Varanasi's old quarters hide more than one mansion whose stone walls carry a story worth retelling, and one of the most striking belongs to a man named Babu Devkinandan, who built a magnificent haveli with great passion but never spent even a single night inside it. The carvings on its walls still catch the eye of anyone who walks past.
Who was Babu Devkinandan?
According to senior journalist Himanshu Raj Pandey, Babu Devkinandan originally belonged to Prayagraj. During British rule, he was close to English officers, and it was the British who handed him charge of the Ramapura area of Varanasi. He served there as a tax collector, and this posting is what brought him from Prayagraj to Varanasi. He then built his grand haveli on 10 bigha of land in the city.
A dispute over a lift changed everything
At the time, the British government had placed a special order to import three lifts from England to India. Babu Devkinandan wanted one of those three lifts installed in his own haveli, and he put in his full effort to secure one. But for some reason, he could not get hold of even one of the three lifts, and the disappointment hit him hard. The episode upset him so much that he walked away from the very haveli he had built with such care, and he never returned to Varanasi again, nor did he ever set foot inside the mansion afterward.
A 150 year old mansion that still stands as heritage
The Devkinandan haveli was built roughly 150 years ago. This massive stone structure still stands today as a heritage property, though parts of it have now fallen into disrepair. The five storey mansion has a total of 48 rooms, each designed to stay well ventilated. The building carries clear traces of Indian architectural craftsmanship, with several verandas and a large courtyard. Havelis of this scale and grandeur are now rare in Varanasi.
