Oberoi Apartments and its neighborhood is a delight for historians and heritage lovers. The gate of the Complex still reads Curzon House.
Curzon House, which was built in 1903 was later demolished to set up Hotel Suisse in 1920. That too gave way to these modern apartments, but remnants of the past still pop up in places. According to Lal, Curzon House was built as the residence of civil officers. For a brief period, it housed Delhi university officials as well.
Next to the apartments is Nicholson Cemetery on Boulevard Road, where Brigadier General John Nicholson who died in the 1857 Revolt, lies buried along with other English soldiers. The cemetery is now a playground of monkeys, which prompted Lal to write his book Altu Faltu, that’s set in the backdrop of Civil Lines and the Ridge.
Altu Faltu is a slim, agile vagabond monkey who loafs about smoking bidi butts. He is in love with Rani-beti, a simian with gold-flecked eyes and pixie ears who is the favourite daughter of the mighty Chaudhury Charbi Rai Sahib, scion of the Flagstaff Tower Macaques (Northern Ridge). Rani-beti defies both her powerful father and her fiancé Bade Badtameaz, of the Tughlakabad clan, to elope with Altu Faltu.
The Ridge, says Lal, played an important role in the Revolt as also in his book. “At that time there were just three houses in Civil lines — Thomas Metcalfe’s mansion by the river, taken from the Gujars of Chandrawal Village, Ludlow Castle at Shamnath Marg and the house of the Maratha Nobleman, Raja Hindu Rao Ghatke, built in 1830 by Edward Colebroke and then bought by Hindu Rao who hailed from the royal Scindia house.”
The Ridge was developed when the British made Civil Lines their temporary capital. “Delhi’s Civil Lines before the Revolt was pretty much wild and isolated, with both the British and Indians living in the walled city. In 1908, the cantonment moved back to the ridge from the fort and soon afforestation of this rocky barren wilderness began.
The Hindu Rao house was heavily damaged during the Revolt. Today a hospital by the same name stands on the premises but the remains of the old house are still visible. Before Raisina Hill, , Civil Lines functioned as the temporary capital. A Viceregal Lodge was built just north of the ridge, today which houses the office of Delhi University, says the author.
Crowded with badly designed houses, Civil Lines, is slowly losing its old glory now.
For instance, Bungalow No. 8 at Underhill Road. Covered with moss, it looks it could collapse any minute. “There are some houses, which are still the same but nobody is taking any care to restore them,” says Lal.
The immaculately maintained
St. James Church near Kashmere Gate still has its quaintness intact. But the bungalows at Alipur Road and Shamnath marg in Civil Lines have been demolished. The Maiden’s Hotel close to the Oberoi Apartments is one of Delhi’s oldest hotels, built in the early 1900s. It has retained its colonial charm and architecture. Ninth century architectural elegance is reflected in the classical rooms and elegant restaurants. Another structure with historical relevance is the St Xavier’s school at Rajniwas Marg in Civil Lines, where once stood the Cecil’s Hotel. The grand house of Thomas Metcalfe is now the Defence Science Centre.
In the Ridge, the highest point is the Flagstaff Tower, where the 1857 revolutionaries are believed to have stayed. It traverses on the Ridge like a crown made of concrete. Says Lal, “This was used to keep a watch on enemies coming from the direction of the Red Fort as the ridge was just a barren stretch of land then.”