[Reader-list] 2nd posting: An Exploration of Connected Spaces

[Rumman Hameed]

Over the past month, I travelled through Old Delhi and identified the mohallas, galis 
and the families, which I will be studying over the next few months. I have short-listed Ahata Kaley Sahab, Kucha Rehman, Gali Shaban and Gali Nagina Wali in mohalla Rodgaran, Bazaar Lal Kuan, Baara Hindu Rao, Ahata Kidara, Kucha Pati Ram and Lal Darwaza in Sita Ram Bazaar and Gali Chandi Wali in Turkman Gate. The families I have chosen comprise a fairly good mix of those who have been living in Delhi for approximately a hundred years as well as those who have migrated from other North Indian cities or from Pakistan during or soon after Partition. A few of these families have women who have come from Pakistan through marriage over the past 15-30 years. This would help in understanding the insider-outsider phenomenon in Old Delhi. 

My study is located at two levels: streets (the public domain) and homes (the private domain) woven together through architecture. However, there is a sharp distinction between the two. I am exploring primarily the unique forms of communication and different levels of interactions among these structures. My focus is on the vertical as well as horizontal interactions within a mohalla and also between mohallas. 

I have approached the private domain first. The reason behind this is that in Old Delhi, people do not approve of women spending time/ hanging out in streets and getting friendly or even talking with strange men. In case I had chosen to study the public domain first, access inside the homes would have become impossible. Therefore, I have been spending a lot of time with women in their houses, mostly in and around their kitchens, as they spend most part of the day in kitchen. Till now I have been mainly observing and trying to be as invisible as possible. I help out in the household chores if required so that I am not looked upon as an inconvenience/ 
obstruction/ disturbance in their work. At the same time, I also try to assure them, through my actions, that the information or knowledge that i gain about their family would not be misused.  

It is interesting to note that women, while cooking a meal for the family, take care not only of the dinner/ lunch time in their own homes but also about the time their neighbours have their dinner/ lunch. There is a tradition of sharing food in Old Delhi, whether a special delicacy like 'korma' or ordinary like 'dal'. An extra effort is made to finish cooking and send it to the neighbours before their mealtime so that they can eat on time. Often a word is passed to the neighbours not to cook too much because they would be sending something for lunch. At other times, the 'smell' of food (for houses that are right across the gali or just a floor up) 'tells' them to wait for that food, in case they have not been informed, because they 'know' it would be sent surely. 

This custom of sharing food with the neighbours also makes me think about what 'neighbour' actually means and what are the boundaries of a 'neighbourhood'; is it a physical/ geographical space or an emotional/ mental state? I have noticed a family in Baara Hindu Rao spending a whole night in cooking 'nahari' in a big 'degh' (a large spherical pot used for cooking, made of tin plated copper) sharing it with a family in Gali Qasimjan or Rodgaran, which are at least 30 minutes away by a cycle-rickshaw! The same is shared not only within Old Delhi but also with the families, their neighbours, who have shifted to other areas in New Delhi such as Vasant 
Vihar or Okhla.   

I intend to take the same work forward for most part of the next month before moving on to the streets. 

I must mention that going to people's houses and seeking their permission to spend 
time in their houses was initially not a very pleasant experience. Some refused politely while others were outright rude. Many of those who allowed me in their personal space, took me as a baby-sitter to take care of their howling babies. A few were more interested in my family background and my own culinary expertise as they looked at me as a prospective daughter-in-law! 

Rumman 


 



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