The wait for monsoons is desperate & the weather is unrelenting. Still, a bunch of enthusiasts gathered this Sunday morning to explore old Delhi. Our heritage walk takes us along the main street of Chandni Chowk. This street was the main axis of the city of Shahjahanbad & still retains its centrality to movement & life in old Delhi. We meet at Digamber Jain Lal temple opposite the Red Fort. This is the oldest Jain temple here and is known for the charitable bird hospital in its premises. Next to it stands the Gauri Shankar temple dedicated to Shiv & Parvati. (more…)

This heritage walk in old Delhi covers the main street of Chandni Chowk, from Digambar Jain Lal Mandir opposite Red Fort right up till the Fatehpuri area. The Jain temple and Gauri Shankar temple are the two most important temples in old Delhi. Their shikhars are most prominently visible from a distance. The first one is contemporary to Shah Jahan’s time (mid 17^th century) & is known for a bird hospital in its premises and the second was built in 18^th century. It was in news recently as President Pratibha Patil visited the temple to offer prayers. (more…)

A heritage walk in old Delhi is always exciting: the noise, the colourful sights & the delicious smells of food being prepared, adding to the general enthusiasm of visitors & locals alike. This Sunday, seemed a little less crowded than usual. Of course the shrines like the Digamber Jain Lal Mandir, the Sisganj gurdwara and Gauri Shankar temple were bustling with activity. In contrast, the Fatehpuri Masjid at the end of Chandni Chowk is remarkably peaceful. We started our heritage walk at Digamber Jain Lal Mandir. This walk covers interesting points along the main street of old Delhi, the Chandni Chowk. Continue Reading This Post

The crowds at Chandni Chowk are an amazing sight, even on a Sunday morning when the market is officially closed. From Digambar Jain Lal Mandir (of the well known bird hospital) till Gurudwara Sisganj there were cars lined all along the road-of devotees to the Jain Mandir, Gauri Shankar temple, Central Baptist Church and Sisganj Gurdwara. Friends who visit the area are often surprised to find places of worship of all faiths so close to each other. But perhaps it is not such an unusual thing in the closely knit urban population as in our Purani Dilli. Continue Reading This Post

When we think of old Delhi, there are many cliches about its character. We like our old cities to look a certain way: the chaos, the crowd, the noise, and yet the seeming ease with which every thing operates. Yes, on the surface perhaps all old cities are like that, and our purani dilli is no different. Yet, there is more to these that catches the eye. Cities, even historic ones, change rapidly, and often these changes come and go without us noticing them. This heritage walk to the old city tries to capture a little bit of all of this: the life of the city, what is typical and what lies beneath the typical.

We start our heritage walk just outside the Red Fort. The fort was the palace complex of Shahjahan, and what is today the purani dilli for us, was Shahjahanabad, the capital city of the Mughals in the 17th century. As we step into Chandni Chowk, we are greeted by two monumental temples, the Digamber Jain Lal Mandir in red sandstone and the Gauri Shankar temple in white. There is a small flower market right across the road which caters to the devotees who come in and pray. This entire land was once the estate of Begam Samru. Orignially a dancing girl from Kashmir she went on to marry a European, Walter Reinhard and covnverted to Christianity. She is particularly known for establishing the church at Sardana, near Meerut. Today whatever little of her mansion remains, has become part of Lala Bhagirath market. Continue Reading This Post