Among the many Afghans to have settled in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar II, Faheem Ahmad, along with his two brothers, came up with a plan to open a restaurant that would bring the familiar flavour and taste of home to fellow natives and also cater to the city’s gastronomically-inclined. They sensed they could make a killing with their food venture, as they saw the area turn into a mini-homeland.
Ten years on, the Afghan Darbar Restaurant, their labour of love, has grown into being one of the most preferred eating destinations, not just for the Afghan settlers but also for certified foodies, who wouldn’t mind flirting with the taste of central Asia.
As one steps into the lanes of Lajpat Nagar I, II, III and IV in south Delhi, the aroma wafting from the eateries fills one with the sense of being transported to a land not too far from home. Not just food, even the faces and gaggle of voices can make one conjure up a picture of a bustling marketplace in Kabul. For, the extended neighbourhood, which was developed post independence, has come to represent home for the detached natives of a war-torn land.
“Earlier, we would eagerly await the onset of winter, as it was then that people from Afghanistan mostly came to Delhi. Now, just as many, if not more, arrive in summers as well, as medical tourists. However, it’s not just them that we cater to, as, over time, our cuisine has come to suit the Indian palate as well. Lajpur Nagar features at the top of itinerary of our people whenever they visit India. From food to language and lodging, they find everything of their choice here,” Faheem told this correspondent.
“Our food is made with spices sourced from Afghanistan. While Ghor-Angeer is used for marination, Ghor-Angoor, which is a lot like Oregano, is a must for Afghan cuisine,” Faheem said.
Eating options aplenty
Lajpat Nagar is home to as many as seven Afghan eateries, serving mouthwatering delicacies from the central Asian country. Several medicine stores that dot the lanes and bylanes here bear signs in Pashto, a language widely spoken in Afghanistan. Apart from renting commercial spaces to Afghan settlers, people who make the city home upon being granted refugee status, also find jobs as salespersons and medicine shops and departmental stores here.
Navid Ahmad, a 21-year-old from Mazare Sharif in Afghanistan, is a case in point. The youth, who came to settle in Vinobha Puri said, “I have been residing here for five years now. I work at a departmental store in Lajpat Nagar II. We sell everything, including a wide of variety of Afghani bread. Though I like it here in India, the living cost has gone up over the years. Earlier, it used to be a lot cheaper. The sights and sounds in Lajpat Nagar bring back happy memories of our homeland.”
Afghan women, especially the younger ones who came to settle with their husbands or kin, have found a source of livelihood here.
While some work as beauticians, others are hired as salesgirls at departmental stores.
Take 27-year-old Safia Nadri, who moved in with her husband at Lajpat Nagar.
“I have been residing here for over a year now. I finally got a job with a cosmetic company three months after I moved in with my husband. As for my experience of residing in India, it has been good so far. While I dearly miss my homeland, I like what I see here. My husband is a salesman in the same Lajpat Nagar locality where we live,” she said.
On visa or refugee cards
Most Afghans arrive in India on a visa allowing stay for three to six months. However, those who plan to settle down and find jobs seek a refugee card from United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
“First, we register ourselves as refugees at the UNHCR. The agency then puts a stamp on our documents, which is part of due process. However, it could take months or even years for us to get a refugee or a blue card. We are required to visit the UNHCR office (in Delhi) every two years and get our cards stamped. It is only then that our visas are renewed,” said Mohammad Mukhtar, an Afghan native who resides in Lajpat Nagar I with his family.
Mukhtar serves as a translator for fellow natives, who arrive in India for medical reasons and help them get admission to private hospitals. They are authorised by these hospitals to work as translators.
Property prices
Satpal Singh, a property dealer who provides accommodations to Afghans on rent at Lajpat Nagar, said that local realtors have had to pick up Pashto and Persian to deal with their clientele from the central Asian country.
“The charges at which they (Afghan natives) take up accommodation at Lajpat Nagar varies from `500 to `2,000 per day. Then rates depend a lot on the season and the availability of places to stay. Most of them move in with the onset of winter, between October and March. During peak season, some accommodations are priced at a princely `3,000 per day.”
Medical tourists
Quizzed what draws Afghans to India, Matin Ahmad, who works as a chemist at a local clinic, said, “Most of the medical facilities back home are not up to scratch and, this is precisely what brings most of our people to India. There’s been a steady rise in the number of cancer cases in our homeland and most of these are believed to be the result of exposure to certain weapons used during wars. Since treatment in Europe or US would cost them 10 times more, they prefer to come to India. They avoid Pakistan largely for political reasons.”
Different culture in the making
Experts and observers of demographic trends believe that if the steady flow of Afghan migrants into Lajpat Nagar persists, the area would soon adopt the culture and manner of living in the country, to the extent of being the replica of Afghanistan.
Shiv Vishvanathan, a sociologist, said Afghans are settling in India much the Tibetans did.
“Delhi has a culture of welcoming refugees. A classic illustration would be how the Tibetans arrived here and settled down. How their culture, cuisine and manner of dressing found free expression here. Lajpat Nagar could see a similar phenomenon. Afghans have found pride of place in our literary gems, including Rabindranath Tagore’s Kabuliwala. India has never shied away from welcoming migrants and the trend should continue. I call it urban experiments with democracy,” Vishvanathan said.
History revisited
Lajpat Nagar came into being after independence and the first lot of construction took place around Lajpat Nagar IV, also called Amar Colony.
“Three to four families settled in two-room apartments, with common toilets. The earliest settlers here were refugees from Pakistan,” Sohail Hashmi, a noted historian, told this newspaper.
A government school was also opened for children of Afghan refugees.
“The Lajpat Nagar market, developed on the lines of Khan Market and Khanna Market, came into being in the 1950s. One of the city’s first mom joints opened here. The central market was expanded and many settlers here converted ground floors and first floors into commercial units,” Hashmi told this correspondent.
He added that there’s a similarity between the mother tongue of the Afghans and Urdu, because of which their lingo is understood in India. “The Afghans are also fond of our cinema,” he said.