Haveli is the term used for a private mansion in Indian history. Master ji Kee Haveli is rated as one of the old traditional maintained Haveli’s in Old Delhi.

Masterji Kee Haveli is an old-style 4-storied home with a central courtyard flanked by rooms with 58 doors. It is a fine edifice that was built on the lines of traditional Mughal architecture. Any onlooker is sure to be impressed with the carving on stone pillars and an open terrace from where, there are views of Old Delhi in all its higgledy-piggledy chaos with a view of spectacular Jama Masjid.

The Haveli is maintained by Masterji Late Ram Kishan Gupta’s wife aged 94 years and his eldest daughter and family. His eldest daughter was married in the family of Late Shri Dharma Vira, who worked closely with Jawaharlal Nehru after the Independence of India. Dharam Vira was Joint Secretary to the Indian Cabinet in 1947, he then became Principal Private Secretary to Jawaharlal Nehru who also served as Governor of Punjab and Haryana, West Bengal, Karnataka and was the Chairman of The National Police Commission. In terms of post-independence India, he was the senior and most distinguished civil servant, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan award in 1999.

The family is a Hindu vegetarian; they are old time residents of Shahjahanabad; and this is one of the few homes that hasn’t been broken down or divided into pieces and sold to multiple people. It is a chance to see what life is really like in this narrow crowded part of Old Delhi, where adjacent houses share a common wall, and everyone knows everyone else!

About Masterji

Late Shri. Master Ram Kishan Gupta (1913 – 2003) graduated from Hindu College Delhi in the year 1932. He went ahead to do his masters in Sanskrit & Hindi. He was Awarded by the State Government for his meritorious service. He stayed in this Haveli throughout his life and inherited this haveli through his mother Smt. Gomti Devi who also stayed at this haveli for almost all her life. By nature, Ramkishan Gupta was a generous and “Satvik” person (Satva is the first among the three phenomenons stated in the Vedas; Satva, Rajas & Tamas. Satva is the phenomenon of purity and only purity. Rajas is the mixture of Good and bad equally. Tamas is Bad alone. So satvik is a person who possesses total purity as his/her trait). He was fond of keeping cows and devoted his entire life in serving cows. He wanted the society to be educated and he was very specific about children getting educated and he used to teach children. He was always considered as a pious person soul and was greeted with great respect in the society. Some of his students whom he taught are in good positions in various walk of life.