City Faith – Chitli Qabar Dargah, Chitli Qabar Chowk Faith by The Delhi Walla - November 7, 20230 Sufi shrine, now and then. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The long, curving crack on the discoloured wall evoked the course of a river. A tiny uneven gap through the same wall disconcertingly showed the flower shop on the other side. The size of a small household attic, this chamber in a chaotic four-route Old Delhi chowk is a historic sufi shrine. It gives its name to the chowk as well as to the surrounding bazar. It no longer shows its familiar scruffiness. Last week, the Chitli Qabar dargah was cleansed of its years-old grime. The long crack has been mended, the gap has been filled up, the walls painted to a barely perceptible pink, the floor is free of clutter. (See the
City Walk – Gali Takhat Wali, Old Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - November 7, 20230 The street of wooden cot. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Dictionary describes it as “any place raised above the ground for sitting, reclining, or sleeping.” Basically a wooden cot, it gives its name to an Old Delhi street. Gali Takhat Wali neighbours Gali Sui Walan, the street of the tailor’s needle. The path linking the two galiyan is gripping. A wretchedly narrow airless alley sparks out from Gali Sui Walan, opening into another arm of Gali Sui Walan. This smoggy noon two goats are peacefully feeding on gular leaves outside a pink doorway. The rest of the route to Gali Takhat Wali wends past Sultan Gym, Abdul Malik Bawarchi’s kitchen, Gali Tajiran, Aziz General Store, Rais Tailors and Drapers, box-maker