New Delhi is home to the second largest bilateral diplomatic community in the world, second only to the United States' capital, Washington, D.C. Following the lead of the Apostolic Nunciature in 1955, over 50 embassies from Africa, the Americas, Australasia and Europe have established themselves in Delhi's unique diplomatic enclave, Chanakyapuri. Sixteen additional missions have remained in heritage buildings either as Chancery-cum-Residences or separate Residences in formerly requisitioned properties that were acquired in the area of Lutyens' Imperial Capital. These missions are the subject of this work.
This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to glimpse beyond the gates of 36 of New Delhi's purpose-built and heritage property foreign missions. In Lalit Verma's masterful photographs, taken for the book "Delhi's Diplomatic Domains: Chanceries and Residences of Chanakyapuri and Imperial New Delhi" by Gladys Abankwa-Meier-Klodt, and published by Full Circle, the architecture, interiors and landscaping of the world's first exclusive, purpose-built diplomatic quarter are brought out from behind high boundary walls. Showcased are individual countries' use of various means and materials to transform architecture into statements of national identity, including several never-before-seen photographs from Lalit Verma's unpublished archive.
Lalit Verma:
Lalit Verma, a former Tata Group executive, is the Founder and Director of Aurodhan Art Gallery in Pondicherry. A curator of numerous shows around the world, he has also hosted leading artists of local and international renown in his South Indian gallery. Lalit's initial foray into photography was described by eminent American photographer Mary Ellen Mark as "beautiful work by a man who loves and understands lndia".
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