Around 10 years ago, the inhabitants of Chhattarpur’s farmhouses had to venture far for an afternoon out. Their nearest bet would be Hauz Khaz Village, a half-hour car ride away. But since its takeover by barely-in-college teenagers, its lanes are littered with happy-hour fliers.
Then, five or six years ago, this clientele moved to Shahpur Jat which has since been overrun with enthusiastic to-be brides, sipping on Sleepy Owl cold brews between scouting for wedding couture.
This presented a problem for the newly-minted, ikat -wearing millennial entrepreneur. Where could they go to work out of an airy cafe with recycled wood and well-brewed Indian artisanal coffee? Could they find the perfect setting where a post-lunch break involved stumbling across a new designer about to take the industry by storm? The answer, increasingly evident over the past few months, lies behind the unimpressive sliding blue gate on a car-choked two-lane road. The Dhan Mill Compound, just about a 10-minute car ride away from Chhattarpur’s crowded Lakshmi temple, is the capital’s newest offering for the city’s creative elite.
Behind the gate lies a 4.5-acre, multi-lane plot, home to nearly 25 outlets, including co-working spaces, retailers and hipster cafes. The compound belonged to the same family since the early 1980s, when it served as a facility to store dhan , or grain. Twenty-three-year-old Rishabh Jain, who currently serves as business head, says that over the course of three decades, his father Rajan started leasing the space out to MNCs, like Big Basket, to use as storage. Eventually, smaller companies like Nappa Dori, in pursuit of a bigger, multi-purpose space, approached the owners, and the mill started its organic conversion to a more experiential centre.
Going forward, Dhan Mill will have a keen eye on more involved curation of the space, says Rishabh. He visualises cobbled stone pathways and lighting to complement the warehouse aesthetic, making it a destination for “the right kind of people,” who understand culture, creativity and luxury. “The luxury is in the experiential. We don’t want brands or standardised concepts. We want bright ideas.”
We take a walk through the bylanes of Dhan Mill for a primer on what’s on offer
The beginners: Most of the chatter around Dhan Mill has so far revolved around its two giants, Nappa Dori and The Oddbird Theatre & Foundation. Gautam Sinha’s leather goods brand entered the compound in 2017, and later in the year, we saw Cafe Dori (pictured) appear alongside the atelier and store. Nappa Dori hosts its annual Christmas market and workshops in this 5,000 sq ft space. It’s also where international brands tapping into the Indian market host their events: Google’s Pixel3a recently, Lexus and Instagram’s blogger meets. “It’s going great so far and I think it’s only going to get better,” says Mohit Khanna, head of operations. Right opposite, Oddbird — spearheaded by Akhil Wable and Shambhavi Singh — has become a favourite space for alternative theatre, music and dance. Featuring exposed brick and a metal and wood aesthetic, the venue will host a masterclass by Kathak dancer Aditi Mangaldas. Their second space, Shed9, which shares a wall with Dori, is following suit.
Artiste’s hive: AGENC, a co-working space for creatives, offers a studio for shoots, alongside the ‘traditional’ desk-and-chair arrangement, the rough-finished walls addressing the millennial’s interest in texture and all things natural. Aman Khanna, a graphic artist and sculptor, shifted his workshop-studio from Hauz Khas Village to the compound over a year ago. One incentive was that members of his extended family — photographer Bharat Sikka and the designer duo Amrita Khanna and Gursi Singh — are also stationed here. “[Hauz Khas] used to be a nice hub for designers and artists, and then it became super commercial. I just hope that doesn’t happen here,” says Khanna. A year and a half ago, he adds, the rent would’ve been about ₹55 to ₹60 per square foot, whereas now, it’s at least ₹250 for the front lane. Rishabh Jain, business head of Dhan Mill compound, however, holds that the rates have increased only two-fold since 2017.
Workout on the go: In the back lanes, between wall art and graffiti, are Himalaya CrossFit and Big Dance Centre, a dance school. Started in 2017 by Atul Jindal and Karan Kumar, the 5,000 sq ft warehouse is segregated into two studios. The school initially had two centres in Delhi (in Rohini and Green Park). “But we’ve closed those two, and brought it all into the big space we have here,” says Jindal.
Incubating creativity: The Common Room, a mentorship and networking incubator-of-sorts, is right up in the front lane. With the active involvement of companies like Motherland Joint Ventures and Bain & Company, it is the place to give creatives a leg up with VCs.
Shopaholics unite: Manish Arora, Divyam Mehta’s blend of Indian and Western clothes, and bridal/Indian Delhi Vintage Co are all nestled into arterial lanes. There’s also Bloni — designer Akshat Bansal’s exclusively black-and-white clothes — and NauklseN’s evening wear (pictured). Ambika Pillai for hair and make-up isn’t far, and neither is Karma Production & Studio, if you want to book someone to document every second of your wedding day.
Alternative junction: Pernia’s Pop Up finds space in the main front lane. Like elsewhere in the brand’s presence in Delhi, the focus at the Dhan Mill store is more on affordable luxury and pret, as opposed to Mumbai’s couture. Say It With A Pin calls itself a creative studio of “controversial creative folks”, and makes illustrated badges and pins. From a panda on a skateboard, a pineapple with sunglasses, to typewriters and kulhad chai, for the more ‘serious’, Spin, a home decor brand deals in interiors, and is soon opening up a part of its space to Greenr, an almost-vegan cafe that's all about 'shroom balls and hemp protein.
