The map of Shanti Niketan given at the back of the Shanti Niketan Residents Directory is a copy of the first plan of Shanti Niketan as shown in the PWD records. It reads “Plan for Cooperative Housing Society of Home Affairs on Shanti Path Extension New Delhi”. This legend has always intrigued me and before writing this piece I decided to make some enquiries. Quite a few telephone calls later I got my answer from HR Goel of 2/35 Shanti Niketan – legal and house tax consultant – who has always helped the residents with clarifications.
According to him, the idea of having a cooperative housing society was fist mooted by four mid-level officers of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Anand Swaroop Bhatnagar was the number one on that list and his son RC Bhatnagar’s (of 2/27) membership number in the present GSCHB Society is at serial 1.
Since the members in the Home Affairs Society were very few, they were given the plot where the Sports Club of India stands today. However, this proposal was not given clearance by the Ministry of Defence. It was then that the idea of opening up the society to a wider group of persons took shape and senior bureaucrats were approached.
Mr. Jagan Nath Dhamija, an Indian Political Service Officer who had opted for IFS, was on deputation to the Ministry of Home Affairs as the Joint Secretary. He and some other persons, all of them from the other side of the border, had already purchased land in the area known as Munirka Village extension with Mochi Gaon as its neighbour on the other side. JN Dhamija took the initiative and things started moving. In fact, I recently decided to visit Mrs.Devika Dhamija (wife of Mr.J.N.Dhamija) to get further details. She confirmed that that it was Mr.Dhamija who pushed the idea of developing this rocky barren land (known as extension of Munirka Village) into a Housing Society. He and other senior members then put this suggestion to the ministers concerned, including Pandit Nehru. He decided to visit this area, and according to her, he went around this land meeting the villagers of the Munirka Village and Mochi Gaon (which makes the other end of Shanti Niketan still exists as Mochi Gaon) – on a tonga since there was no motorable road. At that time, the area was rather rocky with ravines that had to be filled and levelled. The area behind this land where South Campus now stands was a forest with abundant Kikar trees.
Mr.K.V.Sundaram, the Chief Election Commissioner, was elected as the President GSCHB Society; other senior officers, including many ICS officers, also evinced interest in acquiring plots, even though initially quite a few were hesitant as the area appeared to be too far from the North and South blocks. One of the motivating factors which made them change their minds was the birth of Chanakyapuri and Diplomatic Enclave around Shanti Path area.
Incidentally, JN Dhamija’s plot was 6/32 and the Dhamijas always took keen interest in the activities of the Shanti Niketan Residents Association. They also ensured the development of the huge park behind their house.
My husband, Ashoke Chib, was posted as political Counsellor in the Indian Embassy in Washington. Just around that time the plot at 3/31 Shanti Niketan was allotted to us. Being out of India we could not carry out any construction at that point. In 1968, while Ashoke was posted as Deputy High Commissioner at Islamabad, he got a letter from the Vice Chairman of DDA, Jagmohan, informing us that we must complete the house within the coming year. Ashoke wrote back asking for an extension which was granted. In June 1971, when war clouds were looming over India and Pakistan, I came to Delhi and met Jagmohan. I asked him for another extension. Because of the special circumstances of my husband’s posting to Islamabad, he agreed to the request but warned me, as a friend and well-wisher, that construction costs were shooting up. Already in early ’71, the cost of a four-bedroom house had gone up to a lakh of rupees.
We returned to India in December 1971, after the war ended. By the time we had settled down, got the loan sanctioned, chosen an architect, and got down to the construction part, it was mid-1973. We were definitely one of the late comers, as most of the houses on the third street had already been built and even rented out. But building the house was quite an experience. One had to get sanctions for everything: cement, steel and even bricks! However, getting the sanction was not difficult as Ashoke was the joint secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. But getting things done at the site always took time. We had to employ a munshi who did all the running around and also supervised the construction. Thankfully, both munshi and our contracted turned out to be marvellous persons – honest and resourceful. We made weekly visits to the construction site since I was also teaching at Modern School, Barakhamba, by then.
On one of our visits, I had a very special experience which I think is worth sharing. After our morning visit, we were on our way back and had stopped at the red light on what is now Rao Tula Ram Marg. A Rajasthani woman, very obviously pregnant, knocked on the car window. She was begging for money and groaning away. She said her labour pains had started and since she couldn’t reach her husband (cell phones were unheard of then!), I gave her Rs.50 to help her and then acting as good Samaritans we dropped her at the Wellington Hospital. She continued groaning and moaning during the journey but got off just outside the hospital. We left, feeling quite happy with ourselves for having done our good deed of the day. Two weeks later, imagine my surprise when I was accosted by the same woman, in the same situation, at the same place. She also recognised me and ran away.
The house was completed in January 1976 and was immediately taken on rent by PanAm. Soon after my husband was posted as Ambassador to Egypt and we left India in May the same year. After various other postings we returned to India at the of 1990. Throughout this period the house remained with PanAm. Strangely, just when we were coming back and needed the house, PanAm was closing its operations in India. They very graciously offered us their entire furniture at very reasonable rates which we accepted, so came back to a fully furnished house. That made settling down easier for us. Actually some items are still with us, some remodelled and some were discarded. The house was rebuilt by Uppal Builders in 2012, but the original one was “My Dream House”!