Wilson Survey maps: Restoring Delhi's lost blueprint, one inch at a time

Hindustan Times

5 hours ago

Tucked away on the second floor of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) at Janpath, a quiet but meticulous effort is underway. In a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled conservation lab, a team of experts is painstakingly restoring over a century of history—one fragile sheet of map at a time.
These are the so-called Wilson Survey maps — delicate records from the colonial era that captured the walled city of Shahjahanabad in remarkable detail. Faded contours and brittle paper, marked with aging ink, reveal not just topography but a map of lost wells, forgotten streets, and the shifting outlines of a city at the cusp of modernity.
Between 1910 and 1912, British surveyor AJ Wilson was commissioned by the Survey of India and the erstwhile municipal committee—now the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)—to conduct a comprehensive survey of the city. The administration, in its early years, sought better tools to manage land, taxation, and governance within Shahjahanabad's labyrinthine bounds. Wilson set out with a plane table, alidade, and tripod to survey each kuncha, every building, drain, well, and street, from the Red Fort to the hills of Paharganj.
A senior MCD official said that Wilson's 250-sheet survey formed the first truly comprehensive map of Delhi. 'There was an earlier survey done in 1873, but it was rudimentary. The administration needed something more precise and detailed. Wilson was paid ₹550 a month at the time, which would amount to roughly ₹28 lakh in today's value,' the official said.
Each sheet, measuring 2.5 feet by 3 feet, was scaled meticulously and numbered with references to adjoining panels—effectively providing a satellite-like view of the city, nearly half a century before mankind would take a photo from space. Known as the 'Wilson Survey Report 1910-12', the compilation included both maps and associated explanatory reports and continues to be known for its precision and accuracy even today.
More than a hundred years later, these maps are getting a new lease of life. MCD's heritage cell is working with experts from IGNCA to restore the original sheets, most of which were in an advanced state of decay when the project began. 'We've already restored over 110 sheets, which have been handed back to the MCD. The remaining maps will be completed over the next six months,' the official said.
A lab resurrecting the past
When IGNCA first received the maps, their condition was dire. Poor storage had taken a toll: corners had crumbled, the paper had yellowed, and the ink had begun to fade. 'Each material—canvas, muslin, paper—requires its own treatment. But our approach was minimal intervention. The aim is to conserve, not alter. It's like treating a patient—you diagnose and treat carefully,' said Dr Achal Pandya, professor and head of the Conservation and Cultural Archives Division at IGNCA.
The lab received a variety of archival materials from the municipality, including portraits, drawings, and survey records, all to be restored as part of a broader collaboration to establish a municipal museum. But it is the Wilson Survey maps that have proven the most labour-intensive—and rewarding.
Saroj Kumar Pandey, a conservator working on the project, said that each map takes him between three to four days to restore. 'We carried out preventive conservation with minimal use of chemicals. The base is usually made of muslin or canvas, with a thin tissue layer on top. Missing parts are filled in with Japanese rice paper. We use gluten-free starch as an adhesive—it's gentle and reversible.'
His team documented every stage of the process. 'Each sheet gets a condition assessment report. We assign an accession number, note the type and strength of paper, creases, colour changes, and ink bleeding. Everything is photographed before and after,' he said.
His assistant Ashutosh explained how ink signatures were stabilised using chemicals, especially where water damage was a concern. 'Each stain tells a different story—some were caused by spilled ink, others by old adhesives. Tape glue was removed using carbon tetrachloride. Even the way the paper curled told us how it had been stored,' he added.
After treatment, the maps are mounted on Melinex polyester sheets. Mending is done to restore symmetry, and missing parts are 'filled', using a base of treated rice paper to provide strength to the map sheet.
Finally, each sheet is pressed between layers of cotton cloth. 'Once the entire process is over, these maps will be ready to survive another hundred years,' Pandey said.
A window into Shahjahanabad
The Wilson Survey maps offer a rare, almost forensic view of the Walled City before it was transformed by waves of modernisation. The maps show the location of the original Kotwali (police station), once situated between Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Sunehri Masjid. They capture the layout of the palace of Begum Samru—now Bhagirath Palace—and mark the old wells of the city such as Chah Indara and Chah Rahat, once fitted with Persian-style water wheels.
'This was the first detailed documentation of the city's physical landscape,' said another senior MCD official. 'Chah in Persian means well. The walled city was full of them, though most have been filled in now. But many localities still bear their names.'
Sanjay Bhargava, head of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, remembers the old Kotwali building vividly. 'We grew up near that space. The police station used to stand right there, between the gurdwara and the mosque. The Wilson Survey is the only authentic document that shows how the city originally looked, complete with its wells and chabutras. Even during Metro excavation, they had to carry out surveys because of all the old wells,' he said.
The survey, however, has not always had an easy custodial journey. In 2021, Delhi Archives attempted unsuccessfully to acquire the report. For years, the maps sat in municipal storage, weathering the bureaucracy. Some parts were obtained through RTI applications—occasionally to prove land encroachments. 'These maps were once the authorided reference for city planning,' said an official. 'Every drainage system, every alley, every plot was marked.'
A new home in an old city
Now, these once-forgotten sheets are headed for a more permanent and public home. The restored maps will be showcased in the 'Maps and Surveys' section of a new municipal museum being developed in the Old Press Building of the Town Hall complex, in partnership with IGNCA and the Aga Khan Foundation.
'The museum will have 10 thematic galleries,' said an MCD official. 'There will be sections for municipal artifacts—old wall clocks, mementos, paintings, abhinandan patras, even fabric relics. One gallery will focus entirely on historical maps and survey documents.'
The idea is to trace the evolution of Delhi's civic administration and urban planning over the past 160 years. The Wilson Survey maps, in particular, are expected to be a centrepiece.
'This isn't just about cartography,' said Bhargava. 'This is about collective memory'
As Delhi spreads outward, these carefully restored sheets remain a reminder of a time when the city was walked, drawn, measured, and mapped by hand. A time when wells lent names to neighbourhoods, streets told vivid stories, and a surveyor's pen captured it all—inch by ink-stained inch.
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