The lane of kebab makers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] People step into this lane for nihari and biryani, for burra and korma—all to be had at the “world-famous” Karim’s restaurant. Those in the know wade deeper, to have the zaikedar haleem at Naimuddin’s, just around the corner. Nobody cares for the poor kebab. And this is Gali Kebabiyan. “This street was exclusively the rehaish (residence) of kebab wale,” mutters mechanic Zaheer Ahmad. A gali resident, he is gossiping with friends outside a shuttered storefront. “Back then, the Kebabiyan’s kebab wale made seekh kebabs as long as this,” he says, measuring half his arm. Following the Batwara (Partition), he goes on, all the kebab wale of Kebabiyan moved to Pakistan.