Delhi Galiyara

Delhi : A Rhapsody

geek — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 13:25:00 +0000

Delhi thrives in the streets, which were once home to the great dynasties of the world. Cities that were built and re-built time and again, as if composed and recomposed by various composers/ architects. The contemporary Delhi thus is like a poem, whose stanzas have been written by various poets at different points in time. The Delhi of  today is a culmination of 7 cities. The remnants of the eras bygone are a living testimony of thousands of years of human occupation. The exhibition tries to capture not just the historical Delhi but also the untamed, diminishing yet alive wilderness of Delhi. The Spring of Delhi in full bloom and the scenic landscape of the biodiversity of Delhi. It is also a call to fellow beings to add more stanzas to the epic poem, not the tragedies of the smog but of the symphony of sustainability and nature.
It’s an attempt in a flaneuserie trying to capture the everyday of Delhi to bring out the aesthetic side of it, which we have ceased to see these days. These are stories from lanes lesser known, a lyrical ballad dedicated to the lanes of Delhi. Here's to a timeless rhapsodic composition called “Delhi “.

Date: 1-30 April 2018

Venue: DoD Foyer, India Habitat Centre

Photo Courtesy: Pallavi / Delhi Galiyara

At the DoD Foyer, India Habitat Centre

Amalgam: The Everyday of Delhi

geek — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 13:12:51 +0000

Delhi is a city of cities. A remnant of the era bygone can be found in every present district of Delhi. Interestingly these architectural ancestors which make us travel time, form a beautiful amalgamation of the past and the present. The historical and the modern coexist in harmony forming a beautiful melange of people, of history, of civilizations which all come together in the streets of Delhi. This exhibition thus tries to capture the sync between the temporal and the spatial axes that creates the "everyday" of Delhi.Delhi has assimilated cultures, people, dynasties and ethnicities since time immemorial and has lived on to become what it is today!
Amalgam thus is also a tribute to this assimilative spirit of Delhi!

It was held from 1-31 March 2017.
Venue: DoD Foyer, India Habitat Centre

Photo Courtesy: Pallavi/ Delhi Galiyara

An evening stroll in Paharganj

geek — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 13:05:37 +0000

Have you ever felt like strolling in Paharganj post sunset? Just a simple act of loitering, imagining the rich heritage of the place as we walk past the lanes of history. We will see Paharganj as a remnant of Shahjahanabad which could escape Lutyens’ expansion plans and have survived through sparks of modernity still developing trying to give you a Las Vegas feel. Through the walk, the aim is to facilitate access from the perspective of gender, given the notoriety Delhi is unfortunately known for. Questioning rumours around spaces, looking at past history, reclaiming the space and looking at commute and mobility to enhance access to public spaces are a major part of the walk. This is also to give an idea of Delhi’s evolution to its present form, a city of cities that it is. It is a way to connect to ones city, to relate to Delhi without a feeling of ‘unsafe’ but rejoice in the glory of its past with a circle of handholding as a group and a shared feeling of sisterhood, that enables one to feel ‘safe’. 

Timing: 6pm-8pm

Reading In Ridge: A walk for Bibliophiles

geek — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:53:44 +0000

Just imagine a jungle retreat for the bibliophiles? Reading about Delhi, sitting under the thick foliage of the northern ridge, surrounded by history. It’s a heritage walk with a twist where texts will guide you through and make you imagine Delhi of the past.

The northern ridge is home to many hidden monuments from the siege of Delhi 1857. Although this time the focus is not on the monuments alone but on the texts around this city of cities i.e. Delhi. We will start from the metro station, cross the University area (both of which represent the modern), marching towards the past. The flagstaff house, the Khooni Jheel and the Sarpada jheel, reminiscing the past, seeing the hidden gems of the ridge. And making our way past Delhi through books and poetry.

With the walk participants, Delhi Walk Festival 2017.

Mehrauli After Dark: A Night Walk

geek — Fri, 04 Feb 2022 12:11:52 +0000

Have you ever felt like exploring the galiyaras of Mehrauli at night? Do you know that it is the first city of Delhi which is now inhabited by diverse communities? Well if not, then this is the time to know more about the oldest part of Delhi.Come and experience the beauty that Mehrauli is. From the cacophony of the Mehrauli bus terminus, to the markets of Mehrauli bustling with life, to the peaceful and starry skied archaeological park. It’s like an orchestrated symphony for the explorers that this hidden gem creates.

Timings: 6-8pm

With participants from Delhi Walk Festival 2017

Delhi Galiyara

geek — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:50:39 +0000

Delhi Galiyara started in 2017 as a pictorial archive of Delhi from the perspective of a flâneuse or female wanderer. It is the brainchild of Pallavi, who is a photographer and documentary filmmaker and editor. She is a Post Graduate in Gender Studies and her work primarily revolves around gender and space. She is also a Gender and Heritage walk curator and has lead  walks in the Delhi Walk Festival 2016 and 2017. She is known for her night walks in Mehrauli and has been invited by Universities like Ambedkar University Delhi and South Asian University to curate walks as part of the curriculum.

Media Coverage

The night walks by Delhi Galiyara take you to Paharganj and Mehrauli, where Pallavi, the walk leader, encourages you to wander the night, while discussing the rich heritage of days gone by, experiencing the togetherness of a group of women talking, laughing, discussing history and exchanging their views on gender discrimination and woman empowerment. This edition of the DWF celebrates the female flâneur and these walks by Delhi Galiyara represent that well along with other walks led by women or about women of Delhi. The fact that the walks explore the city at night makes it even more meaningful to us, as it makes night exploration possible, safer and for all genders alike.” –
Aastha Chauhan, Festival Director, Delhi Walk Festival 2017
Sunday Guardian

The point of the festival is to celebrate the act of walking,” says Pallavi. But in a city like Delhi, with its record of crime against women, the act of them coming out and walking at night also makes a larger statement. “It’s about a sense of togetherness. The idea is to loiter at night,” says Pallavi.”
Livemint

The word ‘galiyara’ is almost giddily poetic, and Pallavi’s inspiration comes from how sweetly it sits in between mundanity and magic. “‘Kaun jaye Zauq, Dilli ki galiyaan chhod kar,’” as she reminds us — the Delhi flaneur’s slogan, borrowed from a Shahjahanabad darling, that implies that no one would be foolish enough to leave the lanes of Delhi. “From Chandni Chowk to Mehrauli,” she says, “it’s just a maze of lanes, narrow and broad. ‘Dilli’ and ‘galiyara’ go hand in hand.” Let go of that Mace for a moment to put your hand in hers.
Take a night walk with a delhi (gal)iyara

Coverage of my exhibition “Delhi : A Rhapsody” in Dainik Bhaskar, April 1, 2018

More on Walks

Smell Sensorium Walk (In collaboration with KNMA’s Sensing the City project)

Curated excursions for RC21 Conference Delhi 2019.

“Research Committee 21 (RC21) on Sociology of Urban and Regional Development of the International Sociological Association was established in 1970 to promote theory and research in the sociology of urban and regional development, and – in so doing – create an international community of scholars who will advance the field.”
RC21 official website