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    Phool Waalon ki Sair: The Flower Seller's Festival

    Phool Walon Ki Sair meaning "procession of the florists" is an annual celebration by the flowers sellers of Delhi. It is a three-day festival, generally held just after the rainy season in the region of Mehrauli. The grand procession that followed Mirza Jahangir’s return in 1812 witnessed the flower sellers of the city bringing floral chadar (sheets) and pankha (fan) as offerings. This became an annual event, with a large fair and a series of cultural performances held near Shamsi Talab.

    What’s in a Name? Reading a Neighbourhood Through Local Nomenclature

    Spaces in the neighbourhood of Mehrauli , Delhi, have changed drastically over the years. However, there are many streets and localities in the neighbourhood that are still remembered, by name, for the kind of people who lived or did business there. One such example is Doodh waali gali. The interviewee, an old time resident of the neighbourhood, describes in the audio how the street came to be known as doodh waali gali because of the doodh and halwai shops that once populated that street.

    Being a Woman Vendor in Shadipur Shani Bazaar

    Kaushalya has been selling laces in the Saturday weekly street market in Shadipur, West Delhi, for over 10 years. She is one of the very few women street vendors who make a living by selling various products across weekly markets in Delhi. In Shadipur Shani Bazaar, of the 350 plus street vendors only 10-12 of them are women.

    The Making of a Street Market

    The Shadipur Shani Bazaar, known for the cheap and affordable stitched and pre-stitched fabric it offers, is one of the main attractions of the Shadipur neighbourhood. Spread entirely by word of mouth, the low prices at the market attracts customers from other parts of West Delhi, India. Hi-end boutique owners from Karol Bagh come here as well to buy fabric and bling to accessorise their products.

    According to Bobby, a resident who sells children’s clothes in the market,

    Streets of Leiden

    The 1890 photograph of ‘laundry day’ shows people washing, bleaching and drying their clothes on the side of the canals of Leiden. According to our sources, the people in Leiden used the water that was centrally heated by the factories, once a week, to wash their clothes once a week. They needed the entire streets for the laundry process and used it as a community.

    History Frozen in Memory

    The Stadhuis Town Hall, in Leiden, was built in the 1600 in what is called the Renaissance style of architecture. Made of German sandstone, it is also the longest Town Hall building in the Netherlands. One February morning in 1929, a fire broke out in the Town Hall burning it to the ground as it was so cold that part of the water being used to extinguish the fire froze as soon as it hit the façade. It was then re-built in the old style using what material remained.

    Changing Nature of Public Spaces

    It was believed that if one made a wish with their arms wrapped around the Iron pillar with their back against it their wish would be granted. Before the iron railings that ‘protect’ the Iron Pillar today, many visitors, both young and old, would try their luck at making a wish. Similar are the memories of long-time residents of Mehrauli. Many remember being able to freely enter the Qutub Minar complex and playing or picnicking, before the ticket booths and high walls of today.

    Imaginations of a Street

    Mesha Murali, Senior Research Assistant, Centre for Community Knowledge, Ambedkar University Delhi, for her story took inspiration from all the exhibited photos for the session on Reading/Writing/Re-writing/Telling/Re-telling using prompts, 20 December 2019.

    I saw people sitting on the street, outside their houses, talking, eating and enjoying the passing day. Children were playing games, laughing, dancing to music and being asked by their parents to stay at a safe distance from the main street.

    Photographs as Memory Triggers

    Photographs have proven to be interesting tools to get people to open up about themselves and share memories of their past. For instance, the photo of Anwar posing at Phasi Ghar (execution point) not only got him talking about the monument that no longer stands, but also reminded him of his childhood spent dressing up and posing for photographs at various locations in Mehrauli, Delhi.

    Mesha Murali: Bus stand se aage. Kahan?  

    Celebrating Identity: Muharram

    A procession of Tazias and street performers greet you while walking through the main market road, in Mehrauli, on the day of Muharram. The procession is organized by Auliya Masjid and Bakhtiyar Kaki Dargah situated in the neighbourhood.

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