SA Site Cover: The Ghalib Haveli in Chandni Chowk, Delhi by Varun Jha

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Bust of Ghalib, along with a wine chalice and a
reconstructed verse journal
Delhi has plenty of monuments that are underrated or simply overlooked by the public. Last week I happened to be at one such site in Old Delhi: Mirza Ghalib ki Haveli, located in the Gali Qasim Jan, Ballimaran. The building which was taken under its wing by ASI, hosted Ghalib for a large part of his later life, after he moved from Agra.

On hearing about the monument, the first thing that caught my attention was the preserved artefacts belonging to Ghalib and his family, his clothing and his daily utilities in particular. The thought of getting a good look at these artefacts was enough to get me hunting down the Haveli. I had a lofty image of the Haveli in my mind but on reaching there, I was startled to see a small two room house that housed the entire museum.
The artefacts were in a relatively poor condition, but powerful enough to transport one back to the late Mughal era, just like the Haveli's architecture which has been extensively renovated since it was granted a Heritage status. The building nonetheless offers a unique look at the architecture of the Later Mughal Era and an insight into Ghalib's lifestyle.

The Hallways of the Haveli with the characteristic
late Mughal Lamps and arches
What is truly remarkable to me is how a man as prolific as Ghalib would live in such humility and develop all his writings! The humility of the man clearly still haunts the narrow hallways of the Haveli, but, despite the preservation work, the building remains to be underutilised. A symbolic building of the life of a prolific Urdu poet and an entire empire, the Haveli stayed with me long after I returned.


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