India, June 1 -- Chatta Sheikh Mangloo, an Old Delhi street that houses the grave of the mystic Sheikh Mangloo, stretches northward from beneath the shadow of Jama Masjid's southern tower. Yet a citizen walking through the street would catch no glimpse of Old Delhi's signature monument. Hemmed in by tightly packed multi-storeyed buildings, the cramped lane teems with crowds, commerce, and noise, and shows no glimpse of the aforementioned historic edifice. As if the centuries-old stone structure towering above it belongs to some distant, rumoured world. Consequently, the street is so close to a great monument, yet so far.

Whatever, the word chatta of Chatta Sheikh Mangloo refers to a private bridge-like structure that spans over a street,...