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| Our Haveli, Lal Singh Bhawan in Shamli |
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| Posing with Design |
Shamli is a beautiful place. Our haveli is visible from the entrance of the colony. The road of the colony was narrow but clean. It was also surrounded by small houses built in or around the same age.
The haveli was built by my Great-Grandfather’s father Lala Lal Singh in 1936. Hence, the name of the mansion is also Lal Singh Bhawan. A few kilometres ahead is the great Lal Singh Market, which too was established by him.
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| Posing at the main gate. |
As soon as we entered the fence, I saw my cute little cousin Satyansh playing with his friends, some games actively in the large open space outside the mansion on which at some time, meetings, parties and even weddings used to be held. Nevertheless, the place was then deserted. I entered through the grand arched gate.
On the top of the building was written Lala Lal Singh in English. I wondered that he knew english at that time! It must have been a great achievement.
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| A candid shot from the balcony with my cousin Satyansh. |
The whole building was painted yellow with a speck of the combination of a few different colours.
The house had an open veranda with rooms in the side. Here was the room in which my mom Dad lived for one year after their marriage. They had a dressing table with mnemoics SN for Sanjeev and Neelam. I climbed the stairs.
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| Locate your eyes as far as you can, It’s the campus of Lal Singh Bhawan. |
I met our Chachis, Amma and Baba ji and exchanged a few pleasantries. Then we rushed to grandfather’s room which was very near to the balcony. One peculiar thing that I noticed was that, every room adjoining the balcony had three consecutive doors regardless of the outer door of the veranda.
The rooms were damp so we didn’t feel as hot and humid as we’d have felt elsewhere.
We visited the terrace and got a few pictures clicked. The rooftop was so high that we could get the view of the whole Shamli. Even the sugar mill which was 10 km ahead.
There were many rooms (or barsatis) most of which were vacant and some were locked.
I must appreciate the architectural skills and generosity our ancestors had. The biggest factor was echo.
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| Another candid shot of Me and Satyansh. |
I was playing badminton with Satyansh, still I could hear the voices of the second floor. Even while I were on the terrace, I could hear the same voices. Incredible! Isn’t it?
I had lunch at the same place which was very delicious.
In the afternoon, Satyansh took me to the market area which was full of exciting hustle-bustle. The area is famous for it’s soft drink-lemon soda. Sorry! but I don’t have any picture of the place.
After that, we visited Sarita Taiji’s home which is very near to the haveli, she is a very talented lady with a vibrant personality.
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| A beautiful craft made by Sarita Taiji. |
I really had fun. Now I come to know that why did children of bygone age loved to spend their vacations at their grandparents’. These places, despite being ordinary have a thousand stories to tell which cannot be expressed in words. Everyone, at some point of time, loves to go on a historical tour; But I’d rather like to call it a genealogical tour.
Note-
All the pictures used in this article (including the one in header picture) are clicked by me only using DSLR Nikon D3200. You can buy it for yourself from here.
Disclaimer-
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