Havelis of Delhi

One of the major attractions of Delhi are its large number of havelis, which are an important part of the historical and cultural heritage of Delhi. The Tomar king, Anangpal, was the founder of the first city of Delhi. Delhi was ruled by a series of muslim dynasties, each of whom imparted a different artistic style to the city - Khiljis, Tughlaqs, Sayyeds and Lodhis. Shahjahan, the famous mughal emperor, made Delhi his capital and embellished it. During the Mughal and English tenure, Delhi was in fact a city of havelis that have now been converted into commercial buildings and offices.

The major havelis include Seth Chhunnamal ki Haveli, Hakeem Ahsanullah Khan ki Haveli, Haksar ki Haveli where Pt Jawaharlal Nehru got married to Kamala Nehru, Namak Haram ki Haveli named after a traitor Bhuwani Shankar in Chandni Chawk, Haveli Zeenat Mahal, named after Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar's domineering queen, Mirza Ghalib ki Haveli, Haveli Hissamuddin Haider at Ballimaran to name a few. Except Chunnamal Id Haveli, most of the havelis are on the point of ruin.

The most alarming example of the dying and most encroached upon havelis, is that of Haksar ki Haveli that belonged to the father of Kamla Nehru who was a Kashmiri Haksar. Some attention must be paid to these mansions of the past in order that a priceless legacy is saved!

Hakeem Ahsanullah Khan
The royal apothecary of Bahadurshah Zafar and a contemporary of the legendary, Mirza Ghalib. It is situated near Excelsior cinema hall and the entrance is from the Hauz Qazi side. In the courtyard at one side is an old Cadilac bought by Nawab Ghalib Sanan Khan, a descendant of Hakeem Ahsanullah Khan. Interestingly, it was once used by the late Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah.

The hakeem's haveli, which was well designed, had arched gateways, diwan khana, sehon, dalaan, roshandaans and roshanhalsara. The hakeem, who died in 1872, was survived by Hakeem Ikramullah Khan, who worked at the mofussil level in the English administration and was known as Deputy sahib. As of now, the mansion needs immediate attention because its Turkish hamams have almost disappeared and the original plaster is coming off.

An aqueduct to receive water from this stream that ran throughout Chandni Chawk and joined at the Najafgarh aqueduct, can still be seen in Ahsanullah Khan ki Haveli at Hauz Qazi. The watercourses culminated at a central point with provisions for a fountain. The most scenic part of the havelis used to be the barahdari that were arches often with wetted screens of khus (perfume). These were used mostly in the months of the sweltering heat.