To Mumbai, the labyrinthine alleys of Khirki village in New Delhi, would be as alien, as its 190-odd gaothans would be to the capital. What binds them is their determination to survive, even as rampant development threaten to mar their existence. Today, reduced to urban villages — when they were once shining torchbearers of community living — the likes of Khirki either suffer from government neglect, or closer home, risk being bulldozed.

But, simultaneously, a culture is also being lost. It’s what compelled Mumbai-based The Citizens Archive of India CAI to touch base with 24-year-old Khirki resident Ekta Chauhan, who for long has endeavoured to collect the stories of her people — the earliest settler being her ancestor, Khoobi Singh Chauhan, who migrated from Indore in MP to Delhi in 1145 AD, and decided to till land.