Chunnamal Haveli

The Veranda and front view of the Chunnamal Haveli
Front view of the Chunnamal Haveli.

Rai Lala Chunnamal ki Haveli (छुन्नामल की हवेली) is the only well-preserved haveli in the walled city of old Delhi in the Chandni Chowk area.[1]

Lala Chunnamal and his family were Agarwals[2]

History

After the 1857 Indian Rebellion of 1857, Lala Chunnamal emerged as one of the wealthiest people in Delhi.[3] Mirza Ghalib lamented on the plight of Muslims after the Ghadar, envying the illuminated mansion of Chunnamal.[4] Chunnamal was the first person in Delhi to acquire an automobile and a phone.

The Common and Family Room at the Chunnamal Haveli

The British had auctioned the Fatehpuri Masjid after the 1857 war to Lala Chunnamal for Rs. 19,000,[5][6] who preserved the mosque. Later in 1877 it was acquired by the government in exchange for four villages and was restored to the Muslims at the Delhi Darbar when the British allowed the Muslims back into Old Delhi. A similar mosque, Akbarabadi Masjid, built by the Akbarabadi Begum, wife of Shah Jahan in 1650, was destroyed by the British.[7][8]

Rai Lala Chunnamal's haveli in Katra Nil section of Chandni Chowk is spread over one acre,[9] with 128 rooms built on the three floors. The tenth generation of the Chunnamal family currently lives in it. It is surrounded by 139 shops.

An inscription on the drawing room wall states that it was built in 1848. Parts of it were built in 1864.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Two havelis http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/in-delhi6/417720/
  2. ↑ http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/capital-gain-113050300907_1.html
  3. ↑ Hakim's haveli haven for Afghan refugees http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-05-17/delhi/28345359_1_haveli-afghan-market-ancestral-property
  4. ↑ The Last Mughal, The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi 1857, William Dalrymple
  5. ↑ http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01-5-2000/fatehpuri_shahi_masjid_a_mute_wi.htm Fatehpuri Shahi Masjid A mute witness to the travails of Dillee
  6. ↑ http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/09/25/stories/2003092500260100.htm Beyond the Wall
  7. ↑ In memory of a pious Begum The Hindu, October 3, 2005.
  8. ↑ Baishali Adak (July 10, 2012). "A place suitable for a queen". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  9. ↑ http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/05/01/03/146271.html

External links

Coordinates: 28°39′03″N 77°13′59″E / 28.65075°N 77.23307°E / 28.65075; 77.23307

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