Nicholson’s Cemetery, near Kashmiri Gate ISBT, was the starting point of the walk. One is greeted by deafening noise of the traffic at the bus stand and the chattering of monkeys as one approaches the entrance. Both are a permanent feature. We looked at British officer John Nicholson’s grave and that of Master Ramchandra of Delhi College. Nicholson’ Cemetery is in a much better condition than the Lothian Road cemetery. The latter is completely neglected; never mind ASI’s notice proclaiming it to be a protected site. The boundary walls of the old city of Delhi, Shahjahanabad can be seen adjacent to the Kashmiri Gate metro station. Some restoration work seems to on at Kashmiri Gate itself. Continue Reading This Post

A walk in Old Delhi (Shahjahanabad) was organized for IIT Delhi Alumni on 11 October. The weather was excellent and old friends getting together looked ready to enjoy themselves. The walk began with a round of introduction and Kanika Singh, the walk leader explained the places we were going to see. We started a little after 9.00 am and Chandni Chowk, the main street was already beginning to get crowded. The flower-sellers were busy selling marigold and dhatura (a poisonous weed) to visitors to Gauri Shankar temple. Food shops had started their business, their kachoris, samosas, jalebis and lassi were extremely tempting. Shahjahanabad is wonderful precisely because it combines food with history like no other place. We entered into Parathe wali gali and glanced at photographs of former Indian Prime Ministers eating at the famous shops in the gali. Except, someone noted that Nehru seemed to be eating rice and not parathas! The shops at kinari bazaar were starting their day’s business of selling goats and other embellishments for clothes and decorative items. Continue Reading This Post