6 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Old Delhi's last deed writer keeps a 150-year legacy alive
NEW DELHI: In a dim, paper-cluttered room in Old Delhi's Sitaram Bazar, a lone pen still scratches against paper. Once, dozens of deed writers worked in these lanes, drafting and translating legal records in elegant Urdu.
Today, only one remains — 71-year-old Aziz-ur-Rehman, who has been at his desk since 1976, turning brittle pages from the 1860s and even royal orders from the Mughal court into words the present can understand.
Just 500 metres from Chawri Bazar Metro station, down the narrow lanes near Bulbuli Khana, his small office feels like a time capsule.
On his table lies a fragile sheet from the 1860s — paper yellowed, ink still clear. Some documents bear the regal seal of the Mughal Badshah; others carry the stamp of the Delhi government in the early 20th century. Revenue records from 1979 sit beside local orders by Dayaganj Registrar dated from July 1947.
For Aziz, each translation is more than a conversion of words — it is a conversation across centuries. Every day, records arrive from as far as Kanpur, Bhopal and Amroha. In his seven-hour shift (11 am to 6 pm), he serves six to seven customers, dictating translations to his typist. He charges Rs 500 a page and rarely takes more than two days to finish a deed.
The shop itself is modest, yet its shelves carry the weight of history. Faded files, bound in red tape, lean like weary old men. An old wall clock, its face clouded with dust, ticks slowly as spider webs hang like lace in the corners. Piles of labelled, yellowing papers fill the space. A plastic bag holds his Delhi University degree and a letter of appreciation from the city's Art and Culture Department.
A small water cooler sits next to half-torn chairs, while an enormous flat-screen TV beams the latest news — a jarring reminder that the world outside moves at a far faster pace.
