Time Out Delhi, a weekly magazine about the goings-on around town, ran a small story this week on a new gelato truck that parks in one of my favorite neighborhoods – Hauz Khas Village. I already enjoy poking around the HKV shops and checking out the trendy restaurants. Now there’s a gelato truck? Say no more. I had a plan for my Sunday afternoon.
After memorizing the google map, I felt confident I could drive there. (It’s just 15 minutes and two left turns from my ‘hood.) Katrina and Tony patiently rode along, gently encouraging me for the most part. Only HKV residents can park in the community, so we found a spot on the street and walked uphill into the jumbled mess of trendiness. I searched in vain for the gelato truck. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up!
At first glance, HKV looks more like a crumbling slum than one of Delhi’s most affluent, artsy, hipster destinations. Like mismatched stacked legos, the buildings rise up precariously and jut out into the path at odd angles. Electrical wires snake across the outer walls, meet in massive tangled balls and trail off in various directions. Tiny retail spaces wedge into dark alleys with haute couture boutiques side-by-side with ramshackle kitschy knick-knack shops.
Walking from the car to the restaurant, we passed the flagship store for one of India’s premier designers; tentatively hopped over a stream of sewage; trekked down a steep path lined with art galleries and hobbit-sized shops selling hand-made paper products, high-end baby clothes, jewelry, antique furniture and Bollywood posters; admired the graffiti in an empty lot full of broken glass and scrap metal; sidestepped a pile of dog doo (which some good Samaritan later covered with a piece of plywood); cringed when water dripped on us from above (… just assume it’s from at air conditioner …); and finally stepped in to the Grey Garden, a teeny eatery with room for 12 patrons and a little kitchen. Hard to believe such a nasty path could lead to such a cool spot.
After a refreshing summer salad, thin-crust pizza and lemonade, we set our sights on some Hauz Khas history.
Indeed, this funky metropolis overlooks the ruins of a medieval city. The area’s name – “Hauz Khas” in Urdu – translates to “royal reservoir” and stems from the large water tank first dug in the 13th century. It eventually dried up but was rebuilt by 14th-century Emperor Feroz Shah Tughlaq, who is also buried here.
In 1352, Feroz Shah established a “madrasa” or Islamic university, which was staffed with “scholars of note” and attracted the brightest students. Today, students continue to flock here, but mostly just to canoodle in the ancient doorways overlooking the lake.
Tony was too nervous to canoodle when he saw the drop-off.
Climbing around above the reservoir.
Katrina and I wanted to stroll lakeside a bit to see the ruins from below. To reach the reservoir, we could have jumped off a high stone wall and then climbed over a spiked gate (like many of the locals) or walked a little out of the way to an access path. We chose the latter plan, although it meant we had to edge along a narrow wall to avoid stepping in the sewage stream. Down by the water, we shot a few photos, dodged a few monkeys and then climbed back up the hill to meet Tony.
After reuniting with Tony, we were heading to the car when something caught my eye and made me jump with glee. The gelato truck! We met Michael, the genius Italian guy behind Gelato Roma, and expressed our enthusiasm for his new business. We eagerly picked out our flavors – I had chocolate, roasted almond and lemon sorbet.
Parked next to the gelato truck was another snack stand: corn. Ummm … no, thank you. I’m pretty sure this kid is saying, “Stupid gelato truck, stealing all my business.”
For more info on HKV, check out these articles.
New York Times Travel, 2011
CNN-GO, 2011
Wikipedia’s take on the ruins