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  Restoring the past

Restoring the past

Published : Dec 27, 2015, 8:58 pm IST
Updated : Dec 27, 2015, 8:58 pm IST

Located at a two-minute walk from Jama Masjid Police station towards Gali Guliyan, recently restotred Dharampura Haveli gives another reason to visit the Walled City

The haveli is a unique example of residential buildings planned around a central courtyard . (Photo: Sondeep Shankar)
 The haveli is a unique example of residential buildings planned around a central courtyard . (Photo: Sondeep Shankar)

Located at a two-minute walk from Jama Masjid Police station towards Gali Guliyan, recently restotred Dharampura Haveli gives another reason to visit the Walled City

Kasra zindagi shad bashad ki dar Shah-e-jahan abad bashad (The man, who fortunately finds residence in the city of Shahjahanabad, leads a happy life) — finding resonance in the above verse by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan — Vijay Goel, MP and Heritage India Foundation president along with his son Siddhant, and architect Kapil Agarwal decided to spearhead the restoration project of Dharampura Haveli, a 19th century historic building located in a narrow gali of Chandni Chowk. “Historic records suggest that it was constructed during the Mughal era, when the construction of havelis was highly fashionable among courtiers,” shares Goel and adds, “The area began to be known as ‘Dharampura’ (dharm — religion) as it was surrounded by a large number of religious buildings including the Jain temples, the Jama Masjid and several Hindu temples. Dharampura haveli with its arched entrance, red sandstone brackets, lakhori bricks, narrow balconies and beautiful jharokas spoke of the historic Mughal architecture.

However, before we began the restoration process, over six years ago, it was in deplorable condition. It was disheartening to see such a magnificent structure that once boasted of grandeur reduced to on ordinary building.” Before the restoration project began, the haveli was occupied by over 20 families who had altered its original structure and partitioned it into small rooms. Spread over 600 sq. yards, it once consisted of 60 small rooms, which have now been redesigned and refurnished into 28 huge rooms with modern day amenities. “During restoration, our fundamental objective was to give a new lease of life to the dilapidated building without interfering with its aesthetics and architecture,” Goel puts forth.

For co-restorer Siddhant, one of the major challenges was finding masons and artisans who had a know-how of preparing old style chuna plaster with additives such as gur, sheera, methi, daal and belgiri. “Badly organised rooms, projected balconies, cracked and dampened walls, hanging wires, sagging purlins and joists, ruined flooring, etc. were some other factors that had to be looked after without obliterating the details. Around 50 masons and labourers, mostly from Old Delhi and Rajasthan were hired to work on the intricate details of the building. Roofs were rebuilt matching the original chuna and paint. We retained the lakhori bricks masonry to give an old world charm. Replicas of Shahjahani design were made in Jaipur. The beautiful entrance door was carved in Shekhavati,” shares Siddhant.

With freshly renovated walls, polished doors and attractive inlay work, the haveli now stands completely restored. “It offers a ray of hope of for thousands of other havelis in the quaint and old lanes and bylanes of Shahjahanabad,” concludes Goel.