(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

It was a cloudy Sunday morning when I woke up just in time for my heritage walk. I had been very excited for a couple of days now, as this was going to be my 1^st walk as a leader. Confidence remained intact, partly being a Historian n partly because I BELONGED TO Place we were going to visit or say Chandni Chock resides in ME…

More or else everybody reached on time and met on the very first stop-Digambar Jain Lal temple. We have 8-9 stops in the Chandni Chowk heritage walk n I had to be thorough with each; its history and much more as one always expects intellectuals, educators, foreign delegates, inquisitive students ranging from class 5^th to university level to join us .Being a leader it becomes my utmost duty to be prompt to every question coming my way. Continue Reading This Post

Delhi’s summer heat was no deterrent for a group 20 –odd enthusiasts who turned up this morning for a heritage walk in old Delhi. This heritage walk covers the main street of Chandni Chowk. The first stop was the Digamber Jain Lal Mandir, the oldest Jain temple in Shahjahanabad. It is now a prominent structure in the city’s landscape with towering red sandstone shikhars & the shrine is as old as the city itself. The temple is also unique for housing a charitable bird hospital in its premises. Both kite flying & kabutarbaazi are popular pastimes for old Delhi citizens and a lot of birds end up getting injured from the glass-coated strings attached to the kites. Adjacent to the Jain temple is the Gauri Shankar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Across the street from this temple is a flower market which among other offerings stocks the dhatura (a poisonous weed) offered to Shiva. Continue Reading This Post