The Dilliwalah

Fatehpuri Masjid near Khari Baoli

“Roads no matter how they are, they are always a story. Some give rest to the tired feet, some make you dream beneath the stars: Saransh Goila.”

Founded as Shahjahanabad in 1639, when Shah Jahan, the then Mughal Emperor, decided to shift his capital from Agra. Starting from Luthian Road near Kashmiri Gate and ending around Feroz Shah Kotla, the region is surrounded by railway tracks culminating at New Delhi and Delhi Railway Stations on one side and Yamuna River on the other. Enclosing four assembly segments, it holds a population of around 14 lakhs. Other than cheap prices and scope for high bargaining, what brings people here? 

Bookseller on Asaf Ali Road at Daryaganj 

WHY OLD DELHI?  

Tucked itself almost at the center of the national capital, this is Delhi’s favorite place for finger-licking teekhi chaat and savoring Shahi Tukda. Hundreds of people squeezed into narrow lanes where one has to be careful of not stepping upon dogs, cow-dung, dead rats at the same time praying for less traffic: Believe me, this is Old Delhi! Old Delhi defies change. Thousands of daily costumers, hundreds of first-time travelers and few like us who admire this romantic beauty. You don’t have to be a hyperlocal to bear the smell of gilli mitti, this is true inheritance. The aspect of life here may not have been a complete “Western” import enjoyed by the other geographical area carved out of the walled city. But you can’t ignore the legacy of 400 years in one go, you’ve to live it.

Road to Jama Masjid at Chawri Bazaar

MARKETS

The charm of Old Delhi is truly the packed markets. The local aesthetic for furti: fun and frolic and entertainment shimmering to political jokes offend none! Dozens of dedicated markets from Sadar Bazar to Darya Ganj together with Pul Mithai, Qutub Road, Fatehpuri, Ballimaran, Nai Sadak, Kinari Bazar, Kucha Majini, Chawri Bazar, Dariba Kalan, Katra Neel, Khari Baoli, Matia Mahal, Meena Bazar: walled city is a never-ending place if you are young and restless. These markets trade in spices, cameras, clothes, jewelry, hardware, printing materials, books and stationeries, electronic items: Old Delhi is the indigenous Amazon, selling “A to Z.”    

Patli Gali near Nai Sarak

FOOD

This is the most tempting part that every traveler loves to write about. In this Instagram world full of food stories, it is normal to feel isolated and push next! Travelers use to relish food in a pre-tech world when assuming the ingredients were mandatory than deciding the camera angels. Just opposite to Gate number 1 of Jama Masjid is Matia Mahal. Scores of kababs and tikkas to flavorsome Shahi Tukda will definitely make your day. Fifty varieties of paranthas at Paranthe wali Gali to Cholle Bhature near Katra Asharfi, twenty flavors of natural ice creams in summers at Sitaram Bazar to Doulat ki Chat in winters near Nai Sadak; mind me food evokes emotions in people. American food writer MFK Fisher wrote, “All men are hungry. They always have been. They must eat and when they deny themselves the pleasures of carrying out that need, they are cutting off part of their possible fullness, their natural realization of life, whenever they are poor or rich.” I’ll be glad to share a spoon of nihari on this notion anytime!   

Meena Bazar near Jama Masjid