This way to Patli Gali (false name!)

The Walled City dictionary

- Mayank Austen Soofi

A man in lungi is trudging through this long, narrow, and dark tunnel, here in Old Delhi.

He is carrying a hefty load on his head. Since the load is so unwieldy, and the tunnel is so cramped, the man gets stuck midway. He twists this way and that, shifts the load on his head, and only then is he able to make his way towards the tunnel’s exit.

The tunnel is otherwise utterly deserted and silent. As the eyes adjust to the darkness, the tunnel reveals itself to be an extremely cramped street lined on both sides with tall doorways. Each doorway opens into a spacious hall. Each hall has scores of men working silently amid tall stacks of sheets.