# Delhi's Lost City: Memoir and Film Echo

> Sonia Gandhi's memoir and 'Chashme Buddoor' both capture Delhi's 1981 vibe, but one city vanished.
- Title: Delhi's Lost City: Memoir and Film Echo · Ndtv | Shortify
- Summary: Sonia Gandhi's memoir and 'Chashme Buddoor' both capture Delhi's 1981 vibe, but one city vanished.
- Keywords: sonia gandhi, chashme buddoor, delhi, memoir, film, 1981, 1982 asiad, motorbike, mahaul, tughlaqabad fort, india, Ndtv
- Source: Ndtv — https://ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-of-chashme-buddoor-in-sonia-gandhis-memoir-belonging-how-a-lost-city-is-a-character-in-both-the-memoir-and-the-movie-12318715
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sonia gandhi, chashme buddoor, delhi, memoir, film, 1981, 1982 asiad, motorbike, mahaul, tughlaqabad fort, india, news
## Cafe Conversation
Siddharth asks the waiter at Talkatora Garden cafe what's good here, getting 'mahaul achha hai', 'the atmosphere is good'.

> mahaul achha hai
## Sai Paranjpye's Word
Sai Paranjpye, who wrote 'Chashme Buddoor' in 1980, says 'mahaul' is a 'very precise Urdu word that cannot be readily translated'.

> very precise Urdu word that cannot be readily translated
## Delhi's Lost Mahaul
The cafe is long gone, and much of the Delhi 'mahaul' the film captured has disappeared.
## Sonia Gandhi's Memoir
Sonia Gandhi's memoir 'Belonging: A Journey of Love' opens with Delhi on January 13, 1968, when an Italian woman arrived in the capital.
## City of Jackals
Sonia Gandhi recalls Delhi as a 'poorly lit hangar sort of building' airport with jackals howling at night.
## Bicycles and Betel
Sonia Gandhi describes Delhi streets filled with bicycles and blood-red stains from betel juice on corner walls.
## Lallan Miyan's Stall
In 'Chashme Buddoor', Lallan Miyan's stall is 'bang on a main road in Nizamuddin' on Mathura Road, now in the city's center.
## Two Wheels
Sonia Gandhi rode a Suzuki moped to learn Hindi, with her friend on the handlebars, describing hair-raising rides.
## Motorbike Ride
In 'Chashme Buddoor', three friends ride a motorbike through Delhi's quiet streets, past India Gate and ruins.
## 1982 Asian Games
The 1982 Asian Games brought flyovers to Delhi, a year after 'Chashme Buddoor' was released.
## Monsoon Memories
Sonia Gandhi describes Delhi's monsoons as flooding gardens with skies no longer visible and the sun gone.
## Two Delhis
Sonia Gandhi's government bungalows were depressing, while 'Chashme Buddoor' shows a South Delhi colony with a garden.
## The Air That Was
In 1981, Delhi had 60 lakh people and clear skies; now it's 2.3 crore with hazardous air by December.
## Where Two Delhis Diverge
Sonia Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi moved from government housing to a normal life after heated arguments.
## Key takeaway

Sonia Gandhi's 1981 memoir 'Belonging' and Sai Paranjpye's film 'Chashme Buddoor' both depict Delhi's quiet streets and motorbike rides, but the city transformed by 1982.