Tucked behind the bustling lanes of Chawri Bazaar stands a hidden treasure that few Delhiites know about—the Hazrat Shah Waliullah Public Library. Amid the constant buzz of autos, chaat stalls, and shoppers haggling over brassware, this quiet sanctuary has been preserving not just rare books but the very spirit of Old Delhi for decades.
The library, housed in an unassuming old haveli, offers a time-travel experience not too far from Jama Masjid. It brims with rare Urdu, Arabic, and Persian manuscripts, colonial-era newspapers, and handwritten Islamic texts that date back several centuries. But it is not just the books that make this place special—it’s the soul it represents. Established in honor of the 18th-century Islamic scholar Shah Waliullah Dehlawi, the library embodies Delhi’s once-flourishing intellectual tradition now slowly being forgotten in the modern age.
In a city rapidly racing to modernity, where culture often gets buried under skyscrapers, spaces like this remind us of Delhi’s deep, multicultural traditions. The caretakers of the library, mostly ageing bibliophiles and scholars, speak of a time when literary debates and philosophical discussions spilled out onto the Haveli courtyard. Today, while the footfall may be lower, the collection continues to grow thanks to donations and deep passion.
It’s easy to feel nostalgia walking through its narrow aisles lined with cracked wooden shelves and the scent of old paper. But this isn’t just nostalgia—it’s resistance against forgetting. Preserving spaces like this library is as vital to Delhi’s identity as preserving Qutub Minar or Red Fort. It’s not about romanticising the past but ensuring it remains accessible and visible.
Perhaps more can be done. School tours, public readings, and digitisation efforts could breathe new life into this sacred space. And maybe, when we next find ourselves grumbling about the city’s chaos, we could take a detour to this poetic corner of calm tucked inside Dilli 6.
After all, sometimes, the most powerful stories of a city are waiting silently on dusty shelves.
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