Heritage

my sister is doin her MA in cultural studies... n she's doin a project on the history of Mathurs in Delhi.. which obviously includes our own family... family history n stories of important ppl of our caste.... Mathurs are a subcaste belonging to the Kayastha caste.... not that i have more than a very vague idea of what it all means.... but this project is giving me a lot of insight into the history of my family n society....
we live in a cooperative society which has 116 flats.... bout 100 of them are owned by Mathur families from old Delhi... we are from there too.... our ancestoral house still stands... still belongs in our family... some cousins still live there... in the heart of Chandni chowk... near the Jama Masjid...
its wierd how despite living here... i have very little knowledge of my heritage n my family's past... or the "Mathur Culture" of old Delhi.." sheher" as its called.. long ago the citadel of shahjahanabad, the Red fort- Chandni chowk area is still caleed sheher by my community... "Sheher"- the city.we are going for a walk around Chandni chowk tomorrow... to visit the places that are significant in the Cultural history of Mathurs.. the temple of Shri Chitragupt... the patron deity, from whose body the Kayasthas are supposed to have been created... the age old shops selling our typical jewellery and other things like the Chunri- a sari given to married daughters and daughters- in law on special occasions such as different pujas etc..., the special bindis- cahumpbindi worn by the married women on special occasions, shops specialising in foodstuffs that are part and parcel of our culture- Kulle- a snack made from potatoes hollowed out and stuffed with chana and spices etc; bedmi aloo- a dish of spicy potatoes stuffed inside a poori made of atta mixed with ground urad dal.. and a few of the old houses , havelis actually, that are still owned and occupied by mathur families, ours includeeed.. the wierd part is.... i havent been to that house more than bot 4 times in my entire 18 yr lifespan, despite the fact that some of our relatives still live there...
we are also going to participate in the age old activity of flying kites there... one of our relatives is to give us a demonstration of his prowess, and then we might give it a try..... i have flown kites before... its one thing thats always done almost as a ritual on Independence day.. kite flying contests all over the place...
we had an informal meeting -cum orientation for the ppl who are goin for the walk... mostly kids my age frm the society... n i felt like i didnt know a thng bout my past.... a couple of my frenz knew sooooooo much bout the Sheher n our cultural history...
but thats what this walk is for.... to educate ignorant "modern" brats like me bout our old culture....


see my sister's project blog... www.mathurbuilding.blogspot.com