Old Delhi was a city built for horses, carriages and a gentler life, says historian Rana Safvi, as she draws us into the charms of rundown monuments that continue to warm her heart.

Once known as Shahjahanabad—after Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who built it in 1639—and home to several fifth and sixth generation residents, all of whom Safvi describes as "keepers of its history," the city today, she says, is far removed from the vision of its chief architect. "Shah Jahan was a prolific builder. When he gave orders to build a new city, he envisaged a magnificent place on the theme of paradise, built on the banks of the River Yamuna. It was also a planned city with specific areas allocated according to trade, profession and hierarchy. Land was allotted for havelis, gardens, bazaars and religious buildings. This city bore the brunt of the revolt of 1857 when the British looted the nobility, banished residents and rearranged the city for administrative purposes," says the historian. The commercialisation and shortage of residential space however, has resulted in the havelis being broken and turned into flats, or warehouses.