Aishwarya Jha: In fact, it was our Guru who inspired this celebration. We both studied under the same Guru Maa, who taught us Advaita Vedanta. We have traveled the whole of India with him. We have seen so much incredible beauty and diversity in this country. We have such a vast, diverse and pluralistic kind of heritage. Some things become mainstream. For example, if you think of food, people mainly think of Old Delhi food and chaats etc. Mughlai food, which is part of the city’s cuisine. But there is more to it. Mom said, let’s start something that can really highlight things that are not so well known about the culture, about the history, of our country and present it to people in an interesting and relatable way, not a pedantic way. This is the vision behind Indophile. More Story: Delhi’s is, of course, the first of our festivals with Indophile.
Sara Abdullah Pilot: This is going to be a series. Story: Delhi’s first. We’re going to go across the country. We have already received requests to make ‘Kahaani: Lucknow Ki’ and ‘Kahaani: Bhopal Ki’. There are countless places in India where one can celebrate such festivals to highlight the best features of that particular city.
Aishwarya: When you look around India, you see there is no end to the stories. There’s a lot of stuff everywhere. And the beautiful thing is that there is a lot of it everywhere Stories From one place – you will have people from different communities, different faiths, different sections of society and everyone has their own Story. We want to do our part to highlight these and give those stories the importance they deserve.
Please let me know about the duration of this event.
Sarah: We were determined that all aspects and aspects of Delhi should come together. It’s like a puzzle where all the pieces need to fit. When people come there, they should have an intense experience and that they have come to a whole different world, a whole different Delhi, which they may have never experienced in this way before. Delhi is such a fascinating city, such an ancient city, starting from Indraprastha to the dynasties, even to the time of the British and now to modern India. It is very prosperous, ‘the city of cities’, that’s why we called it that. Some people say it is nine cities, some say it is seven cities. Reflecting all this in this one festival is what took us in that direction.
Aishwarya: Since Delhi is a mix of different cultures and communities, we wanted to do our best to represent and voice everyone in it. Story. During our social media campaign, we’re interviewing people to share our point of view Stories Every day something new keeps emerging in Delhi. Bengalis from CR Park want to share their story, people from Old Delhi want to share their story, people from many different parts of Delhi… We want to give that representation, which is why, we have included people like Delhi Dehat Project, which is an interesting initiative for people who want to talk more about the villages of Delhi and show how Delhi is really a city of villages. This is something that many people may not know about, like what was there before the colonies that we live in today came into existence. Then, we have Old Delhi food, some Mughal food, which is being prepared by Anokhi Vishal in the form of Kahaani Chor Bazaar Ki. We also have some Bania and Sindhi food.
Even in terms of performance, it is very important in any festival to strike the right balance between the things that are not so famous and the elements that are in the limelight. So, we have Delhi Gharana artistes whom we really wanted to give a platform to.
Aishwarya, as a writer you also know that Delhi has a rich literary heritage. Do you have any such visions for this or future iterations of the festival?
Aishwarya: Yes, definitely. my first novel, scent of fallen stars This is my tribute to Delhi. It’s a city with which I have a very strained relationship. I didn’t like it when I was growing up here. It seemed like a dull and dreary kind of place. You’ll watch Hollywood movies and listen to music and think, oh, life is somewhere in America; This is the American dream that we all had. It was only when I went to North America and lived there for a year that I understood what Delhi meant to me. When I was writing, it was clear to me that I wanted to write a book on Delhi. In the process, I discovered many other interesting and wonderful Delhi writers and Delhi books. This is something that we should celebrate and we definitely want to highlight.
We have writers like Nona Uppal and Madhulika Liddle. I hope to do that for all the different versions of the story, where obviously literary voices are very important in showcasing the city at different times and from different perspectives.
Sarah: Apart from the food and the artists, there are two other parts to the festival. There is an area like Delhi Bazaar. We’ll have people there selling interesting crafts but what we really want to do is highlight artisan To honor them. Many of us may buy something and think it’s beautiful, but don’t understand what goes into it – how much time it takes to do that embroidery or crochet or cross stitch. When we understand this, our connection with the craftsmen increases. it’s all about Stories.
We will also be having panel discussions over the two days where we will have authors like William Dalrymple and Swapna Liddle. Shalini Pasi, who has recently published a book, will also be there. So, it’s both serious and light-hearted, funny.
Sara, you have worked on gender with NGOs and Delhi-based organizations. Is there anything you would like to highlight on that front as well?
Sarah: I have an NGO called CEQUIN, the Center for Equity and Inclusion, which I co-founded about 17 years ago, and I was with the United Nations before that. So, it is about looking at things through a particular lens. This is not a CEQUIN event, it is an Indophile event, which is different. But it is ensured that voices from all sections of society come forward.
Aishwarya, you too have had this experience with design. Please tell us about the art aspect and sensory installation and how it came about.
Aishwarya: Art is certainly an important component of understanding any place, time, city, any thought. It’s Rathin Mitra’s centenary, so the celebrations will kick off with the exhibition Ink and Empire in Story: Delhi Ki, which traces the capital’s journey between Calcutta and Delhi through his drawings.
The establishment of Khari Baoli is also something about which we are excited. Delhi has all these special places like Masala Bazaar or Chandni Chowk but it is not possible for everyone to go there all the time. We wanted to make people feel this within the festival itself. The best way to do this appears to be through an installation that is both lifelike and interactive. So, people will be able to try spices and different spice blends, buy them and talk about their family’s spice blends and things like that. This is part of our effort to ensure that the culture survives.
This festival is in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture. Will you seek government support for the different iterations of the story that you envision across the country?
Sarah: When we are talking about preserving and highlighting cultures, it is very important to have the support of the government. When you go to the government, it’s on a completely different level. Also, when the government is thinking of something like this, it gets a seal of approval, which I and Aishwarya appreciate very much, because we have been working very hard on it. We met the Chief Minister of Delhi. We have also met ShekhawatYesWho is the Culture Minister of Government of India and the LG of Delhi, everyone really appreciated this idea. This is not a government program; It’s absolutely ours. It is curated by us; It is run by us; This is our opinion. But as I said, the fact that the government has recognized that this is something that is going towards preserving and showcasing the best of Indian culture is great. No matter what city, state or form our future festivals or events take place in, it will always be good to have the support of the government.
Aishwarya: What we are trying to do with Indofile is very much in line with the goals of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism in terms of showcasing and highlighting Indian culture. It’s great for us to have this partnership. It definitely helps us. And we hope that we will always continue to get such support from the government.
Please talk about one story from Delhi that has shaped your experience in some way?
Sarah: I was not a Delhiite; I’ve become one now because I’ve been here for 20 years. But I was born in Kashmir and I spent a lot of time in Kashmir and then we moved to England. We would come back every year to meet family or visit our home in Kashmir. Obviously, one has to come via Delhi. I remember whenever the airplane doors opened and someone walked out of the airplane, I was hit by it… it wasn’t like there was a beautiful scent in the airport or anything. This is something I understand now because of what mother teaches us about India – that there is something here, the presence of India. Actually, what is India and what is India? Some in the soil, some in the air. It will hit me. I think it was the feeling of being home, that I’m back, in fact that’s how I always feel about Delhi. For me, this is home because my guru is here and I can’t even think of living anywhere else.
Aishwarya: Once, many years ago, I was working on a project where we had to find a mansion in Delhi. I’m sure you know it’s not easy to find because unfortunately, a lot of our architecture and our heritage has also been destroyed over the years. Or it has been broken up as families have had to divide their assets. Someone advised us to go to a place near Ambawatta Complex in Mehrauli. So, we reach this place where there is a green space with three-four perfectly preserved mansions around it. You step inside and it feels like you’re completely trapped. The rest of Delhi, the outside world, traffic, noise, nothing affects me. You can hear the birds. And there is the smell of soil. As Sara said, like the land of India, the land of Delhi also has the same special fragrance. Those mansions were kind of abandoned. Nobody was doing anything with them. It was like stumbling upon a lost world, and I’ve never forgotten it. We didn’t manage to acquire one of those mansions and that project was never completed, but it’s something that has always stayed with me. This has shaped my belief that there are many lost worlds in Delhi. If you’re really lucky, sometimes you’ll get to see something completely adorable in the middle of this extremely crowded, noisy and polluted city. And this is what I find so attractive about Delhi.
Simar Bhasin is a literary critic and research scholar based in Delhi. Her essay ‘A Tale of Resistance: Desire and Dissent in Selma Dabbagh’s Short Fiction’ was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ by the Wasafiri Essay Prize 2024.
