This UNESCO-Awarded Dharampua Haveli in Chandni Chowk of old Delhi is a good example of how India's vast heritage sites can be restored and saved for the posterity without any help from the politicians whose agenda and passions rarely cover dying historical and heritage structures of architectural beauty across the country.
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| old Delhi Haveli Dharampura indiatimes.com |
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| old Delhi Haveli Dharampura lbb.in |
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| old Delhi Haveli Dharampura lbb.in |
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| old Delhi Haveli Dharampura lbb.in |
Now turned into a luxurious boutique hotel, Haveli Dharampura is a late Mughal-style haveli that came up\around 1887 after the great war of independence of 1857-58. The credit goes to shri Vijay Goel whose painstaking work is reflected in every nook and corner of the structure right from careful restoration of old ornate design elements, using matching traditional construction materials, space optimization combined with modern intervention. it took him 7 years to complete the project which apart from others for reasons of proper planning, superior quality workmanship, focus on retaining the heritage aspects, etc. his interest was so overwhelming, he with dedication and resolute mind, resurrected an old architectural gem from a crumbling state. finding right technique to repair cracks in 200-year-old walls adding modernity to the old building, recreating right old plater work, etc as part of conservation is a tedious one. but sri Goel handled the whole gamut of conservation with skill and tactics.
what is inspiring is this three story structure has 60 rooms, which have now been re-designed into 13 grand rooms with bathrooms and attendant service areas across all floors. Each door carrying the names of the gates such as: Kashmiri, Turkmani, Ajmeri , etc. The next level has rooms, balconies and little alcoves for sitting and chatting. The rooftop sit-outs offer a vista of old historical buildings - the Jama Masjid, Red Fort, Gurudwara Sisganj, churches, temples and more.
When you go past the second heavy door you are into the huge, light-filled courtyard ringed by three cast-iron balustraded floors. Walls of slim bricks supporting arches, carved brackets, polished wooden doors and inlaid marble floors, old styled jharokas, jaali stone windows, etc., - all bring back the old pictures of the 18th century haveli which was common in this part and Rajasthan.
The grand entrance on the ground floor takes you into an aangan with a small fountain , fenced off by an art gallery on the left and the restaurant straight ahead. The inspiring features are jharokas and windows carry stained glass art and decorated balconies with dancers practicing for the evening and an atmosphere full of thumris and ghazals, creating an old style ambiance with a modern backdrop. on certain days --every Saturday and Sunday from 7 pm to 10 pm, guests can enjoy kathak dances,
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