The cityscape, heritage, and culture of Delhi are what inspire a number of people to document the city over the years. Few mention how such chroniclers are often narrators who give an authentic account of this city and its many stories. However, globetrotters who visit Delhi and, in due course, fall in love with its magnanimity, lend a fresh perspective on the bustling metropolis. Their outlooks often try to find a connection between their homeland and the city they’re in. It was similar for Elena Tommaseo (57), a Venetian who permanently shifted to Delhi with her now ex-husband in 2010. “Being an Italian living with an Indian family, I could relate to the perspectives of both cultures,” she shares.
Tommaseo first came to the Capital in 1997. Passionate about travelling, she was in love with Delhi the moment she stepped into it. “I was forced to visit the first time. Little did I know that 25 years later I would call this place home,” she says. After taking up a job as an Italian tour guide, Tommaseo accompanied Italian tourist groups around the city, narrating the tales of Delhi witnessed through the eyes of an Italian. “Many people have come up to me to say ‘You can relate to our feelings and fears because you have experienced that already.’ I like to offer a neutral perspective. Neither do I cover up the bitter truths, nor do I project India as an ancient and backward country,” she mentions. Partnering with Delhi by Cycle, a sightseeing and tour organisation, she has also conducted a number of cycling tours around Old Delhi. “This is what really developed my interest to go and start digging up stories of Delhi,” she says. “Before this, I used to visit a number of iconic places in Delhi with my husband. While I knew Delhi quite well, it was only on the surface. The bicycle tours dragged me into the enchanting rich history and culture of the city. I fell completely in love.”
The real Delhi life
Tommaseo’s Instagram micro-blog, Elena & Delhi—she established it in 2020—is a way of informing her foreign audience about true Indian culture as well as documenting the city she fell in love with. “This was especially during the second wave of COVID-19. There was misinformation everywhere. People would ask me if there were actual bodies being cremated under my window. So I started writing regularly about real Delhi life,” she says. In love with the rich heritage and culture of the Capital, Tommaseo mentions that she finds the narrow lanes of Old Delhi similar to the serpentine labyrinths of Venice. “I advise everyone to get lost here [in Delhi] because that is the true nature of exploring.”
Connecting past and present
Dubbing herself as a Venetian who is walking the footsteps of Italian writer and explorer Niccolao Manucci about 350 years later, Tommaseo expresses that her love for Shahjahanbad (Old Delhi) is partially derived from the many accounts she has read of Manucci’s life during Shahjahan’s reign. “I say this as a joke, but with Manucci being from my hometown, in a way, I feel close to both him and Purani Delhi. When I walk through the galis [lanes], I can imagine how it must have looked during his time, and I attempt to interconnect the past with the present,” she elaborates.
On wandering the streets of Delhi to document it, Tommaseo has met a number of unique people whose lives intrigue her regularly. “I recently went to Chirag Delhi where I met a couple who were living inside a mausoleum. It was fascinating to see how they had converted this 14th Century tomb into their own house,” she shares.
Currently, through her website, Tommaseo conducts virtual heritage tours for foreigners who, like her, are eager to explore Delhi. “The virtual tours were born mostly for my entertainment since I love to share what I have discovered with like-minded people,” she shares. With a love for the city that corresponds to those who have been living here for far longer than she has, she concludes, “Although I miss some things about Italy, especially the food and my friends and family there, Delhi is my home now.”