Once known for fashion and art labels, Hauz Khas Village is now flooded with music, pubs and eateries. Footfalls have increased drastically and a cultural revolution is on. Karan Bhardwaj walked down the narrow bylanes recently and compared it with his past
I remember taking a walk around Hauz Khas Village a few years ago with a fashion designer. It was a summer morning. Our fellow companions on the road were either tailors carrying heaps of fabric on their old cycles, or foreigners stopping at shops nestled between the designer boutiques.
It was definitely the quieter part of Delhi and had the sophistication associated with fashion. Apart from the walk, the tea I had from a street vendor, who seemed like a veteran in his business, remains part of my memory. Today the place has lots more than boutiques, tailors on cycles and tea stalls. Fine restaurants, lounges and bars have opened in the area.
little wonder that Hauz Khas Village is often compared to a part of Bandra in Mumbai that has a fancy joint in every corner, with youngsters flocking towards its wooden staircases and narrow lanes. Some prefer isolation. Others indulge in group chatting and nibbling. One of my earliest memories of visiting Hauz Khas was during college. A classmate took us to the Qila area, which boasts of a lake, mosque, madarsa and domed tombs.
Years down the line, the tombs and lawns haven’t changed. But they seem to have become more popular. I could see over a hundred people chirping around me. “At least 2000-2500 people throng this place on weekends. During weekdays, numbers reduce to 1500,” Sunil Kumar, a security guard at the entrance told us. From a distance, I could hear, Paani da rang vekh kay... A group of boys were singing. After a few jumps over narrow, patchy walls, I bumped into the owners of the voices. They were playing Daaru da rang vekh kay..
Band of boys
And that’s when I got introduced to Delusion, a 3-member band who parody songs. So I was informed by 26-year-old Vikas, who plays the guitar. “Search Daaru da rang vekh kay on YouTube and the first link is ours,” he added with pride. Their lead vocalist Vipin Chandel, a great voice, shared that the band hangs out in Hauz Khas every Sunday. “Two of us are from Shahdara. One from Faridabad. The atmosphere here is peaceful. We are fond of this place. Sometimes, people sit and sing along. It is encouraging,” said Chandel, who works with an event management company. You probably recall the pleasant weather last Sunday. It was possibly one reason why everyone was flocking to the Qila complex.
A reminder call from our photo journalist took us back to the narrow lanes of the village. Construction works, buildings being renovated, trucks carrying bricks and stones, and muddy land comprises today’s Hauz Khas. It indicates increasing commercial interest. “It was something else four years ago. It’s deteriorating. As more people throng this place, it is losing its charm and tag of being a true bohemian area,” commented Ankush Gupta, a JNU student, living in Delhi for five years.
Free chat
We met Ankush and his friend Roli at Kunzum Travel Café. This is a freewheeling café where one can spend as long as possible on comfortable couches. You can read books, order coffee, access Wifi and make friends. In return, donate any amount you wish. Isn’t it amazingIJ Where else in Delhi would you have this privilegeIJ “For the last five years, I have been a regular here, at least thrice a week. I hate malls. They are materialistic. Hauz Khas continues to be unconventional and unplanned,” Gupta said. Roli belongs to lucknow and finds Delhi extremely fast. For her Hauz Khas is soothing. Especially the lake.
“Ankush told me about it. Even if there is more construction happening around, the inside areas are charming,” she said. Ankush used to take dates here. “It’s a perfect hideout. No one would bother or make you feel embarrassed,” he quipped.
Next to Kunzum are shops and stores like Khazana India, Cottage of Arts and Jewels and Cholah which offer antique artefacts, quaint movie posters and rare handicrafts.
Rare antiques
The lady owner of Cottage of Arts and Jewels shared that our newspaper had earlier published an excellent article with big photos of hers a while back. Some original posters are decades old in these shops. There is a mix of machine-printed and hand-painted posters. “Old movie posters are available for Rs1,000 and new ones for Rs500 and above. Posters of films like Sholay, Mughal-E-Azam and Mother India are always in demand,” Balkishan of Indian Popular Art told us.
Foreigners’ paradise
As we walked around, we spotted foreigners moving towards a residential lane. We followed them and discovered Hauz Khas’ only hotel primarily catering to foreign clients. The lady receptionist disclosed rental-related information briefly as a few clients roamed freely but got snappish when they learnt who we were. Rose Hotel charges Rs 3500 per night includes stay and breakfast. A few locals also informed us that they gladly rent out rooms to “firangis”.
Moving back, we saw new and old players in the market, especially the bars and lounges. Raasta is a cool nightspot with paintings on walls. The Pink Room is a new addition.
Hot & happening
Downstairs at Zo has become a prominent spot for jazz and ska lovers. OTB (Out of the Box) café has lost its market mainly to Raasta, regulars claimed. For most of the bars, the girl attendants as well as bouncers were deputed at entrances to lure and warn at the same time. Surprisingly, Cocoberry’s small outlet was full of customers.
Salotto 44 Cafe & Bar is a new place for music followers. “The bar pulls them in. We organise different musical nights, except on Tuesdays,” said Suman Pandey, GM of Salotto 44. If one aspires to experience true spirit of Hauz Khas over a meal, Smoke House Deli is the best choice. It is the only eatery located on the banks of lake. Walls are covered in hand-drawn illustrations, inspired by the history of Hauz Khas village and its surroundings.
The place now sees a boom of eateries and nightclubs. A few young people we spoke to expressed apprehension about shopping. Food or dance, are their agendas.
Issues
Hauz Khas is busier in the evenings. There is parking mess, people preferring to walk. Security is inadequate. The night brings in darker and creepier sights! last night, our colleague, who’s also a regular visitor, shared how a cop helped her cover the entire deserted lane. Transport is a big issue. Anyways, with problems any new setting faces, we realised Hauz Khas village has two parallel worlds existing together. Daytime’s family crowd and night’s young folks match steps, the fellow villagers dip into a sound sleep at the other side of village.
Back to square one!
Ab mai buddhi ho gai! Ab main nai kar paaungi! (I have got old! I cannot make it now!)” responded Bina Ramani, a pioneer figure in the history of Hauz Khas, to Raj Kumar Dhingra, owner of Power House Complex. Dhingra was trying to persuade Ramani to return to Hauz Khas village, telling her about different “available offers”. Ramani looked at us and said, “Yeh log mujhe apni laxmi Devi maante hain! (These people consider me as a Goddess laxmi)”. The conversation was happening at Smoke House Deli’s inaugural evening, where we took Ramani to a private area of this outlet for an interview. Spotting us, Dhingra barged in. “Whenever I come here, local women scream my name and invite me to their houses. This is the love of these villagers. They haven’t forgotten me,” said designer Ramani, who discovered the place’s potential, and opened her first factory here 25 years ago. Through her networking and attention she got an conventional village turned into an unconventional fashion spot. “There were 20 havelis. Men would roam in kurtans and turbans, while women took care of buffaloes and cows and sold milk. I had spent a long time in US and seen urban villages there. I wanted to make Hauz Khas one of them,” she reminisced.
Ramani first walked on March 20, 1987. “I remember the date. I just paid a lease rent of Rs3000 and established a factory. Foreigners would come to this exotic location for fittings and stitches. This is how it captured people’s attention,” she said. Over years, property rates at Hauz Khas increased multiple-fold. What started with Rs20 per foot has become Rs150 per foot. “But it is still cheaper than other prominent places like Khan Market,” lamented Dhingra, one among Hauz Khas’ wealthiest landlords. Ramani shared that it was the growing commercial aspiration of this place, that estranged her from it. “It was different. Now landlords have become greedy. One of my friends here (Usha Hooda) is being harassed for increasing rents. I cannot see this,” the designer confided.