Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk is the centrepiece of Old Delhi. When the wide avenue was laid out by Jahanara Begum, refreshing water ran down the center between shady trees; merchants’ shops and noblemen’s homes set in lush gardens lined the sides; and the lanes leading off it stocked a rich assortment of goods and fine foods, from dried fruits and roasted meats to partridges. Indeed, in 1663 the traveler Francois Bernier thought it the biggest commercial center in the East and ruminated ‘whether a lover of good cheer ought to quit Paris for the sake of visiting Delhi’. Later, Robert B Minturn declared Chandni Chowk ‘the handsomest street’ and ‘the gayest scene in India’. Today, its lackluster appearance belies a rich history and, if you watch carefully, some amusing commercial entrepreneurship.
To the left, the flower-stalls of Phool-ki-Mandi (flower market) trade outside the Sishganj Gurudwara, now being grandly enlarged. It is dedicated to the ninth Sikh guru, Tegh Bahadur, whom emperor Aurangzeb (ruled 1618-1707) had beheaded in 1675. This was also when in 1659 Aurangzeb, to underline his absolute power as new emperor, exhibited the corpse of his older brother Dara Shukoh, having paraded him down the street dressed as a beggar on a dirty elephant – a warning to locals who had supported this popular heir apparent. Further along is the kotwali (police station) in front of which the British exhibited the corpses of three Mughal princes and hanged the freedom fighters after they retook Delhi in 1857.
Around the Chandni Chowk :-
Katra Neel :- Katra is the cloth bazaar, comprising of silks, satin, crepe, cotton, muslin and any other fabric that one can think of.
Bhagirath Palace :- Asia’s largest market for electrical goods, it is also known for medical equipment and allopathic medicines. To local people it is known as ‘Chooriwali ki Haveli’ or the Bangle Seller’s Palace.
Kinari Bazaar :- This place is famous for traditional embroidery of zari and zardozi work. This street has everything an Indian bride could need for her trousseau.
Dariba Kalan :- There were rows of jewellers specializing in gold and silver ornaments situated in this lane.
Chhatta Chowk Bazaar :- The Chhatta Chowk has around forty shops selling artificial and semi-precious jewellery, embroidered bags, hand painted wall hangings and fake ‘antiques’.
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