We happened to meet in the early 1990s, when Dilli Haat was brewing in my head as a concept heading towards realisation. This developed into one of the most valuable friendships anyone could wish for. We felt instantly comfortable with each other’s approaches and value systems and shared the spirit of service before self. A crafts marketplace was thus designed on the lines of a rural weekly — or daily — market, comfortable and unobtrusive. It was primarily planned as a space that kept the craftspersons’ needs and interests as its priority while being a large aesthetic public space. Nothing like this had been tried before. Dilli Haat was to be built over a stormwater drain, and there was joint triumph when it was inaugurated on March 28, 1994. It was Delhi’s first space for shopping for hand-made treasures directly from the makers that combined open-air but seated eating spaces. There were also spaces for cultural events and pleasant, safe surroundings that had a calming impact.

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Despite his dedication to the development of better urban spaces, he loved small projects in the hills or distant villages. An ardent giver of hand-crafted wooden gifts on Diwali made at his workshop, he once sent us a note saying, “There is this small school for rural kids we have built. It needs support. Do you mind if I use the money I spend on sending gifts to friends towards the school instead and count it as if it’s from you?”. Who could have thought of such a beautiful way of not giving a gift!

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