The alleyways were too narrow for even a rickshaw to enter; so the two girls would walk down to Mausiqi Manzil, their master’s Mughal-vintage haveli, a particularly storied one among the many in Delhi-6. Animated by the genteel spirit of Ustad Chand Khan (1899-1980), the paterfamilias of Dilli gharana, it was a hub of soirees back in the day. Ustads of all timbres would drop in, from Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amjad Ali Khan’s father Hafiz Ali and Amir Khan. So would Begum Akhtar, Siddheshwari Devi and a certain K.L. Saigal, as transiting disciples.