India, Feb. 4 -- It isn't only Khan Market where Delhi goes to see and be seen. Fashionable crowds also condescend to grace Defence Colony Market with their august presence. Less theatrical than its aforementioned cousin, the neighbourhood market has been extensively surveyed by city chroniclers. Even so, it still holds a few overlooked curiosities-beyond, of course, an unusually high concentration of pharmacies.

The first is a deserted relic wedged between Genre Kids Collection showroom and Broadway Drycleaners (the laundry service has been operating since 1959). At street level, the entrance to the two-storey structure is sealed shut by a weather-beaten metal shutter, rusting at the edges. It is the first floor that arrests the eye. A ...