A group of students from Denmark on their first trip to India joined us for a heritage walk in old Delhi on Sunday evening. The old city of Delhi is the capital built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, who named the new capital after himself, Shahjahanabad. The Red Fort was his palace-fort complex and Jama Masjid the congregation mosque of the city.

We wandered through the narrow lanes of old Delhi: looking at the haveli facades in Katra Khushal Rai, the Digamber Jain Naya Mandir, Naughara, Parathewali Gali. The havelis and Jain temples in the city have a typical late-Mughal aesthetic style: the arches, the life-like representation of flowers, etc, patronised by Shahjahan and used extensively after him. Naughara is a group of havelis (mansions) which still retain much of their traditional appearance.

Next on the route was the main street of Chandni Chowk, Continue Reading This Post

We covered 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) and the second was built in 18^th century. Next stop was SBI building which has recently undergone restoration. This entire area would originally have been Begam Samroo’s estate. It is now called Bhagirath Place & is a very large market for electronic goods. Close by is the Central Baptist Church built just after 1857 uprising. On the opposite side are the famous jalebiwala and Dariba Kalan, the street known for its silver jewellery. Next was Sisganj gurudwara, the fountain chowk and Sunheri masjid. The fountain & sisganj gurudwara mark the place of martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur & 3 of his followers. Continue Reading This Post

It’s foggy & very cold but no let up on the traffic in old Delhi. We started the walk amidst blaring of horns and shouts of everybody who happened to be on the street. The Red Fort was only an outline in the winter fog. The Digamber Jain Lal mandir, which happens to be the oldest Jain temple in old Delhi & Gauri Shankar temple were to our left. Across the road as the shops selling flowers & other offering made to the temple including dhatura (a poisonous weed). This entire area right up to where the SBI building on Chandni Chowk is was the estate of Began Sumroo. It is now known by the name of Bhagirath place is one of the largest markets of duplicate electric goods. Continue Reading This Post

The advantage of starting early was that the Red Fort complex was not crowded. Otherwise on holidays and in evenings one always sees a huge rush…this is a prime tourist destination after all. One enters from the Lahori gate. The shops in Chhatta Chowk weren’t open yet. There are some beautiful murals in the music gallery (Naubat Khana), unfortunately, they are badly deteriorated. One can see the different layers of paint on the wall done over several years. The Naubat Khana now has the Indian War Memorial Museum. The Diwan i Aam or Hall of public audience was our next stop. It is an extremely elegant sandstone building. This is the place where Shahjahan held court daily. The marble throne canopy with its delicate inlay work is awesome! The riverside pavilions are few of the private palaces of the royal family that still exist. The Mughal buildings we see in Red Fort today are only about 20% of all that existed originally. Continue Reading This Post

We started the walk at Jama Masjid. It is one of the most impressive monuments in Delhi. And is one of the largest mosques in Asia. The view from the minaret was hampered by the morning fog. We could only see parts of old Delhi, rest of the area including Red Fort and beyond was not visible. Priya Gangadharan, the walk leader explained the history of the area and its immense heritage. The group made their way into the narrow kuchas and katras of Shajahanabad, starting with Gali Guliyan, which specializes in brass & copper antiques. The lane leads to Kucha Hamid, where one of the master builders of Shahjahanabad lived. Digambar Jain Naya Mandir was the next stop. Throughout, we could see finely decorated gateways of havelis, especially in Katra Khushal Rai. Naughara in Kinari Bazar with its Jain temple is one of the better preserved residential areas. It has nine houses in a lane, hence the name. The Kinari bazaar was simple bustling with activity. It is amazing for the visitors to see men, vehicles, and beasts all negotiating the narrow lanes and without any apparent hostility or competition! We ended the walking tour at parathewali gali.

(posted by Rajesh Ranjan & Kanika Singh, team members, Delhi Heritage Walks)

Chandni Chowk Heritage Walk