THE MOONLIT SQUARE-CHANDNI CHOWK

Naughara Mansion

Dilli, that is how I like to call it when I talk of Shahjehanabad, Chandni Chowk and the gali, kuche and katras of Dilli.

Just uttering the word "Chandni Chowk" transports me to an altogether different world. A world of beauty, charm, poetry, romanticism and the cool, calming effect of “chandni” or a moonlit night where everything looks charmed. Even a visit to the actual mundane, extremely busy, commercial, dirty, chaotic place is not able to remove the thoughts from my mind. I still like to think of Chandni Chowk, only as it was meant to be, when it was made by Jahan Ara, the daughter of Shah Jehan, in 1650.

The thought that Ghalib, Zauq, Meer Taqi Meer, and Momin, lived here, and wrote beautiful poetry speaks for the finesse of the place. How enchanting and beautiful the place would have been at one time can only be imagined now. 

Chandni Chowk runs straight from the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort to the Fatehpuri Mosque, which was built by a Begum of Shah Jehan. On both sides were shops and in the center where now stands the Town hall was the Chowk.

DAULAT KI CHAAT

This place is a foodies paradise. Have you heard of “daulat ki chaat”? Fabulous name...again! Well it is the froth of the milk when it is being boiled in a huge couldron. This froth is collected and sold early in the morning.  This is usually available only in winter.It is sprinkled with powdered sugar and actually melts in your mouth. Besides this there are jalebis, dahi bhalla, parathas, and mouth watering Chaat.

I recently went to Chandni Chowk on a Walking trip with “Delhi Heritage Walks”. The walk started at the Bird Hospital attached to the Jain temple built in 1656, right at the beginning of the famous road. Standing next to it is the Gauri Shankar temple which was built by a Maratha general Appa Gangadhar in 1761. Quite close by is Gurudwara Sheeshganj  built in   1783. This is the place where Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded on the orders of Aurangzeb in 1675. 

SUNEHRI MOSQUE

Next to the Gurudwara is Sunehri Mosque built in 1721. This is the famous place where in 1739,Nadir Shah the invader from Persia ordered a katl-e-aam, or killing of all and sundry. He watched the massacre of the people of Delhi, sitting here. It is said that about 20,000 people were killed in one day. Across the road is the Christian Central Baptist Church built in 1814.

Chandni Chowk has a lot of kuchas and katras. The first that we came across was Dariba Kalan. Dariba means an incomparable pearl. In  Persian it was 'Dur-e be-baha', meaning 'pearl without compare' Dariba used to be famous for its jewellery shops. At the starting point of this gali is a shop famous  for its jalebis. Next comes the famous parathewali gali. This gali has famous saree shops in the beginning and then one finds the exotic parathewalas. They make different kinds of stuffed parathas. These parathas are soaked with ghee and are very tasty, although health conscious people may have second thoughts, yet this is a treat which should not be avoided.

Katras are lanes with shops on both sides. Each Katra is specialised and while one sells sarees, the other sells lehengas and so on and so forth.

At the end of Parathewali gali is the famous Kinari bazaar. All sorts of gota, kinari, embroidered laces, borders, can be bought here. There is Chawdi Bazar, which means a broad market famous for printing business. Nai sadak, famous for its book shops. There is Katra Neel, Katra Mahajani, Maliwara, Ballimara, Gali Qasim Jaan, Gali Rehmani, Khari Baoli, Hauz Qazi and a lot more.

There are huge mansions and palaces in this area. Shah Jehan had alloted land to eminent people to build their residences in Chandni Chowk. To name a few there is the Khazanchi haveli, Begum Zeenat Mahal’s haveli, Begum Samru’s haveli, Lala Chuna Mal’s haveli, and the Naughara mansions Begum Samru was a Lady who married a mercenary and had huge properties here. Her famous palace is now called Bhagirath Palace and is a famous market for Electrical goods.

LALA CHUNA MAL'S HAVELI

Lala Chuna Mal's haveli still stands, with a huge facade. Lala Chuna Mal was a financier and lent money on interest. Katra Neel is located behind this haveli. 

Naughara mansions in Kinari Bazaar is a quiet, serene and calm place in this extremely busy bazaar. There are nine houses in this area of mainly Jain jewellers. The doorways and front of the mansions are beautiful. How majestic, huge and well planned they must be from inside can only be imagined. My favourite building of course is the State Bank of India building. This is the place from where began my journey in the service of the biggest bank of India in 1975!

FATEHPURI MOSQUE

Having walked down this majestic Chandni Chowk we reached Fatehpuri Mosque. This place was huge, peaceful and clean. One has to take off one's shoes and carry them inside. One is not allowed to put shoes down on the floor with the soles touching the floor! There were a number of madarsas in the Mosque, where children were being tutored.

We then went to Khari Baoli, the present day famous Spice market which transports you to an altogether different world. While a few days back I had stopped myself from buying a kilogram of walnuts at Rs. 2000/- a kilo from another market in Delhi, the Khari baoli price of Rs. 750/- a kilo for the same stuff, made me quickly shell out money and buy the walnuts.

We then went to the roof of the Gadodia Market from where the view was  grand and majestic. 

Chandni Chowk, is really incomparable, majestic, and a beautiful memory! I would suggest that one should not go by what one sees, but one must think, imagine, and transport oneself to what it once was!

If you see it with eyes wide open, you would feel a sense of total loss. Loss of history, loss of heritage, and loss of the grandeur. Where once stood beautiful buildings with fine work on balustrades, carvings on walls, artwork on balconies, one finds only fragments of all this peeping through some dilapidated wall, balcony or railing. The heirs to these mansions have obviously divided the properties in such a way that the total building has no single owner and therefore there is no maintenance, it is all shabby and pathetic. It pained me immensely to see the way history has been mauled, and beautiful mansions have been turned into virtual jig saw puzzles, because of its fragmentation.

Nevertheless, as Zauq the famous poet had said, "Kaun jaye magar Dilli ki galiyan chod kar", I a diehard fan of Dilli and Shahjehanabad, came back with visions of a grand Dilli that once was!