From Govindam Sweets, graffitis and galiyans
This is one place people frequent for designer boutiques and exclusive cafes. I, however, had my internship here. I know this raises eyeballs and attracts people’s envy.
This place is really a writer’s delight. It is built on oxymorons – It’s a village but its urban, It has narrow muddy lanes that showcase the richest designer’s work, it has school kids in uniform going to or coming back from school and a college gang bunking to try out a new café. All of these together and in harmony. This is one of the rare places where disparities do not disturb but rather offer comfort.
Its graffitis will make you stop, wonder and appreciate them before you continue walking. They, in all their abstractness, will inspire ekphrasis. While some graffitis seem to convey an entire story in a wall, others seem to make no sense at all. And this surreal quality of graffitis makes me want to see more and more of them. They don’t just beautify the walls, they, for me, are a combination of art and intellect. And those in Shahpur Jat will sure graffiti your soul.
Siri Fort was one of the first capital cities of Afghans when they came to India in the fourteenth century. And thus Shahpur Jat continues to be one historic site with a rich past. The remnants of this capital still survive in the form of partial forts and monuments. It is ironic and amusing at the same time that the shopkeepers sitting adjacent to those very precious surviving remains wouldn’t know of its richness and the exquisite spot they have their shop in. For them, their tiny shops are their world. And they are content.
This place has a particular fragrance. And I hesitate when I say fragrance. It took me a lot of days to get used to that smell of non-vegetarian food or simply food being prepared at dhabas. But after several days, I realize that smell was so peculiar to those galiyans of Shahpur Jat that I can’t imagine Shahpur Jat without it. And now, it seems like fragrance.
Yes, there are dogs roaming around. Yes, even a little drizzle makes it difficult for one to walk. Yes, there is always construction going on almost everywhere, or so it seems. But then it is a village. And these are the very things that make Shahpur Jat the Shahpur Jat we all love. Once we acknowledge this little fact, we start to look at Shahpur Jat from a different perspective, one that probably relishes Govindam Sweets more than The PotBelly Café, one that would rather make you go only for the giant graffitis and not for that Greek Designer.
The amalgamation of the urban and village pleases and startles me so much. Shahpur Jat is a treasure!
