Bollywood has brought Chandni Chowk back into the news. Designer Madhu Jain shows Anuradha Varma the sights
CHANDU ke chacha ne Chandu ki chachi ko Chandni Chowk mein chandni raat mein chaandi ke chamach se chatni chatayi... that's the popular tonguetwister from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.
Lately, Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone-starrer Chandni Chowk to China and now Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Abhishek Bachchan-Sonam Kapoor starrer Delhi 6 have brought the focus back on Old Delhi's iconic bazaar.
With so much old-world charm in the air, we decided to take a tour down Chandni Chowk's memorable lanes, and who better to accompany us than someone who grew up there? Fashion designer Madhu Jain, who spent summer holidays as a child in her maternal grandmother's haveli here and was then married into a family from the same area, was our obvious choice.
We enter the market in Old Delhi, which has its pin code as 110006 (or Delhi 6), driving along the Jama Masjid. Madhu springs out of the car as she spies the matra-wala (selling a variant of chole kulche) at the opening of Bazaar Guliyan. Bobby, the matra-wala, has been sitting at this spot on the pavement for decades now, taking over from his father before him.
Not even a makeshift structure marks the spot that had passed down generations. Just like Suresh Chand, some distance away, who also dishes out pani puri and papri chaat from the pavement.
We decide to focus on some unsung icons of the area and steer clear of the well-known landmarks, like the Parathewali Gali, the Ghantewala sweet shop and Gurudwara Sisganj, where Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded. There's also the Digambar Jain Temple and its bird hospital, if you are in the mood to visit it.
The next halt is the hakimji nearby, whose sharbats (costing between Rs 90 and Rs 175 per bottle) and thandai Madhu swears by, and so does India's elite, apparently, including the Modis and Singhanias. The quaint little shop, set up in 1861, has dusty shelves lined with labeled bottles. Surendra Prasad Jain claims the medicines can cure anything from minor colds, stomach ailments to paralysis. "A lot of the old families have moved out," he rues.
Chandni Chowk is home to highpitched business activity. Bullion trading thrives here, it has the largest cloth market in Asia and also the continent's largest spice market at Khadi Baoli. It's also home to an electronics market, the paper market Chawri Bazaar, and Dariba Kalan - the best place to buy your gold and silver.
Jeweller Satish Jain of Multan Singh & Sons, who shells out a mere Rs 100 as monthly rent, informs, "At the market here, one can buy stuff from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh." We now head towards Kinari Bazaar, the trousseau market, with colourful bursts of red, gold and silver from the turbans, zardozi dupattas, jewellery and garlands. The lanes are bursting at the seams with shops, people and cycle rickshaws. In the old days, the zari is said to consist of real gold, silver and copper. The old part of the city offers a far gentler world, with friendly shopkeepers and where women can feel safe despite the apparent chaos.
A deft detour into a bylane sees us standing before some picturesque old havelis. By now, we've been fed at practically every few steps, starting from bedvi puri aloo, along with imartis, opposite the police thana next to Jama Masjid. We progressed to parmal barfis at Hazaarilal Jain Khurchan Wale, a kind of 'gajak paan' at a street corner and finally, heavenly pyaaz kachoris and mung daal halwa at Bhikaram's.
We end with a stopover at the Hanuman temple close to the market, but not before visiting Khadi Baoli, where one can pick up anything from spices to fresh fruits, even "sweet corn" offered by a woman, who blushes as she's teased for using the modern lingo. We also visit astrologer Anil Kumar Pandey, who claims to cure depression through the teachings of the Bhagvad Gita. He holds up a copy of a local tabloid called 'Visphotak Times' featuring him!
Want a taste of Old Delhi? Take a walk through the streets of Chandni Chowk for a lesson in living history!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A-walk-through-Chandni-Chowk/articleshow/4207114.cms
CHANDU ke chacha ne Chandu ki chachi ko Chandni Chowk mein chandni raat mein chaandi ke chamach se chatni chatayi... that's the popular tonguetwister from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.
Lately, Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone-starrer Chandni Chowk to China and now Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Abhishek Bachchan-Sonam Kapoor starrer Delhi 6 have brought the focus back on Old Delhi's iconic bazaar.
With so much old-world charm in the air, we decided to take a tour down Chandni Chowk's memorable lanes, and who better to accompany us than someone who grew up there? Fashion designer Madhu Jain, who spent summer holidays as a child in her maternal grandmother's haveli here and was then married into a family from the same area, was our obvious choice.
We enter the market in Old Delhi, which has its pin code as 110006 (or Delhi 6), driving along the Jama Masjid. Madhu springs out of the car as she spies the matra-wala (selling a variant of chole kulche) at the opening of Bazaar Guliyan. Bobby, the matra-wala, has been sitting at this spot on the pavement for decades now, taking over from his father before him.
Not even a makeshift structure marks the spot that had passed down generations. Just like Suresh Chand, some distance away, who also dishes out pani puri and papri chaat from the pavement.
We decide to focus on some unsung icons of the area and steer clear of the well-known landmarks, like the Parathewali Gali, the Ghantewala sweet shop and Gurudwara Sisganj, where Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded. There's also the Digambar Jain Temple and its bird hospital, if you are in the mood to visit it.
The next halt is the hakimji nearby, whose sharbats (costing between Rs 90 and Rs 175 per bottle) and thandai Madhu swears by, and so does India's elite, apparently, including the Modis and Singhanias. The quaint little shop, set up in 1861, has dusty shelves lined with labeled bottles. Surendra Prasad Jain claims the medicines can cure anything from minor colds, stomach ailments to paralysis. "A lot of the old families have moved out," he rues.
Chandni Chowk is home to highpitched business activity. Bullion trading thrives here, it has the largest cloth market in Asia and also the continent's largest spice market at Khadi Baoli. It's also home to an electronics market, the paper market Chawri Bazaar, and Dariba Kalan - the best place to buy your gold and silver.
Jeweller Satish Jain of Multan Singh & Sons, who shells out a mere Rs 100 as monthly rent, informs, "At the market here, one can buy stuff from Rs 10,000 to Rs 10 lakh." We now head towards Kinari Bazaar, the trousseau market, with colourful bursts of red, gold and silver from the turbans, zardozi dupattas, jewellery and garlands. The lanes are bursting at the seams with shops, people and cycle rickshaws. In the old days, the zari is said to consist of real gold, silver and copper. The old part of the city offers a far gentler world, with friendly shopkeepers and where women can feel safe despite the apparent chaos.
A deft detour into a bylane sees us standing before some picturesque old havelis. By now, we've been fed at practically every few steps, starting from bedvi puri aloo, along with imartis, opposite the police thana next to Jama Masjid. We progressed to parmal barfis at Hazaarilal Jain Khurchan Wale, a kind of 'gajak paan' at a street corner and finally, heavenly pyaaz kachoris and mung daal halwa at Bhikaram's.
We end with a stopover at the Hanuman temple close to the market, but not before visiting Khadi Baoli, where one can pick up anything from spices to fresh fruits, even "sweet corn" offered by a woman, who blushes as she's teased for using the modern lingo. We also visit astrologer Anil Kumar Pandey, who claims to cure depression through the teachings of the Bhagvad Gita. He holds up a copy of a local tabloid called 'Visphotak Times' featuring him!
Want a taste of Old Delhi? Take a walk through the streets of Chandni Chowk for a lesson in living history!
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A-walk-through-Chandni-Chowk/articleshow/4207114.cms
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