Latif is, to them, an enigma. Someone who they say has a non-conformist lifestyle, foreign visitors and skittish gaurds. He has written books on art history and says he writes poetry -- in French.

While the Mughal-period building which he claims he owns stands out in a cluster of shops, small houses and scattered ruins, Latif is the odd man out in Mehrauli.

Local Muslims accuse him of illegally acquiring its caretaker status through collusion with some Wakf Board officials. Though the notification was later cancelled and an inquiry ordered by Lieutenant Governor Vijai Kapoor, Latif continues to occupy Sohan Burj. Latif says he is just restoring the structure. But the fact is the 16th century monument has been partially restored into living quarters -- complete with an underground 20th century bathroom. Latif does not care about whathis neighbours think.

``They keep making personal attacks and I have stopped talking to them altogether. I stay away from the society in Delhi,'' he says. He refuses to be photographed. ``They will point at me and it really is a problem,'' he says.

The monument, says Latif, was a mehmaan khana built by his family, the Kambohans, in the 16th century. ``Mehrauli was preferred and people wanted to live here because it had a good climate. The emperor's mango garden was nearby,'' says Latif.