Deco in Delhi

21/12/2025

18/05/2025

in today’s Sunday edition of sharing space with as a testament to documenting, preserving and advocating for India’s Art Deco style as it enters into its centennial year. Special thanks to Prof who guided us through the research at the time we needed it the most, that eventually led to going beyond just the visual impressions of the style but dive deeper into the built framework, thinking about categorisation more clearly making it specific for Delhi.
Thank you to .bhura and team for putting this together.
Last image credits to Manohar News Stand in Andheri West who’ll be delivering the paper to our home today :) times when you realise nothing can beat print even till date 🤍
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Delite Cinema image credits :
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24/03/2025

It was our pleasure to be part of the recently organised launch of the Pune Architectural History Archive dedicated to documenting the city’s 20th century architectural heritage. A cause we truly resonated with when beginning of Deco in Delhi, 5 years ago.

The day long event was an enriching experience to discuss with fellow practitioners the relevance of city archives, the forever conundrum of digital vs offline, the journey so far, understanding what makes something eligible to be called an archive and the future that lies ahead. We left with immense inspiration after seeing the amount of work that has gone into putting together .paha through tireless efforts of Dr. Sarah Melsens, Dr. Pushkar Sohoni, Dr. Maya Dodd and many others plus the individuals and practices that lent their valuable collections and stories without which it wouldn’t have been possible.
We are glad to have shared space with all of them.
Special thanks to for extending the invitation
Thanks to fellow panelists who were with us on the Round-table discussion “Architectures Archived Digitally” moderated by Dr. Pushkar Sohoni (IISER)

You can visit the archive on - www.paha.site

Image Credits -
Abhiraj x PAHA

03/11/2024

4 — P U S A - R O A D / 1 9 4 0 s / C O N T D .
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Maintaining a house with a long history is a difficult and tedious task. The first round started when the family got possession to the house, with the last round being more recent. Kavita Wahi has worked with Neemrana Hotels - the group that sort of started the trend of restoring heritage properties of scale and running them as boutique hotels. Her experience in seeing the restoration process with careful insertion of modern elements has benefited in keeping the spirit of the house intact. The family adopted a practice of yoke and refusing the existing materials of the house.

Discussing the process of repairs, they mention it to be more expensive than a regular new construction as it requires quite specialised workmen. However, the restoration and preservation process has been an immensely satisfying and pleasing experience.

The family witnessing the neighbourhood being demolished and converted into a commercial hub feels a deep sense of loss as these stunning bungalows with the finest materials - Burma teak to fine coloured terrazzo with exquisitely detailed workmanship vanish. The owners of such beautifully constructed Art Deco bungalows relocate, leaving to waste these treasured pieces of architecture.
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Image 1 credits : Hammer.Tongs Instagram page with permission from Kavita Wahi
Images 2–12 + Interview + Text : Prashansa Sachdeva
Special Thanks to : .wahi and Family for their inputs and letting us access their home
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31/08/2024

4 — P U S A - R O A D / 1 9 4 0 s
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The Wahi family of bungalow no. 4 acquired this Deco style residence in 1970 but the property’s construction dates back to the 40s. The land on which the house is built was originally reserved by the British to establish the Electric Commission officers residences in Delhi. Later it wasn’t pursued and the land was transferred by DIT to Lala Sri Ram’s family of Delhi Cloth Mills, who further split it into multiple parts. Onto one piece, 1 PUSA Road was designed by Mohinder Singh as a prototype residence, a design that had to be originally replicated for houses 1 — 5. Since the prototype didn’t go through, the next four houses were built with a revised layout which eventually were made identical to each other. Delhi Cloth Mills also had an office at Bungalow no. 5.

This apartment configuration, quite unique to Delhi of that time is designed as 4 units (2 on ground and 2 on first floor) connected through a magnificent central staircase. One can see the beautiful wraparound form of the staircase with differentiation in the form of base flooring, the bandings and the handrails created through coloured terrazzo.
The external jaalis on the tower as well as the porthole windows feature Hindu iconography like Swastikas. One can also observe the horizontal bandings on the external facade of the house, where the vertical ones wrap around the flat top of the tower, features quite symbolic to Art Deco houses.

Apart from covering the ground floor verandahs, the owners have not largely altered the original form of the house. At one point, the residence also operated as a blood bank which incurred some damages to it through its fitting and fixtures. In the next post we will take you through some of its inside views and details.
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Images + Interview + Text : Prashansa Sachdeva
Special thanks for Wahi family for this documentation
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****ka

04/05/2024

From the Koochas of Bhagirath Palace /
The not-so-much observed 1940s of Chandni Chowk

Hidden in the dense streets of Bhagirath Palace - usually famous as a shopping destination for homely and business needs, peek the unique patterns and typography in Deco style representive of owners that once settled in the thriving neighbourhoods of Chandni Chowk

Fostered by the rise of cement industry in the early 1900s, the production of Deco style ornamentation slyly provides a unique texture within the myriad mosaic of Old Delhi’s built forms. One never knows where they might find a Deco detail, could be right in front of you but missed quite easily in the bustling streets under covered with a never ending web of wires. If only you look closely and long enough you might come across more such unique details, traces of Deco never acknowledged enough but almost as beautiful as they were almost 80 years ago

Some of these buildings built close to pre and post independence era
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Identified through images :
1. Deepak Mahal, 1947
2. Jaih Building, 1947
3. J.M. Bodiwala, 1942
4. Prem Building, 1940s (second part of the year now broken)
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Image Credits :
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