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…)

It is a truism that the city never sleeps. Yet this restless, constant activity is what always amazes us. This was my first thought as we gathered for a heritage walk in old Delhi this Sunday morning. Old Delhi is known for many things: the grandeur of the Mughals, the street food, the bazaars, its havelis and we hoped to capture a little bit of all of this as we rambled through its streets.

Our walk starts at Digamber Jain Lal Mandir, the oldest Jain temple here, and well known for its charitable bird hospital. Next to it is the Gauri Shankar temple, built by a Maratha nobleman. We walked on the main street of Chandni Chowk till the fountain. This roundabout is surrounded by historical landmarks. Continue Reading This Post

A heritage walk in old Delhi evokes all kinds of response one can think of: nostalgia for lost glory; hunger for authentic food; and wonder at the systematic chaos that is the old city, sometimes combined with a feeling of impending doom! Our heritage trail this Sunday morning walk was a mixture of all of this. We start our walking tour at Digamber Jain Lal Mandir, the one famous for its bird hospital. With Red Fort forming the backdrop, we follow the main street of Chandni Chowk right up to the Sisganj gurudwara. On the way is Gauri Shankar temple, SBI buiding, Dariba Kalan and its famous jalebi shop, Central Baptish Church. The fountain chowk where Sisganj stands has much more to it: it marks the spot where Guru Teg Bahadur’s followers were tortured and killed and there is a museum dedicated to their memory. The chowk also has the Sunehri Masjid where the notorious raider Nadir Shah stood to watch the massacre of citizens of Delhi. The Ghantewala Shahi halwai was originally located at the chowk. We leave the main street at Parathewali Gali and entre the lane famous for its shops selling stuffed fried bread (parathas). Continue Reading This Post

(pics by Chhavi Sharma & Ridhima Bahl, a regular at our heritage walks)

Doing what we’re passionate about and love the most comes with ease! Shahjahanabad is love and Delhi Heritage Walks a passion. 🙂

A cloudy day with waves of chilly wind and 12 of us gathered to take a walk on the historic lane of Chandni Chowk. Chandni Chowk was built as a main commercial lane after the establishment of Shahjahanabad city which is also known now as the walled city or purani Dilli/old Delhi

This beautiful city and its surroundings were destroyed more than once: in 1739 when Nadir Shah came, in 1857-Indians rebelled against the then British rising in power. The city hence developed socio-economically depending on political powers so was development seen in architecture. The Digamber Jain Lal Mandir and Gauri Shankar temple both came up while the Mughals were at the Red Fort, but the elaborate structures we see today are relatively recent phenomenon. Continue Reading This Post

Chandni chowk, is like a second home to me. Yet every time one visits the old city there’s a freshness to it. 29^th was last of the Sundays’ that August could offer to us and it was like cherry on the cake when it’s designed for a visit to Chandni Chowk. A bunch of 11 people, some our regulars, others new, looked get-set-go for the walk. Walk started with Digambar Jain Lal Mandir followed by Gauri Shankar temple. Being a bunch of enthusiasts everyone wished to visit inside each of these places. However in a 2 hrs heritage walk it becomes difficult to do so. Still there were quite a few places we managed to explore. I tried to give maximum facts and details about the same. The group already looked very keen to know more as a lot of questions were being asked about the history of these landmarks.

This time, I decided to also focus on by-lanes of Chandni Chowk by by discussing various wholesale markets one can visit to on weekdays including for bicycles, electronics, spectacles, camera, saris etc. Continue Reading This Post