India, May 23 -- Poet Mirza Ghalib spent his life's last decade in a haveli that has mostly vanished from the face of the earth. Some remnants remain. The story of those remnants being reduced to a coal store has long been part of Delhi's literary folklore. Whatever, that historic house of literature stands in Gali Qasim Jan, one of the many narrow lanes that crisscross the Old Delhi neighbourhood of Ballimaran.

Ballimaran is said to take its name from the ballis, the wooden poles that were used to anchor boats in the Yamuna. Another less convincing explanation also exists. A book on Delhi describes Ballimaran as the "lane of cat killers," deriving the name from billi (cat) and maran (killing).

Now, consider the contemporary aaj ka Ball...