The Walled City encyclopaedia.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Old Delhi’s Gali Parathe Wali is home to very many parathe wale. Similarly, Gali Kebabiyan is home to kebab wale.

Per this straightforward logic, Gali Papad Wali must have papad wale. Turns out the street has nothing to do with that crispy appetising snack.

This afternoon, citizen Zibran, whose house lies towards the other end of this short street, is squeezing his way through the street’s cramped confines. He confirms that the gali has no tangible link with any kind of papad. He also says, in an amused tone, that “Our Gali Papad Wali is sometimes mispronounced as Gali Paper Wali!” The friendly man’s smile dissolves into a full-fledged laughter. He also says that a good number of people also refer to the street as Gali Pahar Wali.

But the street has no pahar, or hill, either. Zibran stops laughing, and notes that Old Delhi was originally set up by Emperor Shahjahan on a hilly area. Today, it is impossible to discern those pahars, he says, because most of those “chhoti-moti” hills were levelled over the centuries, presently landscaped with extremely dense urban concrete.

That said, the vicinity happens to have a street called Gali Pahar Wali. It is in fact only two lanes away from Gali Paper Wali. (Sorry, Papad Wali!)

Now, one more street dweller joins the discussion. Sarfaraz has his theory about the street name: “Until some decades ago, our gali was without a name. Finally, the residents decided to name it Papad Wali.

And why did they pick on papad? Sarfaraz has no answer. Both men graciously pose for a joint portrait (the scene is gate-crashed by a third passer-by), after which they all go their separate ways. The gali starts to bear a deserted look, the shut doorways staring blankly at each other. Two or three of the doors look more solemn with their metallic nameplates. Curiously, these painted plaques identify their street address either as “Chatta Lal Mian,” which is a nearby neighbourhood, or as “Behind Delite Cinema.” They don’t mention Gali Papad Wali.

Fret not. The street name Gali Papad Wali is hundred percent real—confirms a resident, his face leaning out of an upper-floor window.

Minutes later, a hawker enters Gali Papad Wali. He is hawking a thing that is not papad.