New Delhi, April 19 -- Tucked away behind the stately St James' Church near Kashmere Gate, the last crumbling remains of a 200-year-old haveli - once the palatial home of a flamboyant Anglo-Indian soldier of fortune - are finally set to be restored.
The building, once known as Skinner's Haveli and later as part of the Hindu College complex, has quietly deteriorated for decades. But after years of appeals and planning, the Hindu College Old Students Association (OSA) has received municipal permission to bring it back to life.
Before it became a crumbling municipal office or a college laboratory, this estate belonged to one of Delhi's most unusual characters: Colonel James Skinner - or "Sikandar Sahib," as he was then known to locals. The r...