The York Cemetery, New Delhi. Ps. The Ghosts of the Past.

If you haven’t seen it, you must!! The York Cemetery ( The major part of the PrathviTaj Road Christian Cemetry)!! On the awkward side of the circle, off the start ( or end) of the PrathviRaj, Aurangzeb & Humayun road , on the Shah jahan Road & adjoining to the Khan Market!! Also, opposite to the Taj Mahal Hotel and near the Amrita Shergil marg, on the side of the Petrol Pump, oh- you get the place!!-) Incidentally, it also is the end & edge of the Devrish area of the Nizamuddin dargah!! Kind of the other extreme end of the Humayuns Tomb area!! I Guess the English needed to keep their distance!!-) & even from this issue, I can only guess the tough time Lutyens may have had incorporating all the symbolism required, into his city plan!!

However, locations apart, what makes the cemetery ‘English’, I guess, is that The Indian ‘English’ of the time of the English rule lie in peace there!! I am guessing the place must not have too many new occupants for a long time now!! . Buried here are, amongst others, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur & Lt. Col. Sir Henry Gidney- known once as the doyen of prathviraj road!! To add to the cosmopolitan nature of the area are the contiguous Parsi & the Jew cemetery in it!! From the steady flow of the visitors that I see on days, it does look that whoever there are well visited!! & the florist outside sells the largest variety of flowers in the area.

What is also English about it is the brick boundary wall!! The linear spread of it, coped in stucco plaster & all cumulating in the gracious door design at the entrance. The opening of the entrance, thronged on both sides with pointed towers in brick, gives way to the view inside- of neatly laid out Quarters of vibrantly & imaginatively designed Tombstones. Ah- the tombstones- with designs that have a story of history in themselves-is a matter on another day!!) But the bougainvillea & the weeping willows, breaking the flatness of the immaculately laid out grass areas in between, are another reminder of the ‘English’ background of the denizens of this large property!!

But, but, but, that is not all what I set out to tell you. You could see it all on your own!! What you may not, is the story of the apparition of the women known to only those who go past this cemetery late night!! From the tales of who know, this is a women in a white saree, frail in description & with a face known to none!! It has been known to appear on the road adjoining the vast walkway on the side of the cemetery entrance!! Usually late night & most usually on foggy winter nights!! The Motorists, who swear by the apparition, tell about the suddenness with which it appears & the shrill accompanying noise!! & just as they have severed to save hitting against it, they have realized that they have actually been saved hitting into a speeding truck or such on the other side!! Of course, no one has seen beyond that, but the night residents of the taxi stand behind the hotel have heard the same tale may times over!! But, Ah, in a city of djinns, what is but one apparition in a saree worth!! Some saved lives, I Guess!!