Imperilled Heritage

Charles and Karoki Lewis' evocative and informative book on Delhi's historic villages—Chirag Dilli, Khirki, Begumpur, Shahpur Jat, Masjid Moth and Hauz Khas—is thus a useful addition to the woefully small number of publications, beyond the touristic kitsch, on Delhi's multi-faceted and fascinating past. The problem, unfortunately, is that most of those who are literate yet ignorant—the 'ignoratti' of the city—don't bother to read. This is a pity because Charles Lewis' text is both succinct and readable. But, perhaps, they will find the time to flip through the photographs taken by Karoki. Using, quite appropriately, the black and white medium, he has sensitively captured the many faces and moods of these villages which continue to exist, in a time warp of their own, behind the facade of a glitzy and shallow metropolis absorbed in its humdrum routine of survival.

What the photographs graphically bring out is the appalling neglect of a series of monuments and habitats that constitute a vital subtext to the claims of Delhi to be one of the world's most historical capitals. Delhi's historic villages have become, as it were, marooned in the torrent unleashed by one of the most haphazard urban expansions in the history of modern town-planning. The torrent was man-made, created by a combination of greed, corruption, and sheer aesthetic insensitivity. It's too late now to undo what has already happened. There are also inherent limitations to the efficacy of planning and conservation in a city where one-third of the population lives in slums and a larger number has no access even to latrines.

This importance of the book will, however, be enhanced if it serves as an input to formulate practical steps to better preserve Delhi's lesser known—but not less important—historical heritage, in these villages and elsewhere. Such steps will have to recognise the constraints of money, motivation and infrastructure in the present, and the irreversible desecrations of the past. They will also have to accept that there is just no point in relying only on the government to deliver. What is required is an imaginative partnership between the government and corporate and business interests based in Delhi.

The latter have the money but very little sense of social purpose. If they are involved in a project which allows them to contribute to the preservation of Delhi's historical heritage, in a scheme which gives them due credit (and publicity), and perhaps some tax incentives, then it will give to them a sense of purpose and social commitment beyond the monotony of maximising pro-fits, and at the same time provide the government with the money it needs. I see no harm, for instance, if some monuments, currently lying neglected and forlorn, are given for adoption to interested corporate houses.

The government can lay down strict guidelines on what requires to be done, and the development and preservation work can be suitably monitored. Once the project is completed there can be returnsfrom tourism that will accrue to government. There are other possibilities too. Many monuments can be suitably adapted for theatre and other cultural performances.

Will the Lt Governor or the chief minister quickly convene a meeting to discuss this proposal with the participation of the Conservation Society of Delhi, and other citizens, easily identified, who have shown an interest in this field? If they do, then this book by Charles and Karoki Lewis will have served a useful purpose. If they don't, it will remain another coffee-table book on Delhi, reviewed and forgotten, while the precious heritage of the city continues to be relentlessly destroyed.