The Walled City encyclopaedia.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

It is one of Old Delhi’s longer streets. Gali Choori Walan extends from Matia Mahal Bazaar to Chawri Bazaar. Along the way, it branches into a web of evocatively named alleys—Gali Surkh Poshan, Gali Mirza Sorayya Jaan, Gali Hakeemji Wali, Gali Joote Wali, Gali Takhat Wali, Gali Manihar Wali, Phatak Deputy Sultan, Gali Magazine Wali, Gali Hafiz Banne Wali—and one alley that carries no name.

Yet it is this unnamed alley that is the most notable. Unlike its cousin-alleys, it is not a cul-de-sac. instead, it is a connective corridor binding Gali Choori Walan to Chatta Sheikh Mangloo street. Denied a distinct identity of its own, the alley is dismissed as a mere annexe of Choori Walan. Such a treatment is unjust. This alley sustains a remarkable diversity of landmarks, beginning with Milk House, a long-time establishment that recently started serving espresso coffee (the frothy desi version). Nearby, Akbar Roti Wale bakery daily produces a range of traditional rotis that are increasingly vanishing from our dining dastarkhan: khameeri roti, lal roti, and ghee-cheeni ki roti.

Akbar Roti Wale’s fidelity to culinary tradition is counterbalanced by flamboyantly modern Star India Bakers, where vividly coloured “Happy Birthday” cakes have creamy icing piped into butterflies and roses. Directly opposite stands a shop bearing a faded STD sign, a relic of the pre-mobile era when telephone booths punctuated every street. Adapting to the times, the shop today supplies bookbinding materials—sutli, adhesives, and tapes. The alley itself houses a bookbinding workshop, equipped with a paper cutting machine. The binders sit crosslegged on the floor, beside stacks of loose pages; their hands moving with rehearsed steadiness through cycles of sutli and glue.

Lest we forget, one of the street’s two groceries is managed by a gentleman of old-world courtesy. Sarfaraz greets even random passers-by with a quick bow of the head.

The alley’s irony lies in the fact that despite lacking a name of its own, it contains two smaller cul-de-sacs, each of which happens to have a name: Gali Teeke Wali and Gali Madarsa Husain Baksh. That said, it is the blue metal doorway along the alley that hosts the area’s social life. Positioned between Gulzar tea stall and the modest grocery run by elderly Hafiz, the doorway functions as an informal gathering adda. Here, the men and boys convene to exchange news and gossip, lingering late into the night. Indeed, it won’t be out of place to refer to this unnamed alley as Gali Blue Door Wali.

On a recent night, the blue doorway was uncharacteristically deserted. The elderly grocer in the modest shop beside it, was sitting on the floor adjusting the toffee jars, as a citizen strolled past, his thoughts seemingly elsewhere. See photo.