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

The Chandni Chowk heritage walk was unusual this weekend…due to Independence day security measures the previous week, we held the walk in the following weekend, an in evening. We were always apprehensive of the notorious crowds and chaos of the bazaar!!!!!!!…still went ahead taking it as a challenge and also, to savour old Delhi in it’s true colors.

The city of Shahjahanabad was built in mid 17th century with Red fort as the king’s palace and Chandni Chowk laid specially for Shah Jahan’s daughter, Jahanara, who was very fond of jewellery! There were also gardens laid in her name in the centre of baazar where currently the Town Hall and Old Delhi Railway Station stand…It’s the month of Ramzan, and we were close to the time of iftaar as we passed by several food shops filled with people… Parathewali gali, pakoras all along the way, sweets of shapes and sizes, dates…

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Our Chandni Chowk heritage walk starts at the historic Shri Digambar Jain temple, opposite Red Fort. The foundation of the temple dates back to 1656. Gauri Shankar temple, which is next to Jain temple, was built in the middle of 18th century by a Maratha courtier of the Scindias. Both temples, though they are more than 200 years old, have modern building structures and it is difficult to imagine what they once looked like.

The next stop was the almost decrepit Fort View Hotel building, one of the first to be allowed to be built by the British in the area after the 1857 demolitions. Next to it is the State Bank of India office, an early 20th century structure undergoing renovation. It’s often mistaken as Begum Samroo’s palace. We took a detour inside the Bhagirath Place, to see the remains of Begum Samroo’s haveli, inside the market. Bhagirath Place is now one of the largest markets of electronic goods. 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