Tucked away in a corner of Safdarjung Enclave, opposite the Deer Park, is Humayunpur, a Jat-dominated urban village with a rather nonchalant look. Motorcyclists try to honk their way out of a maze of narrow lanes covered with tangled web of overhead wires and lines of clothes hanging out to dry. To truly experience Humayunpur, one has to get lost in the maze and discover what it has to offer.
Tattoo studios, boutiques, grocery stores and small restaurants occupy the ground floor of the homes and rock and blues and jazz tunes stream out of them onto the road.
Food for thought
Korean, Burmese, Chinese, Manipuri, Assamese, Tibetan, Nepalese and a host of other delicacies are served at the restaurants and have over a short period of time attracted foodies from across Delhi looking for a unique dining experience. It is a space where the culture of the original landowners, the Jats, intermingles with the culture of people from the north-eastern States who have over the years become their tenants and have made Humayunpur their home.
“Nobody comes here for the décor of the restaurants or to click “Insta-worthy” photos of the streets. They come here for a food experience as it offers a unique variety like no other place in the city,” says Rouhid Ali, who runs a Burmese restaurant in the area. “Many people from south Delhi travel all the way to north Delhi to taste something different, like Korean and Tibetan food, at Majnu Ka Tila. But at Humayunpur, they do not have to travel so far to try the authentic flavours of Himalayan cuisines or those from the north-eastern States. Here, most of the people running restaurants are like home cooks and serve food like it would be served in their own home. I think this is what sets Humayunpur apart,” says Ali.
Authentic taste
Ali specialises in Mohinga, a dish he learnt to cook from his grandmother who was a Burmese. “I honed my skills while working at a Burmese restaurant. Several people come here looking for dishes like khow suey, but what I serve here is what people back in Burma eat on a regular basis,” says Ali. He hopes that more visitors would start coming to Humayunpur as rents have already started soaring and some established chains that have outlets in areas like Hauz Khas Village are already starting to set up shop here. “Advertising has only been through word of mouth as we cannot afford to pay food delivery apps for listings. Perhaps with the coming in of more established chains, more people will discover the unique food that is available here.”
But food is not all that Humayunpur has to offer. Reinii, from Manipur says he came to Delhi as a student to prepare for the IAS entrance examination and after exhausting all his attempts at clearing the competition, he is now placing his bets on a clothes boutique that he has opened. “I started my shop two months ago so I can’t say yet whether business is good or bad, but I started it with the hope that the market will attract a young, trendy clientele. So far, a lot of foreigners and students have come to shop here. Most people who come to eat at the restaurants drop in to look at our sneaker collection or western clothes that are different from what you get at the malls and are cheaper as well,” says Reinii. There are several like Reinii who have seen how other urban villages like Shahpur Jat and Hauz Khas Village transformed overnight into trendy markets and are hopeful that Humayunpur too will see a boom.
Unique spices
Also popular at the market are grocery stores stocked with pickles, spices, dried fish and fresh vegetables flown in from several parts of the Northeast. Sam Kadoyee, who runs one such grocery store, says that people from across Delhi come to source unique vegetables, spices and the famous ‘raja mirchi’ from his store. A glance at the fresh produce section shows that most of the vegetables are not available at regular grocery stores in the city and are essential to bring out the flavours in Manipuri and Naga cuisines. “We fly in tree tomatoes that are a sour version of regular tomatoes, schezwan peppers, michinga patta, peruk, chillies and an assortment of mushrooms, among other ingredients, that are not found in Delhi and it is not only people from the Northeast looking to cook home-styled food in their kitchens but also many chefs from big hotels and expats from Korea who shop here to add authenticity to their dishes,” says Sam. He adds that he has been in the business for eight years and over the past year, many people from various parts of the city have started coming to the market to eat and after sampling the food, they walk into his store and pick up the condiments and spices to take home.
Apart from the restaurants, boutiques and stores hidden in the alleys, a striking feature about Humayunpur is how the owners of thr property have embraced the people and culture of the Northeast. Playing cards while taking puffs from a hookah, a group of Jat men sit outside a Korean restaurant in the afternoon.
Cultural harmony
While some of them say they do not work as they live off the rent, others are sceptical about the influx of tourists visiting their village. “We hope more tourists come here, it will be good for us as we will get more rent. Earlier, people from the Northeast earlier used to come as students and go, but nowadays, many of them are staying back and starting their business. Rents are cheap and the ground floor of the buildings are being used for commercial activities,” says Sushant, who is a lawyer and a resident of Humayunpur. On how two diverse cultures coexist in one place, Sushant says: “I am 26 years old and from when I can remember, people from the Northeast have been living here. It is nothing new and we have grown up living together. When people visit, they find it different from other colonies in Delhi. But for us it is very normal and we are accustomed to the way they dress, their food and culture. Nobody who has grown up in Humayunpur would use racial slurs or harass the women. It is a very safe space and we gel well together.”
Only time will tell if Humayunpur becomes one of Delhi’s fad markets, but property owners and the entrepreneurial spirit of those trying to run small businesses make it a unique nook in south Delhi for people from the north-eastern States and opens a window into their food and culture for Delhiites to enjoy.
