The Old Delhi encyclopedia.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

One sleepy afternoon in Old Delhi’s David Street, a kind passer-by helpfully points to a house. The bell is rung. The door flaps open. Leena Kapoor confirms she is the great-grand-daughter-in-law of Saul David, the man who gave his name to the street.

This evening, Leena, a teacher trainer, is hosting a visitor in her high-ceiling drawing room. She is sharing the long sofa with her husband, a retired school administrator, and son, a lawyer. The 150-year-old residence is immersed in peaceful silence. Until a few decades ago, this was among the street’s tallest buildings. Today, it is dwarfed by multi-stories.

Truth be told, David Street with its assortment of shops and homes is quite ordinary. The name too isn’t out of place. Many other Purani Dilli streets are also named after long-gone people—though nothing of those people is known by the present dwellers of those streets. In that, David Street is unique. David’s descendants continue to inhabit the street named after him. David himself lived in this same gali. He was a doctor, and he married Alice, a doctor. Their son, Bertie Frank David, married Violet Esther Gardner. That couple’s daughter, Mercy Rosalind David, authored four books. She married Jagnandan Prasad Kapoor, a senior prosecutor. Their son, Bobby Kapoor, married Leena Alexander, the lady who opened the door. This couple’s daughter, Fiona Rachel Nargita, lives in Canada, and their son, Rohan Joshua, is sitting on the sofa.

While chatting, the mild-mannered Bobby, David ‘s great-grandson, cautions that the nuggets he is sharing on his forefather are based on what he has heard from his elders. Having said that, he, very modestly, shows the photo of a commemoration plaque dedicated to David. It graces the Central Baptist Church in nearby Chandni Chowk.

One naturally wonders how it is like to be part of a family whose ancestor has left such indelible footprints in the city. David’s great-grand-daughter-in-law smiles. Leena recalls the afternoon she was walking on David Street when an ignorant passer-by snubbed her, remarking if she fancied that this gali belonged to her “baap.”

Saul David died in 1943, aged 89. He was buried in Thomson Road Cemetery. The graveyard land, in Bobby’s telling, was later acquired by the railways. David’s family mausoleum was consequently moved to the distant Burari Christian Cemetery.

David’s street stays.