in search of greener pasture. He put up a shop in a lane entering the Kinari Bazaar in Chandni Chowk and started making hot and sizzling paranthas. Soon the popularity of his paranthas grew so much that he had to call his brothers and cousins to help him in the business. Gradually, there came up almost a score shops - all belonging to the extended families of Gaya Prasad. Little they would have realised and imagined that the lane itself would become popular and famous after their paranthas as Paranthe Wali Gali (Lane of Paranthas) !

Thirty five varieties of Paranthas are served in the four shops that are now left in this lane. The fillings range from the usual, aaloo (mashed potatoes), gobhi (grated cauliflower), gaajar (carrots), mooli (radish) and paneer (cottage cheese); to the adventurous, methi (fenugreek), pudina (mint), karela (bittergourd), bhindi (okra); to the exotic, kela (banana), khurchan (thick layer of cream) and dry fruits. The usual fillings are rolled into a ball of dough and flattened with a rolling pin on a wooden or marble base. In the exotic parathas, the filling is spread on a flattened layer of dough and covered with another layer. The layers are then neatly tied and are ready to fry.Unlike the usual way of frying the parathas on a 'tawa' (flat griddle), the parathas in the Parathe Wali Gali are fried in a 'kadahi' (iron wok).

The parathas, fried in the 'desi ghee' (clarified butter) are then served in a 'thali' accompanied by 'kaddu (pumpkin) ki sabzi', 'aaloo mattar' (potatoes and green peas), 'aaloo mattar paneer' (potatoes, green peas and cottage cheese in gravy) 'kele ki saunth' (slices of bananas in thick jaggery and dried ginger chutney) and pudina (mint) chutney. The choice of vegetables and chutneys, served as accompaniments, have remained unchanged all these years.

The owners mention - with a gleaming pride - about the celebrities who have savoured the sumptuous parathas at their joints. Among these are Kabir Bedi, Salma Agha, Akshay Kumar, Gauri (wife of Shahruk Khan) and Amithab Bachhan. The shop of Pt. Gaya Prasad Shiv Charan (claimed as the first shop among the lot) has proudly displayed a unique picture of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru along with Vijaylaksmi Pandit (Nehru's sister) Indira Gandhi and Babu Jagjivan Ram dining at Parathe Wali Gali eating the paratnthas served in 'pattal' (plates made of leaves) and 'kullhad' (bowls made of clay) Paranthe Wali Gali has seen more than a century and a quarter go by. And all through, it has been a major destination for the locals as well as the tourists who throng the place to satiate their gastronomical pleasures. All but four shops are now left in the lane. Many, from the original count of nearly a score, have diversified into other business. But those who have chosen to remain in the traditional business speak high of Mr. Sreedharan, the doyen of Delhi Metro. Anjali, the sixth generation female owner of the shop Pt. Baburam Devidayal, feels indebted to Delhi Metro for bringing in more and more customers from the far flung areas of Delhi. The Chandni Chowk station of the Delhi Metro opens right in front of the Paranthe Wali Gali.

DELHI'S DAREDEVILS ! BUCK UP !!

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:00:00 +0000

IPL (Indian Premier League) Cricket, the biggest event in the Indian cricket history, so far, is set to kick off at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, on 18th April 2008. The event is a Twenty20 format league cricket that will be played between 8 Indian ‘city-based’ teams and feature both, national and international cricketers. It is a multi billion sports league that is set to storm the world of cricket, like never before !

A short opening ceremony will be held to inaugurate the event. In order not to annoy genuine cricket fans the entertainment will be kept to the minimum and the actual cricket will be the major attraction. All the captains will read out a pledge to play in the spirit of the game. All the teams have been given a challenger name for the cities they represent and are owned by famous industrialists and films and media personalities.

The 8 teams (in alphabetical order) participating in the event, are – Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Mohali /Chandigarh.

Vijay Mallaya (United Breweries) owns The Bangalore team (Royal Challengers)

India Cements owns The Chennai Team (Chennai Super Kings).

GMR Holdings owns The Delhi Team (Delhi Daredevils).

Deccan Chronicle Group Holdings owns The Hyderabad Team (Deccan Chargers).

Lachian Mudroch (Emerging Media) owns The Jaipur Team (Rajasthan Royals).

Shah Rukh Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment) owns The Kolkata Team (Knight Riders).

Mukesh Ambani (Reliance Industries) owns The Mumbai Team (Mumbai Indians).

Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia own The Mohali /Chandigarh Team (Kings of Punjab).

All the teams will play 55 matches (click here for fixtures) among themselves, till the 27th May. Two Semi Finals will be played on 30th and 31st May at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.

FOREVER IN QUEST

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 13:42:00 +0000

AARRT is a group formed by four connoisseurs of art - each one an exponent. Arvind Dhingra, a designer aided by his artist wife Ritu Dhingra, joined by another couple, Dr. Rajiv Nagpal and Dr. Anjali Nagpal - both of whom who have excelled in their respective branches of medicines and are dedicated to promote the forms of art for the benefit of the artist and the beholder - have come together to organise an exhibition of painings, photographs and sculptures.

The event, "FOREVER IN QUEST" is being held at Convention Foyer, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi from 1st April 08 to 4th April 08.

Work of Dalip Chandolia, Indu Tripathy, Pratap Ripudaman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Roop Chand, Sangeeta Sharma and Sudeep Kapoor, will be disseminated in the gallery for sale.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON !

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 02:17:00 +0000

Deepti (24.10.1959..........)

In my school days, there was a chapter, in the book of prose, by the heading, "The Light has Gone Out". It was a broadcast from the All India Radio by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru on the demise of Mahatma Gandhi. He had said, that the light had gone out of their lives and there was darkness every where.......their beloved leader, was no more.......they would not run to him and seek solace and that was a terrible blow. Then immediately he corrected himself and said that he was wrong in saying that the light had gone out, for the light that had shone was no ordinary light and it would be seen for many more years.

As a twelve year old student, I could not understand the crux of the emotions behind the speech. But today every word of the speech, perhaps reflects my feeling.

My friend and the spirit behind the venture of this site is no more. She passed away. There was darkness for me for quite some time and I had abandoned the idea of carrying on. But then the undiminished light of her spirit (true to her name - Deepti) showed me the path to carry on the venture.

As a mark of respect, and also till I absorb the shock, there may be no activity on this site for some time. I will come back as usual in a couple of days. The show must go on !

Rest in peace, Deepti, wherever you are.....

PAHARGANJ

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 12:39:00 +0000

Chandni Chowk, Paharganj, Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazaar are the four most crowded and famous markets of Delhi. But one of these is out of place in this group. If you ask a delhiite which one is it, he would tick Paharganj. And if you ask a foreigner, who has been to Delhi, he too would do the same. Indeed, Paharganj has a peculiar characteristic about it which makes it very different and unique. A seedy underbelly section of New Delhi, located just opposite to the New Delhi Railway Station, Paharganj has seen a constant cavalcade of life in various stages of evolution.

Once, a suburb of the Walled City of Delhi, Paharganj finds a special mention in the mutiny papers of 1857, when it was also known by the name of Jaisinghpura and Shahganj. Muin-ud-Din Hussain Khan, a cousin of Mirza Ghalib was the Thanedar or the Head Police Officer of the Paharganj police station during that time and is supposed to have helped in saving Theophilus Metcalfe's life during the uprising, by sheltering him in Paharganj. That was the period when the Mughal dynasty in India was on the decline and the British empire was strengthening it's foothold in the country. In 1920, when Lutyen was assigned to build New Delhi, Paharganj saw a facelift of sorts. Imperial Theatre, an archaic landmark in the vicinity of Paharganj, was built in 1930.

Paharganj saw the bloodiest Hindu-Muslim riots during the partition of India in 1947 - a metamorphosis for Paharganj - with one community forced to desert it's roots and flee to Pakistan and the other fled from Pakistan to make a new beginning here. The refugees from Pakistan (mostly Punjabis) were allotted shops in Paharganj. With the dire need of making a fresh start many took up the business of eatery and soon became famous for their products. Some of the famous names established since 1947-48 in the business of eatery are still doing brisk business even when the third generation has taken over. 'Pehalwan da Hotel' (earlier known as (Pehalwan da Dhaba) and 'Sitaram Diwan Chand' (popularly known as Sitaram Bhaturewala) are the two names in particular which almost every Delhiite is aware of.

Paharganj saw another sea change in the early 70s, when 'hippieism' took over the world by storm. The convenience of being in proximity to the New Delhi Railway Station and it's accessibility to Cannaught Place, Paharganj became famous with the foreigners who travelled on a shoe string budget. Many dingy and small time hotels mushroomed in Paharganj to cater to the bohemian lifestyle of these foreigners. And as a complement to the theory of 'demand and supply' several shopkeepers changed over to the business of tour operators, travel agents and PCOs with STD and ISD facilities. Keeping pace with the changing times, now internet cafes have also come up in abundance. Paharganj is the only market in the city of Delhi, where the internet cafes are open 24 hours. A number of hotels like Hotel Namaskar, Major's Den, Hotels Vivek and Vishal have found a mention of credence in the prestigious 'Lonely Planet'; and so have some eating joints. One of the most sought after eating joints is the German Bakery, Khosla Cafe and Sam's Cafe.

With the influx of foreign tourists, the vices connected with the tourism industry inevitably crept in with this changeover. But a stern and constant vigil by the police has always kept them under check.

Presently, Paharganj is a picture depicting a 'mini-world'. Tourists of different nationalities mingle conveniently with each other. Language does not seem to be a barrier here. Foreigners express their demands and requirements in broken Hindi from the phrases they have crammed from various tourist guides and studied them intensively over a short period of time just before reaching India. The illiterate hotel boy conveniently and convincingly talks in broken English and at times even in French, German, Spanish (!!!) that he has picked up during his acquaintance with various tourists.

The traffic scene on the road of the main bazaar of Paharganj presents a scene of a whole and undivided integrity of all sorts of modes of transport. Bullock carts compete with the latest models of Honda Citys and Opel Astras, sharing the road with cyclists and jaywalkers - making no fuss about it.

Now, an interesting piece of information which is sure to raise everyone's eyebrows ! In 1982, JFK Jr. the son of John F Kennedy, former President of USA, stayed in Paharganj in a run down dingy hotel called Shivalik Lodge. He had to write a paper on the functioning of Indian democracy, while studying at Brown University for his graduation. He kept his identity discreet to avoid to gain an advantage of his status. So much so that even the owner and staff of the lodge didn't know who he was. Now, isn't that interesting ?

IT'S SPRING IN THE AIR !

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 10:48:00 +0000

How truly said, "when Winter is here, can Spring be far!"

After freezing Delhi for a fortnight at it's fag end, the winter is finally leaving and it's Spring time! The blossoming colourful flowers are running riot in the gardens of Delhi. Delhi Tourism welcomed the Season in style at the Garden of Five Senses. Flower show, painting competition, camel rides, puppet shows and musical programmes were the highlights of the three-day garden festival organised by the Delhi Tourism

SUNDAY BOOK BAZAAR

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 03:19:00 +0000

Sunday Book Bazaar at Daryaganj, Delhi, is a veritable gold mine! If you love a good read and enjoy good bargains, then this is the place.

Daryaganj, which is a major commercial hub of Old Delhi, bustles with shoppers from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday (closed day for the market) the residents of the area wake up to a different bustle. Early in the day, the pavements are occupied by booksellers who sell second hand books. Each one has a designated area on the western stretch from Delhi Gate to Golcha cinema hall. With more and more sellers joining the trade with time, the corridors of Asaf Ali Road are also occupied now.

The books sold in this bazaar are mostly second hand. However, that does nothing to the quality of the reading material available. You have everything; from fiction to medical sciences; architecture to cookery books; comics to atlases ; classics to computers; magazines to management books, and hobbies - you name it and this place has it! It is hard to classify the books here in a specific order but a patient search will certainly yield in what you are looking for. Remember, he who dives deep finds the pearls ! But even if you tell the seller what you are looking for, he responds with a heartening promptness. Some seasoned seller in this business will also tell you the name of the author in case you have forgotten and produce the book. If it is not with him, he can get it for you the next Sunday or have it delivered it to you.

Now, the best part ! If bargaining is your favourite sport, then the Sunday Book Bazaar is the playground. Remain poker faced if you have found some book of interest. Expect the selling price to be somewhere near the mint edition but let that not deter you. Start your offer (unabashedly) with one-eighth of what has been quoted, haggle a bit and ultimately you will win.

Some tips: Carry a bag with you to pack the books that you will purchase, carry a water bottle as the walking around in the sun can make you really thirsty.

DELHI AND BOLLYWOOD

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:35:00 +0000

How many Hindi films would be there which have 'Delhi' (or Dilli) in their names ? Well, four names come spontaneously to my mind (1) Ab Dilli Door Nahin, (2) Dilli ka Thag, (3) New Delhi Times, and (4) Delhi Heights. Then, there are two in the pipeline, Dilli 6 - to be directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and Delhi Belly. Amir Khan may (or may not) star in the latter.

How many Hindi films have been shot in Delhi ? Well, plenty ! Be it the demand of the story line or just a song sequence, film makers have often flirted with Delhi. Lodhi Gardens and the Buddha Jayanti Park were the farourite locations for the directors of 60s and 70s to shoot a song sequence or two for their films. Director Yash Chopra had a special fascination for Delhi and that showed in his films. Some part of most of his films' story had Delhi as the backdrop.

The earliest film in the genre of Delhi being the part of the films, that comes to my mind is, Navketan's 'Tere Ghar ke Samne'. Directed by Vijay Anand, the film had the complete story line based in Delhi. A complete song, with Dev Anand romancing Nutan and singing, 'Dil ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar.....', was shot inside the Qutub Minar (those who have missed on being inside the Qutub Minar can avail from this song!). Another one from the same banner and the director, was 'Nau Do Gyarah'. The film's story begins in Delhi and then moves on to Bombay in hero Dev Anand's truck while he sings 'Hum Hain Rahi Pyaa Ke, Humse Kuchh Na Boliye. Then there was Nasir Hussain's, 'Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon' which had some part of the film shot in the locales of Delhi and another, Shashi Kapoor Babita starrer, 'Ek Shriman Ek Shrimati' which had a couple of songs and scenes that were shot in Delhi.

In the early 70s - which also was the period of the beginning of the 'off beat cinema' in the bollywood - Basu Chatterji made Rajanigandha - the debut hindi film of Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha. The first half of the film was extensively shot in Delhi.

Sai Paranjpe (my favourite director after Vijay Anand) who made her debut as a director in hindi films in the early 80s with 'the cult film', "Chashme Baddoor', chose to shoot the whole film in Delhi.

Talking of cult, and hindi films shot in Delhi, 'Rang De Basanti' is one film, of late, that had Delhi in it's entire story line and was extensively shot in the locales of Delhi.

Dil Se, Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai, Chini Kum, Dus Kahaniyan, Fana, Dil Dosti Etc, Khosla ka Ghosla and Sunday are few more films that come to my mind. Not to forget the mention of Meera Nair's, 'Monsoon Wedding' !

'Aaheli' at 22nd Surajkund Crafts' Mela

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:12:00 +0000

Aaheli is the name of the Bengali food stall at the 22nd Surajkund Crafts' Mela. Keeping in tandem with this year's theme of West Bengal, the contract has been assigned to 'Aaheli' a restaurant in the Calcutta (oops!...... Kolkata) based hotel - The Peerless Inn.

The organiser of the stall, Mr. Bhaskar Roy gave a description of the food items they had prepared on the 1st Day of the Surajkund Mela. They had 'Chanar Cutlet' or the paneer cutlet; 'Mochar Chop' - Chops made of banana spadix (the red conical flower which blossoms at the tip of the banana bunch); 'Beguni' - slices of egg plant (brinjal) dipped in the batter of besan and fried deep enough to bring out the succulence of the egg plant slice, accompanied with freshly ground mustard sauce - the freshness of the mustard was so evident that it's 'hit' went through the nostrils till the back of the neck ; 'Sutir Kachuri' - maida puris stuffed with mashed green peas served with 'Chholar Dal - Narial Diye ( begal gram Dal garnished with grated coconut). The Chana Dal had just been cooked enough to retain it's fullness and bring out the aroma of the Dal. And in the 'sweets', it was........... (no prizes for guessing !) ....yes !.....yess.....!! ......yessss !!! The indomitable........ "Shondesh"!!!!

This was the menu on the 1st day of the Mela. 'Aheli' will keep changing the dishes every day and there will be more from the Bengali cuisine for the visitors.

A 'must visit' while you are at the Surajkund Craft's Mela !

Surjakund Mela is 22 today !

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:19:00 +0000

The 22nd Surajkund Crafts' Mela opened at the usual venue of the outskirts of Delhi near the Tughlakabad Range today (1.2.08). The fortnight long (1st to 15th Feb) annual feature of the Haryana Tourism, running successfully for the last 22 years, the Surajkund Crafts Mela has been a platform for the ethnic and grassroot artisans, craftspersons and artists from all over the country who display their wares and performing art directly to the public, eliminating the role of the middleman.

I have vivid memories of the first day of the First Surajkund Mela of the series that was held in 1986. Driving on my bike with a friend, on the hilly and serpentine road running through a protected forest sanctuary from the Tughlakabad range to Surajkund was an event I have still not been able to forget. As the Mela had not been publicised much, there were more artisans and artists and Mela officials than the public.

Now after 22 years the scene has changed drastically. The final count of crowd that used to be a 'few thousands' during the fortnight now ends up in 'many lakhs'. The stretch of the drive that used to be a country side is not suburban any more. And so have changed the artisans. Now you have a feeling whether are they really ethnic and come from the grass root level ? Cell phones which at that time were seen being used only by Captain Kirk and his deputy Spock in the episodes of Star Trek, are now a handy gadget of the artisans and craftspersons who keep talking to their contacts back in their State to send more material as they have unexpectedly sold all that they had on the first day itself . The bottom line is that the Surajkund Crafts' Mela has come a long way !

Somewhere from the Fifth Surajkund Mela, a trend started to dedicate the mela to a Theme of one of the States of India. Since then almost all States have showcased their theme once. This year the theme of the Mela is West Bengal. And the Mela was inaugurated by Union Minister of External Affairs, Pranab Mukherjee.

A suggestion to the Surajkund Mela authorities. Set up a couple of ATMs near the venue of the Mela so that the public can draw money when they run short of cash. I have myself faced this problem a couple of times and had to visit the Mela again the next day only to find out that the article had already been sold. C'mon let's welcome the technology side by side with the ethnicity !!

Back Then...

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:45:00 +0000

Back then, when Delhi was limited to the municipal boundaries of the walled city of Chandni Chowk with the localities of Paharganj, Sarai Rohilla, Roshanara Bagh, Kishen Ganj, Subzi Mandi and Sadar Bazaar outside it's precincts. Villages of Tughlakabad, Mehrauli, Palam and Najafgarh were the far far flung suburbs of Delhi and Shadara and Gandhi Nagar in the East were the only colonies beyond Yamuna connected with the Bridge of Boats and the Yamuna Bridge (Lohe ka Pul). These two bridges were the main passage possibility for the commuters coming from the other side of the river and working in Delhi. Tongas and the Harley Davidson 750cc engine fitted four-seaters used to ferry between Old Delhi Railway Station and Trans-Yamuna (Jamna paar as it is called in the local dialect of Delhi - the other side of Yamuna) South, to the Purani Dilli or the Old Delhi, connected by Minto Road, was Cannaught Place and beyond that it was all forest with cluster of villages existing since their establishment during the rule of various Dynasties. Back then, when the roads and places still had their names from the colonial and medieval period............... back then, when annas was the prevalent currency after rupee .................... back then, when coca cola used to sell at four annas (!) ......................back then, when tongas and bicycles were the mode of transport of the common man................... back then.................... when Vespa, the Italian two wheeler company, was gaining entry in India .................... back then when 'traffic', 'pollution' and 'security' were the terms unheard of.................... back then when one could climb till the top storey of the Qutub Minar ................. back then when Bimal Roy's Sujata at Odeon and K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam at Plaza were heading towards their jubilees................ back then when Raj Kapoor's 'Sab Kuchh Seekha Hamne', Dilip Kumar's 'Koi Pyaar Ki Dekhe Jaadugari' and Dev Anand's, 'Khoya Khoya Chand Khula Aasman' and Ganguly Brothers' 'Babu Samjho Ishare', were getting popular on Radio Ceylon's Binaca Geet Mala ................ back then, when DLF had started selling plots in South of Delhi and DDA was nowhere on the scene.................. back then, when Delhi's city transport was known as DTS (and later DTU)................... back then, when trains were still pulled by the steam engines .................. back then, when Delhi was mostly Punjabi and 'hindustani' dominated................. back then, when V.K. Krishna Menon was the Defence Minister under the Prime Minister Chacha Nehru.............back then, when the new American Embassy was opened in Delhi..... .................. back then, when Burmah Shell, Esso and Caltex were the oil companies selling petrol at Rs.2.00 per gallon !!)................... back then, when Pragati Maidan was known as Exhibitions Ground............... back then, when Delhi's Zoological Park came into existence near the Purana Qila...back then, when India had only sixteen States..................back then, when domestic flights in Delhi used to land at and take off from Safdarjung Aerodrome.................back then, when Murphy and Philips were the popular brands for the radios.................back then, when villages of Delhi had no electricity and sewage system..................back then, when HMV's gramophone was the household music system.................... back then when angeethi or chulha used to be the source of fire in the kitchens.............back then when telephone numbers used to be in four digits................back then, when PIN codes had not come into existence................back then, when Eisenhower, the 34th President of USA visited India...........back then, when medium of publicity used to be the local munadiwala.............back then, when the kalaiwala, the manjiwala and the pinjau used to be a common site in the colonies...................back the, when Delhi used to stop and stand up to observer silence for two minutes at 11.00 am on 30th January.................back then, when barbers discussed politics with their customers while cutting their hair................... back then, I started observing Delhi around me.

Introduction

rajathapar@gmail.com (raja thapar) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 14:08:00 +0000

It has taken almost two years for me to get into the psych of compiling information and writing about Delhi. The idea was generated by a friend, whom I used to take around Delhi and often narrated some interesting information linked to a particular place. "Why don't you do a project on Delhi for me", she had said, probably impressed and amused by the style of my narration. Now, 'narration' and 'writing', are two entirely different skills; and I don't think I ever had a flair for writing! But still, I will try my hand at it.

As the title suggests, the blog would contain (contemporary) information about the heritage of Delhi - how I had seen Delhi since my childhood and how I see it today - through words and through my camera.

My dearest friend - the spirit behind this venture - passed away today on 8.3.08. The site is dedicated to her.