The Kashmiri Gate route is one of the more unusual trudges among our heritage walks. The landmarks covered in this heritage trail are no picturesque monuments. Rather, these are places which are constantly being lived in & thereby altered.  Some places are ill kept, others under government control where the caretakers go into hiding, locking up their buildings as soon as they see a curious visitor. (more…)

(photos by Heritage & Food Walk in old Delhi, by Henri Laniece, a regular at our walks)

Starting this month, we are making the street food walk in old Delhi a regular feature of our calendar. Moreover, the route we have chosen is a combination of food stops & some hidden gems of history in old Delhi. Hence the title ‘Heritage Walk & Street Food’.  The group met at Jama Masjid, one of the most famous landmarks of Delhi & negotiated our way to Sitaram Bazaar, the end point for this heritage trail.  Getting there can be quite a task though. Delhi Metro has made the old city easily accessible, but once out of the metro, get ready to face the madness here. The nearest metro station is Chawri Bazaar & the road leading from Chawri Bazaar to Jama Masjid is perpetually jam packed. There are rickshaws, hand pulled carts, scooters, cars, dogs & a sea of humanity all trying to keep going. One wrong move & the traffic comes to a standstill!!  (more…)

It is a truism that the city never sleeps. Not only is it always alive, it is constantly changing. People who live in an area, in our case old Delhi, have been constantly working & reworking their lives & in turn the life of the city. Which means that purani dilli has layers of pasts which need careful exploration & observation. A fun way to do this is walking through its lanes. Our heritage walk this Sunday was focused on the main street of Chandni Chowk. This is not to say that the rest of the old Delhi is not of interest. (more…)

(photos by Masha Barinova, a regular at our heritage walks. The above photos were taken during a food walk in old Delhi. Find more or Masha’s works @ http://mashabarinova.com/a91.html )