Housing expensive shopping outlets and prominent restaurants, Delhi’s Khan Market is one of the most visited places in the city. In order to document the scenic beauty and historical significance of this neighbourhood, Abhinav Bamhi (24) created ‘My Home is Khan’, a micro-blog on Instagram. With over ten thousand followers, Bamhi, who started this page in January 2020, uploads photographs and videos regularly so as to capture and chronicle the daily activities of Khan Market, as an ode to the city.
An eternal connection
Khan Market was established in 1951 as a colony for refugees who were displaced during the partition of India. Bamhi’s family settled in Khan Market during the same time—they run the famous Faqir Chand Bookstore, one of the oldest bookstores in Delhi—and they’re one of the last few residents here.
‘My Home is Khan’ reflects the love he shares for this place that he proudly calls home. “It is a beautiful experience to live right in the heart of Delhi. All my friends come here and meet me, I don’t have to travel anywhere! All the best restaurants are here. I spend my day clicking pictures, having coffee, meeting authors and journalists, and discussing books with readers. I get to meet people from all over the world,” he shares. Bamhi also makes it a point to include thoughtful write-ups with these photographs and videos. A literature graduate, a number of his captions feature melancholic and poetic words that are inspired by the works of authors he enjoys reading.
Bamhi drew inspiration from his friend and writer Mayank Austen Soofi, who also photographs and writes about the city. “His passion for Delhi has inspired me. I wanted to chronicle Khan Market the way he chronicles Delhi. The name ‘My Home is Khan’ was also given by Mayank,” elaborates Bamhi.
He further mentions that he does not use the page for any collaborations or commercial purposes. “I just post what I see, whatever I feel connected to.” Consequently, the page has received a lot of love from people; it has also helped Bamhi make new friends. “Once I didn’t post for a couple of days. A few kind people messaged me asking why I stopped posting.
Through this account, I have had some of the most beautiful conversations with people. A lot of them are now friends,” says Bamhi. “This page is my attempt to encourage everyone to start finding beauty in everyday life. How I’ve posted hundreds of pictures of the same area, same galis (streets)... I feel we all should appreciate and romanticise our daily life,” he concludes.