Storytellers on the steps of the Jama Masjid, old gramophone records, nautch girls... Nona Walia recreates magic of the 40s

It was an era of simplicity. The days of punkah-wallahs and palakis, of tonga rides and gramophones! The days of the Raj evoke nostalgia for something modern India can only romanticise about as we celebrate the 64th year of Independence.

As we move on, we've lost some things from the past that are imbued with a romantic aura - the charpois on the verandahs of Lutyens bungalows with baggis in the corridors and rotary dial telephones in living rooms. Men are going to college in pyjamas, women wearing saris in their family portraits. The walls festooned with sabres swords, Raj-era paintings and embroideries, the melody of KL Saigal's voice from the gramophone - all flawless snapshots from another age, something the young generation of this decade will never experience.

These aren't just glimpses from the past, but an integral part of our cultural configuration. The old was cast away and we value only the new. Who can forget the timelessness of the emotion Lata Mangeshkar's Ae Mera Vatan ke logon stirred or the romance of sepia photographs! Pavan Varma, author of Being Indian and Becoming Indian says "It was an era that makes every Indian nostalgic. There was certain simplicity in lifestyles as we travelled by tongas and ships. The aangan-ka-ghar was the original ancestral home, which has been forgotten because of mechanised flats. At that time, letter writing was considered an art. The music lyrics of the 40s were also of robust literary quality."

With time, cultural nuances changed and newer ways of living emerged. Says cultural entrepreneur Navina Jafa, who specialises in heritage walks, "It was a time when culture suddenly changed almost overnight in the 40s. There used to be Kharkhano ki Zubaan, a special language which was spoken by those working in factories. Don't we miss the aangan vala ghar that triggered terrace romances and kite flying?"

There was euphoria of freedom, which expressed and manifested itself in the way everyone lived. "Idealism set the mood those days. In the 1940s, the nautch girls were seen as prostitutes overnight as the courtesan culture ended. We celebrate the image of the original courtesan especially through cinema."

In his book, Nautch Girls of India, author Pran Nevile talks about how the original nautch girls were a talented lot and went on to become the first generation of Bollywood stars. "Cinema had replaced the gramophone era, hence brought about ripples of cultural change," says Nevile. According to art restorer Aman Nath, "There was clean air and space; I would ride to school in a tonga for 25 paise. That makes me nostalgic."

Ultimately, it's the tangible items of the 40s that trigger waves of sentimentalism. The swish malls don't compare to the laziness of the bazaars and nautanki performers. Says Manjeet Bhullar, art restorer and designer, "Everyone travelled with old steel trunks and bistarbands and rode in tongas, baggis and ikkas, food was all about slow-cooking; the Peshawari Katlama is rarely heard of today."

Can cultural timelines get blurred as we move on? "I think so," says OP Jain, founder of Sanskriti Museum and conservator, "We have to make an effort that the old and new are always connected, there has to be continuity. On the steps of Jama Masjid, there used to be three or four storytellers, who would sit and narrate tales, known as Kissa Kahaniyan experts!" That's something Nilabh Sinha, director of INTACH agrees with, "We miss those huge film posters from a bygone era. Of course, one misses the 1940s Morris Minor, the small car that was seen in India. We don't see saris with family portraits anymore, worn by stylish ladies of yesteryears."

Photographer Avinash Pasricha on his sojourn to Mussorie would often sneak into TE Devin & Company and listen to music on the gramophone. "It was a timeless experience; youngsters today have formed communities to keep alive that music."