I think I’ve been quoting movies a little too often in these
blogs, but that’s what this is about: a thought triggered by the photos I’ve
been taking. This time, this photo takes me to the movie Piku, where Irrfan
Khan is speaking with Deepika Padukone about a building and her memory of it.
He speaks about the change and the benefits and losses of demolishing a
building to make a new one in its place.

Deepika: Yahan ek Theatre tha, koi Building aa gayi.[There was
a theatre here, now there is a building.]

Irrfan: Aisa hi hota hai, tum bhi to yahan ghar bech rahi ho, wahan bhi ek
building aa jayegi. [This is how it is, you are also selling the house here,
there will be a building like this there too.]

Deepika: I am being practical.

Irrfan: I am not saying tum galat ho. This is the way forward, yehi log
development kehte hain. Magar apne roots unko ukhad do to kya bachega? You know
what I mean? [I am not saying you are wrong. This is the way forward, this is
what people call development. But if we uproot our roots, what will remain? You
know what I mean?]

This is what is happening in Chandni Chowk at this very moment,
I feel. People are leaving and migrating to better or different areas, if not
better. Demolishing the old architecture that was created centuries ago and
replacing it with new. As an outsider who does not live there, I feel that the
essence of the place is being lost to time. Modern architecture does not have
the character or the vibe of what this place needs.

Unfortunately, this is not
just the story of Old Delhi; it is happening everywhere. It has become a trend,
where we give the land to a builder, who demolishes whatever was there before
on that piece of land and reconstructs it according to the profits he will
make.

I wish there were some rules in place for such scenarios, and we
had better architects with better aesthetics. But as they say, maybe with time
things will change. Until then, I think I’ll cherish what I see and later enjoy
the place with nostalgia through these pictures that I’ll take over time, to
see how the place transforms over time