Page 9 - Unleashed BMM 2019-2020

AARYANSHI MOHAN

The frequency of people’s visit and invasion of privacy ‘No plans to leave'
While sitting for tea in the courtyard, Swetcha recalls how over so many The mansion has been listed as a heritage property by the Indian National
years she has seen young boys and girls just drop by to get a video of them Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, an organisation that works towards
talking about the haveli for some talk. conservation of unprotected architectural heritage and sites in India.
“This is our house and not a place where people would just walk-in and However, Mr Pershad says nobody has come forward to help him with
expect us to talk about our house like we’re some parrots who’ve by-heart the upkeep or preservation of the building. He stays adamant on spending
the history of an ancestral haveli”, Swetcha says. his life in the haveli where his forefathers have stayed and sustained them-
“What people forget is that a family of ten normal people stays here and selves. Maintaining this building is tough, but he has no plans of leaving
their unannounced arrival just takes our privacy away. People forget that the area. "I can't imagine living in any other part of Delhi where living
we’re not a heritage site but a house”, she adds. quarters are so cramped. I wake up in this house where my forefathers
The doors of the haveli remained open for everyone who wanted to pay have lived and have witnessed so many important twists and turns of his-
the place a visit for the grandeur. The haveli that chirped louder than the tory," he adds. "Even my grandchildren refuse to move out of this old man-
streets of Shahjahanabad at one point in time with over hundred people sion." The exit from the haveli feels like I left a part of me behind in the
living in it is now just a home to ten people who live there because of their city of hearts. The third left from the straight walking street took us to Na-
lineage and just the hopes of leading a normal life, basking in the glory of traj Chaat Corner where the love for the haveli was jotted down through
the haveli. the eyes of the family.

09 | UNLEASHED | 2019