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Inside the 120-room haveli

Priyanka Kotamraju Posted online: Sun Dec 16 2012, 00:37 hrs

Chunna mal was the wealthiest man in 19th century Delhi. His haveli harks back to a time when the city was
moving between two empires
As a local story goes, there was a time when Lala Chunna mals family was so poor that they mortgaged a
lutiya (tumbler) to a channewala in Chandni Chowk in exchange for money. For years, the channewalas sons
would hang up Chunna mals lutiya during Diwali to remind themselves of how poverty can run deep.
History, however, tells a tale of a man, who in 19th century was the richest man in Delhi. He was known for his
friendship with the British, properties in Shahjahanabad, business acumen, and charities.
On Nai Sadak, Chandni Chowk, stands the Chunna mal haveli. Anil Pershad, the sixth generation descendant
of Chunna mal lives here now. Most of the haveli has been divided among the family and locked up.
From the rooftop, Pershad points to the 120-room haveli, spread across half an acre. The cavernous drawing
room with high ceilings, large gilt mirrors and chandeliers gives one a glimpse of what evening soirees at
Chunna mals would have looked like in the 19th century.
I never thought Id end up living here. Now, I cant live anywhere else, Pershad says.
Originally from Lahore, Chunna mals forefathers migrated to Delhi in the 16th century and built a successful
business in textiles, tending to toshakhanas (treasury) of the Mughals.
It was in the period after the 1857 revolt, that Chunna mal came into prominence. The few business families of
Delhi lost their wealth, position and, some, even their lives. But Chunna mal, having accurately assessed the
outcome of the revolt, threw in his lot with the British.
Naseem Mirza Changezi, a 104-year old freedom-fighter, says: Chunna mal had access to Lal Qila and being
the only money-lender left in town, he knew exactly what was going on inside. He turned informer for the British
and, thus, protected his interests in the city, Changezi says.
After the Mughals were ousted from Delhi, the British drove out the original occupants of Shahjahanabad.
Suddenly, they had vacant property on their hands. In the bizarre auction that followed, accounts of which can
be found in Narayani Guptas Delhi between Two Empires, Chunna mal acquired properties all over the city.
Gupta writes, Between 1858 and 1862, a land transaction of bewildering complexity was carried out... Lord
Canning proposed that confiscated houses be given as compensation to individuals whose houses were to be
demolished as part of the Fort and railway clearances. They were given tickets stating the value of the
property to be demolished, which could be exchanged for confiscated houses of equal value...

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Lala Chunna mal acquired many tickets and used them to make large-scale property purchases.
Khaled Alvi, professor of Urdu at Zakir Hussain College, says: To antagonise the Muslims further, in what
might be the first auction of a religious monument, the British sold the Fatehpuri Masjid and the shops
surrounding it to Lala Chunna mal for Rs 29,000. Later, in 1877, they got it back from him in exchange for
villages in Mehrauli and UP.
His friendship with the British brought Chunna mal many other perks too. He was elected commissioner of the
first municipal corporation; he was the founder member of the Delhi Bank and the Delhi Cloth Mill; and was
awarded with the title of Rai.
Today, Anil Pershad spends Rs 10-15 lakh a year in the upkeep of the haveli. It still gets visitors and figures
prominently on all heritage walks. But Chunna mal has left an enduring legacy.
In the words of Ghalib, who in his leki-haalat, wrote of a city, Delhi, where bodies were strewn, the wells were
empty, but Chunna mals haveli was shining bright in all that darkness.

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