PURANI DILLI in APRIL

Interesting name

We are a group of friends from all over India who have come together through a common link. We knew each other for the last forty years as we belonged to our common link, but about five years back we all renewed our friendship as we  got in touch with each other as free birds without any encumbrances. We meet  on a  specified Sunday of the month, when all of us walk together, talk a lot, laugh even more and then sit down for breakfast in a place where we ensure that our friendship does not get tarnished by anything.

We go by the important dictum," Dosti packki, kharcha apna apna"

Our haunt is usually the Nehru Park near the Ashoka Hotel. It is only rarely that we have changed the venue and have gone to the Hauz Khas park or the Lodi Garden.

One fine Sunday  morning in April after our walk, while having breakfast we realised, that we were in almost full strength that day with the exception of our permanent defaulters. Someone came up with the bright idea that we should go on a foodie walk to the world's best food haven. Yes indeed we decided  to go to Chandni Chowk for a special walk. Deep Singh organised the entire trip.

MOSQUE NEAR SITARAM BAZAAR

Chandni Chowk is one of the most beautiful, cultured, historical place in Delhi which has become so crowded, that it is almost impossible to even think about going there on a working day.

It was decided that we would go with a guide on the following Sunday. All of us from all over the National Capital Region converged at the New Delhi Metro Station at seven am. We stood facing the Clock Tower of Kamla Market which is a famous market for air coolers, as that was the specified meeting place. In deference to the ethos of the place all the ladies wore Indian dress. From here we walked towards Ajmeri Gate. When Shah Jehan built the Red Fort in 1648, it was named Qila-e-mubarak. There was a huge boundary wall built  surrounding the new city of Shahjehanabad. There were 14 Gates on these walls, which faced the cities to which the gates led. The gates were, Lahori, Ajmeri, Dilli, Mori, Kashmiri,  Kabuli , Raj Ghat, Khizri , Nigambodh , Kela ke Ghat ka Darwaza, Lal Darwaza, , Badar Darwaza, Patthar Khati Darwaza, and Turkuman Darwaza.
Ajmeri Gate, was to the south–west of Shahjahanabad with a square plan, and was built with high arched openings. The sepoy mutiny or the first war of Indian independence in 1857, was fought at this venue also. The road, through this gate, leads to the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, which was a popular place of pilgrimage because of the Dargah of the famous sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.  The old walls of the fort have since been demolished, yet some stretches of the wall can be seen as one goes behind the Shradhanand Road also called the  GB Road, which has always been a very big hardware market. GB Road is also famous for  its nefarious nocturnal activities  which business still continues. 

Just opposite the Ajmeri gate is the Anglo-Arabic School which has been an educational institute since the time it was built. It was founded in 1690 as a madrasa by Ghaziuddin Khan, a General in the army  of Aurangzeb, and father of  Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asaf Jah I, the first Nizam of Hyderabad. The madrasa closed down after some time and was later revived by the British. It was renamed as Delhi College by the British. This was the College where in 1842,  Mirza Ghalib  was offered the post of Professor of Persian language. He was asked to meet Mr. Thompson, the Secretary to the Government, who was to interview Mirza Ghalib. At the stipulated time when Mirza Ghalib arrived in his palki for the interview, he expected the Principal of the college to welcome him at the gate, as he was a great poet and a member of the nobility.  Not finding the Principal at the gate, Mirza Ghalib who was actually in need of the job, turned around and went back home. 

This  College was renamed Dr. Zakir Hussain College in 1975, and has since shifted to a new building. Presently the Anglo Arabic Senior Secondary School runs in the same old historical building. 

After admiring the beauty of Ajmeri Gate and learning the interesting history of the Anglo-Arabic College, we entered an interesting street behind the Ajmeri gate, named Maharajon ki gali. This is a non descript gali where  once upon a time all the famous cooks lived. These cooks were called maharaj and they would be invited to  cook on special occasions by the local population as well as the nobility. From there we walked on and entered Gali Kunday Wala en route to  Sitaram bazaar, which is very famous for all the road side street foods which old Delhi is well known for. On the way our guide took us to a small eatery which is very famous for its bedmi aloo. Bedmi is a type of kachori or dal filled puri which is eaten with curried potatoes. It is cooked there and then and the aroma of the food is very inviting. Even those who are calorie conscious cannot turn away, and justify the eating by thinking of the long walk that he/she  has to undertake to get out of this area.

After eating the bedmi-aloos we were served with delicious rich sooji halwa. Bedmi aloo and halwa is the most popular breakfast item of Old Delhi and should not be missed. As it is, one has grown up on the old saying, "Nani ke ghar jayenge, Halwa puri khayenge", so this was the day when we could have our fill of halwa puri.

After eating this delicious and rich breakfast we were all ready for some steaming hot tea. We were led to a wayside tea shop by our guide. This was a small room in a bylane where the tea is made and served to the people who wait patiently, and where the shop keeper sits outside, collecting his cash. The shop keeper was a very friendly gentleman who opens his shop on Sundays only till 11 am. On week days it is open throughout the day and tea is served  to a lot of shops around the place. The most interesting thing in the shop beside the tea was the way the shop keeper maintained his accounts. There was a note book where he just noted the number of cups that went out with a delivery boy on every round. There was no noting of who took it out or where the tea went. As soon as cash came back of that many cups of tea, the item was struck off in a squiggly line which made the cutting look like a caterpillar. It was amazing to see the accounting. All of us bankers went bonkers looking at that accounting system. He seemed to be  a happy person, who was happy to serve his tea and get back his payment, so that at the end of the day there were no out standings and  he could go home content and at peace with the whole world. 

After the hot and delicious tea we went further down the road and saw very interesting sights. There was a wall in a corner, where there was a tree jutting out and in that corner there were many gods residing quietly and peacefully. Many obliged devotees had hung a number of bells in that area.Do gods really need bells to wake them up from their slumber?

As we moved on further into Chandni Chowk, we crossed a shop called Kuremal Kulfiwale. This shop is located on the Kunday wali gali. 

This is the shop which makes  kulfi in as many flavours as one can think of. Every fruit has its own kulfi. Real fruits are used to make these kulfis which is a rare treat as there are no artificial flavours used.  He also makes a kulfi where the seed of a mango is removed and in its place the mango kulfi is filled and frozen. When it is ready, the mango is cut into slices and its peel is removed. This is the most amazing kulfi and a visit to this shop is quite desirable. He does not have any retail outlet but is happy to do catering for special occasions all over Delhi.  One lesson that I learnt in Chandni Chowk is, that the people make the most amazing products and are happy to serve their customers who come to their premises. They do not think of expansion, or of giving a franchise or getting into a whirlwind of loan, expansion and tension. They seem to have got hold of the elixir of happiness, which is to do their job to perfection, be happy with what they do, lead a life of contentment and never get into a rat race. The kulfi place was closed at that time of the day, so we could not eat the famous kulfi. Triloki and I had attended a foodie walk a few months back and we had eaten the kulfi that was served there. It was simply amazing, in fact it was out of this world.

After crossing the kulfi place we reached the main road to Lal Kuan Bazaar and were led to a small eatery called Bade Miyan's kheer shop. The kheer is cooked overnight and served cold in the morning. The kheer was rich and very delicious. The kheer usually gets over by mid day and here too there did not seem to be any plans to expand or keep frozen kheer. The freshness of the food was the guarantee of its amazing taste.

MASJID  MUBARAK BEGUM

This kheer place was opposite a mosque which has a colloquial name. It is rudely called, "Randi ki masjid"  and is located near the Hauz Qazi police station on Lal Kuan road.This mosque was built  in 1823, by one of the 13 wives of Sir David Ochterlony, Delhi’s first British resident, who was known for his passion for nautch girls, the hukkah and Indian dresses. Mubarak Begum was a Brahmin dancing girl from Pune, who had  converted to Islam and had got this mosque made. Besides being the favourite wife, although some say that she was just a mistress of Sir Ochterlony, she was a principal player in Delhi’s cultural life. 

As we walked on this road, we saw numerous   shops. This we were told is the place to buy all kinds of kites from. In August this place throngs with people, as traditionally on 15th August, kites fly all over Delhi. Close to this gali is the  charkhiwalan gali. Charkhi or catherine wheel is the spool over which the string of the kite is rolled.This is how business thrived in olden days. The galis next to each other had trade which was complimentary. The names of galis in Delhi are very specific and specialise in different  trades. We have Gali choodiwalan, suiwalan, Kinary bazar, gali parathe wali, Ballimaran, maliwada, teliwada, Charkhewalan, sirkiwalan and many more. All these names are fascinating and tell about the people who inhabited the place, according to the trade that was carried out in that gali. 

A HAWELI

As we walked on imbibing the history and grandeur of Shahjehanbad, we were surprised as we did not feel the strong rays of the sun. The entire area has shady trees  and  where there were no trees, there was the shade of huge buildings which were lined on both sides of the narrow streets. It spoke of the enchanting finesse of this fine city with a great culture. The houses were actually mansions with beautiful doors which opened into a huge aangan around which were the rooms of its inhabitants. On the doors of these mansions  were the name plates of famous barristers who once lived here. The place exudes charm and a quiet dignity. As there were no cars, autos and buses in this area, there was a lot of peace and quiet, besides it being a Sunday morning too added to the less decibels of noise.

LAL KUAN, CHAINED GHADA, PLATFORM TO SIT

In Lal Kuan there actually is a well in this very busy road, which is now covered and not used. There is a small shop adjacent to the well, near which is a big shady neem tree. Around the base of the tree there is a chabutara or platform  where one can sit  for some time before moving on.

As we walked on, we reached the famous Khari Baoli, the spice market of Delhi. This place is a paradise of spices and dry fruits. It is a very old whole sale market and merchants from almost all of North India come here to buy their stuff.   We moved on and entered a small eatery on the first floor where we ate aloo ka paratha and kali daal. The parathas were delicious and huge and the dal was delicious and dripping with butter. Huge glasses of lassi and nimbu pani was a very refreshing supplement.

Our foodie walk with historical inputs and excellent sight seeing had taken us more than five hours of walking with small pit stops for refuelling with the most amazing simple and delicious foods which have continued unadulterated and fresh for hundreds of years.The recipes have remained constant, the service is very personal and the prices are unbelievable. Perhaps maintaining quality, purity of preparation and the desire to do a good job is what makes this place and its food exemplary.

The simplicity of the people, the culture, the way of talking and the decency of the people was something to be admired. Perhaps the dil of the dilliwalas still remains and beats within the bylanes of Old Delhi.
As we finished our walk, we went past the grand Old Delhi Railway Station and entered the modern Chandni Chowk Metro station.

Our foodie walk was a great success and all of us parted with the thought of organising another walk after the weather cools down.