City Secret - Nicholson Cemetery, Kashmere Gate

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The other world.

[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]

It’s a mystery why guidebooks have been indifferent to the (deadly) charms of one of the oldest British cemeteries in Delhi. Guarded by a cross-shaped gateway, Nicholson Cemetery has a sloping, grassy landscape dotted with intricately carved light-brown graves. Neem, khajoor and tamarind trees stand like sentinels. Thick bougainvillea bushes weighed down with flowers shed pink petals on the tombstones. Hundreds of “dearly loved” children and “beloved” wives lie beneath.

On the stones, personal details about the dead are preceded by sentimental poems or Biblical verses. Stone angels look over the shoulder as one reads these graven inscriptions. Some tombs show curious symbols indicating the deceased’s profession. Some are covered with dry leaves, which one must sweep clean to read the inscriptions. Most graves date from the 1857 `mutiny’.

Cemetery’s most prominent grave is of Brigadier General John Nicholson, “the lion of Punjab”. An Irish army officer in the British East India Company, Nicolson died of wounds received during the uprising. His tomb lies near the cemetery’s entrance, barricaded by an iron grill invaded by jasmine vines.

On the far side, towards the Ring Road, marigolds adorn the new graves of Indian Christians. Elsewhere a tomb’s inscription reads: “Jesus said, ‘Weep not’”.

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A slab and a few leaves



Searching for someone?



Crowded



Can you see the ghost?



Is past dead?



My day job



Mr Nicholson



The club of the Dead



A tomb inside the entrance gateway



The gateway to the Other World