Summary:
As he spoke about growing up in Ballimaran, Khan remembered an urban legend associated with the area. The ‘cat killers’ also lived here, and the area came to be called Ballimaran because they killed billi. It was at Ballimaran’s Sharif Manzil that freedom fighter and one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia, Hakim Ajmal Khan, lived. “He took refuge at Sharif Manzil during the revolt of 1857 as the Maharaja of Patiala sent his troops to protect Ballimaran where the Hakims and Ghalib lived,” said Khan. The men did not use oars as the water in the canal nearby was shallow; they instead used a balli or long bamboo poles..