He now lives in an adjacent red brick building designed like an English cottage and there is no saying where Jalale House is headed in the future. Syed has staved off offers of crores of rupees from buyers and suggestions from family members to change the structure. “My son who lives in the US keeps telling me that a brick wall should come up in place of the clay wall, I even tried dismantling a small part. The wall was so strong that it cost me about Rs 40,000 to bring it down so why should I do it? Where will you find skilled workers like those who built this wall?” he says.

Syed has three children (a daughter and son are settled in the US) but there are no caretakers yet. “Nobody has time and it takes a lot of effort; I wish the government would just take over for upkeep,” says Syed. “All I can say is that as long as I am living, the house will be alive.”